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Cynical suspicions and Platonist pretentions : a critique of contemporary political theory /

McGuire, John (Research Fellow)

Cynical suspicions and Platonist pretentions : a critique of contemporary political theory / by John McGuire. - 1 online resource (vii, 239 pages) - Social and critical theory, v. 22 1572-459X ; . - Social and Critical Theory 22. Religious Studies, Theology and Philosophy E-Books Online, Collection 2018, ISBN: 9789004353350. .

Includes bibliographical references.

Front Matter -- Copyright page -- For Mary Margaret -- -- Introduction: Causarum Cognitio -- Naked in the Marketplace -- The Courage and Scourge of Truth -- The Resistible Rise of Rawlsian Reasonableness -- Thomas Pogge: Ethics and the Ire of the Beholden -- Nancy Fraser’s Subaltern Weltbürger Blues -- Jürgen Habermas’ Postmetaphysical Paralysis? -- Defacing the Political Currency: Cynicism as a Normative Perspective for Critical Theory.

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In Cynical Suspicions and Platonist Pretensions , John McGuire offers a critique of recent trends in contemporary political theory, specifically concerning the ‘dangers’ of cynicism and the contamination of public reason. In the view of many theorists and pundits, cynicism remains one of the gravest ills to befall any democratic society, injecting a virulent estrangement which leaves sufferers unable to trust elected representatives and unwilling to participate in collective action. Starting with a reconstruction of the performative and rhetorical tactics of the ‘first’ Cynic, Diogenes of Sinope (c. 323 BCE), John McGuire aims to demonstrate how cynicism’s non-defeatist, relentlessly sceptical ethos provides an important counterweight to the self-aggrandising designs of moralists and policymakers alike.

9789004364929

10.1163/9789004364929 DOI

2018014620


Political science--Philosophy.
Cynicism.
Government accountability.

JA71 / .M34 2018

320.01