•  640
    Den Moralske Virkelighed
    Nsu Press. 2012.
    Den moralske virkelighed er en filosofisk undersøgelse af moral og etik i videst mulige forstand, der bunder i en frustration over oplevelser med den filosofiske etik. Den filosofiske etik skal vejlede os moralsk i vore handlinger, men det synes som om den hverken kan hjælpe os med det eller redegøre for moralen. Moral er et samfundsmæssigt fænomen, men det gør den filosofiske etik typisk ikke meget ud af. I en situation, hvor etikken er i krise, er det derfor værd at se på, hvad moralsociologie…Read more
  •  550
    After years of neglect, alienation has again reached the agenda of critical thought. In my case, I recognize alienation as a challenge for education in contemporary societies. To obtain conceptual resources to overcome this challenge, I have revisited the comprehensive 20 th century discussion of alienation. Today, alienation is naturally discussed as an existential condition of human being, but still in the 1980s, there was a strong Marxist current that claimed alienation to be implied by capit…Read more
  •  475
    The inner experience of living matter: Bataille and dialectics
    Philosophy and Social Criticism 33 (5): 597-615. 2007.
    The dialectical aspect in the work of Georges Bataille is often neglected. At the suggestion of Foucault and Derrida, Bataille is most often even taken to be a non-dialectical thinker. But Bataille worked intensely with Hegel's ideas, his thought was expressed in Hegelian terms, and both his epistemology and his ontology can be considered a determinate negation of Hegel's position in the Phenomenology. This is shown, first, by analysing Bataille's notions of `inner experience', and, second, by s…Read more
  •  453
    Tong Shijun holds a concept of dialectics which can also be found in Mao’s writings and in classical Chinese philosophy. Tong, however, is ambivalent in his attitude to dialectics in this sense, and for this reason he recommends Chinese philosophy to focus more on formal logic. My point will be that with another concept of dialectics Tong can have dialectics without giving up on logic and epistemology. This argument is given substance by an analysis of texts by Mao, Tong and Hegel.
  •  372
    On a universal scale: Economy in Bataille’s general economy
    Philosophy and Social Criticism 38 (2): 169-197. 2012.
    This article analyses the general economy of Georges Bataille (1897–1962) in relation to political economy. In the first section I present a critical perspective on economy that is necessary in order to appreciate Bataille’s conception of general economy, which is presented in the second section. The general economy is first considered in a macro-perspective, which comprises the whole of the universe, second in a micro-perspective, where the subjective aspect of economy is maintained as non-obje…Read more
  •  297
    Dialectics, Self-Consciousness, and Recognition: The Hegelian Legacy (edited book)
    with Morten Raffnsøe-Møller and Arne Grøn
    Århus Universitetsforlag. 2009.
    Hegel's influence on post-Hegelian philosophy is as profound as it is ambiguous. Modern philosophy is philosophy after Hegel. Taking leave of Hegel's system appears to be a common feature of modern and post-modern thought. One could even argue that giving up Hegel's claim of totality defines philosophy after Hegel. Modern and post-modern philosophies are philosophies of finitude: Hegel's philosophy cannot be repeated. However, its status as a negative backdrop for modern and post-modern thought …Read more
  •  255
    Etica economica, problemi
    In Virgilio Melchiorre (ed.), Encciclopedia filosofica, Bompiani. pp. 3796-3799. 2006.
    A discussion of the historical development of the relationship between moral philosophy and political economy and economics qua disciplines, followed by a treatment of questions of justice in the contemporary discussion and then by an overview of the subdiscipline of busness ethics.
  •  99
    Deontology: born and kept in servitude by utilitarianism
    Danish Yearbook of Philosophy 43 (1): 69-95. 2008.
