Political Philosophy and Other Disciplines

Abstract

What is the proper relationship between political philosophy and various cognate subjects, such as history, political science, or moral psychology? The panels will reflect on the latest scholarship on this topic, drawn from across normative political theory, both contemporary and historical. Key questions include: Can political philosophy learn from history, including the history of political thought, when it comes to justifying normative political principles? Can we rely upon our moral intuitions when it comes to justifying such principles, given the latest findings of moral psychology and, in particular, ‘experimental ethics’? How much can we use, or ignore, the findings of political science, in terms of what it reveals regarding the actual political preferences and behaviour of citizens? Does conceptual analysis simply clarify the language we use in our arguments, or does it somehow point us towards normative solutions and particular positions on, say, liberty, equality, justice, and legitimacy? How much do we need to know about economics in order to generate principles of, for example, social or distributive justice? And what is the relationship between moral and political philosophy? Is the latter an extension of the former, or something else altogether?