Moral selfhood in the liberal tradition : the politics of individuality

Recent critiques of the foundations of liberalism from communitarian, socialist, postmodern, and other philosophical circles have served to remind liberals of several problematic assumptions at the heart of liberal doctrine from its inception to the present day. Such critiques necessitate a rethinking of the foundations of liberalism, and in particular those regarding the self and rationality that liberal politics presupposes. Beginning with a wide-ranging discussion of liberal philosophers - including Hobbes, Locke, Kant, Green, Mill, and Rawls - Paul Fairfield proposes that liberalism requires a complete reconception of moral selfhood, one that accommodates elements of the contemporary critiques without abandoning liberal individualism. The model that emerges is one of situated agency - of a historically and linguistically constituted being who is never without the capacity for individual and autonomous expression. Fairfield defends a narrative conception of moral selfhood in the tradition of phenomenological hermeneutics, one that affords a proper vantage point from which to support and interpret liberal principles. MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict CONTENTS 6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 8 Introduction 12 Part One: The Metaphysics of Individuality 22 1. The Classical Liberals 24 A Classical Fable 26 Hobbes: The Appetitive Machine 33 Locke: The Rational Proprietor 39 Rousseau: The Historicized Self 45 Kant: The Rational Will 54 2. Utilitarian and New Liberals 60 The Transformation of Liberal Doctrine 62 Bentham: Homo Economicus 70 Mill: Utilitarian Individuality 76 Green: Individuality Socialized 84 Hobhouse: The New Liberal Self 89 3. Neoclassical Liberals and Communitarian Critics 96 The Philosophy of the Self in Contemporary Liberal Theory 99 Rawls: The Original Chooser 108 Nozick: Homo Economicus, Again 117 Communitarianism and Metaphysical Embarrassment 123 Working Through Metaphysical Embarrassment 136 Part Two: The Politics of Individuality 150 4. Changing the Subject: Refashioning the Liberal Self 152 The Decline of the Worldless Subject 155 A Hermeneutical-Pragmatic Philosophy of the Self 160 The Self as a Situated Agent 175 5. Rational Agency 193 The Regime of Instrumentality 195 Communicative Reason 207 6. The Political Conditions of Agency 219 The Free Society: A Justification 223 The Free Society: An Interpretation 229 CONCLUSION 251 NOTES 256 BIBLIOGRAPHY 270 INDEX 284 Pt. 1. The Metaphysics Of Individuality -- 1. The Classical Liberals -- 2. Utilitarian And New Liberals -- 3. Neoclassical Liberals And Communitarian Critics -- Pt. 2. The Politics Of Individuality -- 4. Changing The Subject: Refashioning The Liberal Self -- 5. Rational Agency -- 6. The Political Conditions Of Agency. Paul Fairfield. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [261]-273) And Index.