    The distinction between teleology and deontology is today almost universally accepted within practical philosophy, but deontology is and has from the beginning been subordinate to utili-tarianism. ‘Deontology’ was constructed by Bentham to signify the art and science of private morality within a utilitarian worldview. The classical distinction was constructed by Broad as a refinement of Sidgwick’s utilitarianism, and then adopted by Frankena. To Broad it signified two opposite tendencies in ethi…Read more
  •  87
    From Below to Above Rawls on Just War
    Proceedings of the Xxii World Congress of Philosophy 40 169-175. 2008.
    From A Theory of Justice to The Law of Peoples Rawls’s liberalism develops from individualism to a kind of communitarianism. This apparently makes him blind to conflicts between the individual and the collective, and the resulting position contributes to change his perspective on just war. From a duty to prevent war by civil disobedience he develops a duty to initiate war because of human right violations, and this must be criticized
  •  60
    In Capitalism, Alienation and Critique Asger Sørensen offers a wide-ranging argument for the classical Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School, thus endorsing the dialectical approach of the original founders (Horkheimer, Adorno, Marcuse) and criticizing suggested revisions of later generations (Habermas, Honneth). Being situated within the horizon of the late 20th century Cultural Marxism, the main issue is the critique of capitalism, emphasizing experiences of injustice, ideology and alienatio…Read more
  •  38
    G. E. Moore’s ethics: good as intrinsic value (review)
    Journal of Moral Philosophy 5 (1): 155-158. 2008.
  •  28
    Cosmopolitanism – Not a ‘major ideology’, but still an ideology
    Philosophy and Social Criticism 42 (2): 200-224. 2016.
    Today the idea of cosmopolitanism has become widely accepted as an appropriate answer to what we now call globalization. A key reference is Kant who argues for a Recht of the world citizen, and this is normally understood as a cosmopolitan law. Apparently Kant lets the law of the world citizen be limited to a right to visit, but somehow his peace project must imply something more than just this very modest claim. Following a hint from Kant himself I take a closer look at the material aspect of c…Read more
  •  27
    "Hvorfor pædagogisk filosofi?" (edited book)
    with Jørgen Huggler
    Studier i pædagogisk filosofi, no. 1. 2012.
    Filosofi og pædagogik er gamle fæller, og der er et overlap mellem filosofiens historie og pædagogikkens historiske litteratur. Store tænkere som Platon, Aristoteles, Augustin, Descartes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Schleiermacher, Herbart og Dewey hører hjemme begge steder. I den pædagogiske filosofi kan almene teoretiske og praktisk filosofiske spørgsmål udforskes systematisk og historisk. Gennem diskussioner af sådanne spørgsmål kan man forholde sig mere nysgerrigt, …Read more
  •  27
    Value is a basic concept in economics, ethics and sociology. Locke made labour the source of value, whereas Smith referred to an ideal exchange and Kant specified that commodities only have a market price, no intrinsic value. One can distinguish two modern concepts of value, an economic one trying to explain value in terms of utility, interest or preferences, and an ideal one considering values as ends in themselves. On this basis, Durkheim constructed his theory of value, which was developed by…Read more
  •  26
    From critique of ideology to politics: Habermas on Bildung
    Ethics and Education 10 (2): 252-270. 2015.
    Considering the German idea of Bildung, I argue that it is a central concern of Habermas. First, he criticized the idea of being educated as a sign of innate abilities, emphasizing instead the significance of the social conditions of the upbringing. Subsequently, inspired by Adorno, he performed an analysis of Bildung, based on critique of ideology, in The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. The basic critique is that Bildung is too tightly connected to societal dominance, but still …Read more
  •  21
    Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit put alienation high on the philosophical agenda, as was readily recognized by Marx. Relatively well-known is also that Hegel's concept of alienation was inspired by Goethe's translation of Diderot's dialogue Rameau's Nephew, but the details and the conceptual implications of these details typically escape scholarly attention. Recognizing the basic idea of alienation as not-belonging to or being deprived of something, I emphasize that alienation implies a movement …Read more
  •  21
    Montevideo: ALFE 2, Puchet og Genis. Pædagogisk filosofi 1 (review)
    Studier i Pædagogisk Filosofi 3 (1): 96-99. 2014.
