•  19
    Tacit consent and political legitimacy
    European Journal of Political Theory. forthcoming.
    Though historically important, the notion of tacit consent plays little role in contemporary discussions of political legitimacy. The idea, in fact, is often dismissed as obviously implausible. The ambition of this paper is to challenge this assumption and show that tacit consent can become a key ingredient in a theory of legitimacy. Instead of defining tacit consent through residence (where, according to John Locke or Plato's Socrates, staying in the country amounts to tacitly consenting to its…Read more
  •  9
    The paper examines the complex relation between anti-democratic forces (“the extremists”) and the broader liberal-democratic institutional environment. The task of containing extremists is analysed both from a theoretical standpoint and in terms of its practical feasibility. I argue that the realities of political communication and the character of political argumentation make containing extremism in practice a much more daunting proposition than is usually understood in the literature. Insights…Read more
  •  37
    Conspiracy theories and reasonable pluralism
    with Pavol Hardoš
    European Journal of Political Theory 21 (3): 445-465. 2022.
    The popularity of conspiracy theories poses a clear challenge for contemporary liberal democracies. Conspiracy theories undermine rational debate, spread dangerous falsehoods and threaten social cohesion. However, any possible public policy response, which would try to contain their spread, needs to respect the liberal commitment to protect pluralism and free speech. A successful justification of such a policy must therefore: 1) clearly identify the problematic class of conspiracy theories; and …Read more
  •  98
    Conspiracy theories and reasonable pluralism
    with Pavol Hardoš
    European Journal of Political Theory 21 (3): 147488511989923. 2020.
    The popularity of conspiracy theories poses a clear challenge for contemporary liberal democracies. Conspiracy theories undermine rational debate, spread dangerous falsehoods and threaten social co...
  •  72
    On the Immorality of Tattoos
    The Journal of Ethics 24 (2): 193-206. 2020.
    Tattoos are widely regarded as morally neutral, and the decision to have them as carrying no ethical implications. The aim of this paper is to question this assumption. I argue that decisions to have tattoos involve risks that are not merely prudential—they are normative. The argument starts with a thesis that the power we presently have over our lives is constrained by the need to respect our future selves. If we make a discretionary choice that disregards our future interests and preferences, …Read more
  •  40
    Expectations and Obligations
    Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 21 (5): 1079-1090. 2018.
    Ever since the publication of Scanlon’s Promises and Practices and What We Owe to Each Other, expectations have become an important topic within discussions on promises. However, confining the role of expectations to promises does not do justice to their importance in creating obligations more generally. This paper argues that expectations are one of the major sources of obligations created within our personal relationships. What we owe to our friends, partners, or siblings very often follows ne…Read more
  •  2
    Kant and Rawls on the Neutrality of a Liberal State
    Filozofia 66 (5): 481-485. 2011.
    The conflict between perfectionism and the neutrality of a liberal state is one of the burning issues of contemporary liberalism and political philosophy as a whole. The paper examines the roots of the perfectionist as well as neutralistic thinking, which are found in the philosophies of Immaneul Kant and John Rawls respectively. Through the reconsideration of the latter the character of the conflict can also be redefined. The aim of the paper is to show the basic difference between the above me…Read more
  • Rawlsian Constructivism and the Conception of Human Rights by Ladislav Hejdánek
    Ethics and Bioethics (in Central Europe) 4 (1-2): 41-48. 2014.
    In spite of the iron curtain looming large between western academics and their (often politically persecuted and institutionally detached) colleagues in the eastern bloc, some intellectual developments bear striking similarities. This paper analyses one of them: the conception of human rights by Ladislav Hejdánek as opposed to Kantian constructivism, which was developed in the “west” by John Rawls and others. Both Rawls and Hejdánek, who was one of the philosophical heavyweights of Czech dissent…Read more