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70Hope and critical theoryCritical Horizons 6 (1): 45-61. 2005.In the first part of the paper I consider the relative neglect of hope in the tradition of critical theory. I attribute this neglect to a low estimation of the cognitive, aesthetic, and moral value of hope, and to the strong—but, I argue, contingent—association that holds between hope and religion. I then distinguish three strategies for thinking about the justification of social hope; one which appeals to a notion of unfulfilled or frustrated natural human capacities, another which invokes a pr…Read more
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107Analysing hopeCritical Horizons 9 (1): 5-23. 2008.The paper contrasts two approaches to the analysis of hope: one that takes its departure from a view broadly shared by Hobbes, Locke and Hume, another that fits better with Aquinas's definition of hope. The former relies heavily on a sharp distinction between the cognitive and conative aspects of hope. It is argued that while this approach provides a valuable source of insights, its focus is too narrow and it rests on a problematic rationalistic psychology. The argument is supported by a discuss…Read more
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5Critique Today (edited book)Brill. 2006.This volume examines critical social philosophy today, furthering the dialogue between German critical theory and French post-structuralism, exploring the relationship between philosophy and social theory, and developing new approaches to theories of recognition, social hope, and modern power
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31Pragmatist Transcendence in Rorty’s MetaphilosophyAnalyse & Kritik 41 (1): 97-116. 2019.This article argues that a pragmatist ambition to transcendence undergirds Richard Rorty’s metaphilosophy. That transcendence might play a positive role in Rorty’s work might seem implausible given his well-known rejection of the idea that human practices are accountable to some external, Archimedean standpoint, and his endorsement of the historicist view that standards of rationality are products of time and chance. It is true that Rorty’s contributions to epistemology, philosophy of mind and m…Read more
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438Basic income, social freedom and the fabric of justiceCritical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 24 (6). 2019.This paper examines the justice of unconditional basic income (UBI) through the lens of the Hegel-inspired recognition-theory of justice. As explained in the first part of the paper, this theory takes everyday social roles to be the primary subject-matter of the theory of justice, and it takes justice in these roles to be a matter of the kind of freedom that is available through their performance, namely ‘social’ freedom. The paper then identifies the key criteria of social freedom. The extent t…Read more
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37Introduction to Special Issue of Critical Horizons on Social HopeCritical Horizons 9 (1): 1-3. 2008.
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The Force of Reason: An Introduction to Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action (review)Radical Philosophy 59. 1991.
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Jürgen Habermas: Critic in the Public Sphere; The Role of Ethics in Social Theory: Essays from a Habermasian Perspective (review)Radical Philosophy 63. 1993.
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12The Return of Work in Critical Theory: Self, Society, PoliticsColumbia University Press. 2018.From John Maynard Keynes’s prediction of a fifteen-hour workweek to present-day speculation about automation, we have not stopped forecasting the end of work. Critical theory and political philosophy have turned their attention away from the workplace to focus on other realms of domination and emancipation. But far from coming to an end, work continues to occupy a central place in our lives. This is not only because of the amount of time people spend on the job. Many of our deepest hopes and fea…Read more
Storrs, Connecticut, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Social and Political Philosophy |
Critical Theory |
Hermeneutics |
Richard Rorty |