  •  17
    In my response, I initially defend my preference for classical Critical Theory, emphasizing its continued relevance in capitalist modernity, stressing that the epistemological approach does not imply dogmatism with regards to scientific theory or Historical Materialism, just as it does not imply closure with regards to political democracy. When it comes to the dialectics of the classics, I also defend an epistemological approach, arguing that the dialectics aiming for truth implies critique and …Read more
  •  17
  •  15
    Viden, Videnskab Og Virkelighed
    with Luise Li Langergaard and Søren Barlebo Rasmussen
    Samfundslitteratur. 2006.
    På en let tilgængelig og anvendelig måde forsøger bogen Viden, videnskab og virkelighed at forklare studerende på videregående uddannelser, hvad det er de skal vide om videnskaben. Hvad er videnskab? Hvad er de videnskabelige idealer og normer? Hvordan fungerer videnskaben i samfundet i netværk af læreanstalter, virksomheder og andre institutioner? Hvordan vil de studerende selv komme i berøring med videnskaben og hvordan skal de forstå det videnskabelige i det som de laver? Viden, videnskab og …Read more
  •  14
    Leder
    with Jørgen Huggler
    Studier i Pædagogisk Filosofi 1 (1): 1-3. 2012.
  •  12
    The argument is that Bildung has occupied Habermas from the earliest writings. In these writings he criticizes the idea of being educated as an expression of innate abilities and emphasizes instead the significance of the social conditions of the upbringing. This is the subject of the first section. The second section provides a presentation of the ideology-critical analysis of Bildung found in Habermas’s doctoral thesis on The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. The basic critique i…Read more
  •  12
    Philosophy & Social Criticism, Volume 48, Issue 2, Page 184-208, February 2022. Being critical does not come easy, not even within Critical Theory. In this article I respond to criticism of my book from 2019, Capitalism, Alienation and Critique, arguing that contemporary Critical Theory has something to learn from the founding fathers. Firstly, for Adorno immanent critique has metaphysical implications beyond Honneth’s critique of bourgeois society as inconsistent in terms of its professed ideal…Read more
  •  11
    Preface
    with Finn Collin
    Danish Yearbook of Philosophy 53 1-2. 2020.
  •  10
    Social Ethos and Political Mission. University on the Margins
    Danish Yearbook of Philosophy 52 (1): 104-38. 2019.
    The idea of the university is habitually discussed in relation to German or English language classics. Instead, I will focus on the Spanish language periphery arguing that the discussions there merit attention for distinguishing between three central Old World models of the university, namely, apart from the English and the German, also a French one. Moreover, the marginal perspective stresses the social and political importance of the university. In this perspective, José Ortega y Gasset deserv…Read more
  •  9
    Ethics, Democracy, and Markets (edited book)
    with Giorgio Baruchello and Jacob Dahl Rendtorff
    Nsu Press. 2016.
    The present book comprises thirteen chapters written by Nordic scholars in the human and social sciences, and developed out of conference papers presented at regular winter and summer symposia held by two research groups emanating from the Nordic Summer University. Born within and informed by this specific milieu, the chapters address significant sociopolitical implications for contemporary societies emerging from the ethical reflections of leading 20th century thinkers (e.g. Michel Foucault and…Read more
  •  9
    Introducting Theme Articles
    Danish Yearbook of Philosophy 50 7-45. 2017.
    Introducing articles on Kant’s Toward Perpetual Peace, various interpretative questions are discussed. Externally, alleged senility is contrasted with political maturity, just as irony and rhetorics are discussed in relation to (self-)censorship and the French Revolution. Internally, Kant scholars have discussed, e.g. the use of ‘eternal’ vs. ‘perpetual’, the question of preventive war, and, more in general, the relation between Kant’s political writings. In relation to the three definitive arti…Read more