In debates over abortion, homosexual conduct, euthanasia, prostitution, drugs, those who call themselves liberals often mount the same basic argument; a socially or morally permissive stance is necessitated towards such practices because people have a right to choose do what ever they like with their own bodies. As John Stuart Mill put it in his [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Political Philosophy'
The Pretensions of Democracy and the Egypt Riots
February 9th, 2011 81 Comments
The secular west has a secular gospel. It is the good news of democracy. When problems assail a nation, all would be assuaged if not solved if it had more democracy. And so it has come to pass with respect to Egypt. The West is not unique in that it has its own version of [...]
Tags: Democracy · Egypt Riots · Islam · Political Philosophy
The New Zealand Association of Rationalist Humanists and the Privileging of Secularism
December 20th, 2010 189 Comments
The New Zealand Association of Rationalist Humanists (“NZARH”) has a statement of aspirational ideals for the New Zealand state on their website. Entitled “The Tolerant Secular State” it is anything but. The first two sentences of the document exhibit a confusion which is inherent throughout (and commonly found in discussions of church and state): “The [...]
Tags: Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Free Exercise · Freedom of Religion · Harry Potter · Jurisprudence · Lord Voldemort · NZARH · Paul Rishworth · Religion in Public Life · Rights and Freedoms · Secularism · Steven Smith
The Separation of Church and Self: Rethinking Separationism
December 16th, 2010 119 Comments
Is it just for a pluralistic society to ground its public policy on religious premises? What role should religion play in such a society? Debate over questions like these has figured in theology, philosophy, political science, jurisprudence and popular culture for centuries. In contemporary Western pluralistic society the debate continues. Even for those unfamiliar with [...]
Tags: Christopher Eberle · Coercion Test · Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Endorsement Test · Freedom of Religion · Gerald Gaus · James Madison · John Rawls · Jürgen Habermas · Justice Scalia · Law Studies · Lee v Weisman · Lemon Test · Nicholas Wolterstorff · Philip Devine · Philip Quinn · Philosophy of Religion · Political Philosophy · Religion in Public Life · Richard Rorty · Robert Audi · Separationism · Stephen Carter · Terence Cuneo · Vincent Phillip Muñoz
Property Rights: Blackstone, Locke and the Legislative Scheme Part II
February 19th, 2010 7 Comments
This two part series looks at the state of property rights under the current legislative scheme in New Zealand. Particularly I address attempts to suggest that the passage of Acts such as the Crown Minerals Act and the Resource Management Act have not significantly altered the common law concept of property rights and the claim [...]
Tags: Crown Minerals Act 1991 · Property Rights · Resource Management Act 1991 · Rights and Freedoms · Sub-Soil Land Rights · William Blackstone
Property Rights: Blackstone, Locke and the Legislative Scheme Part I
February 17th, 2010 10 Comments
This two part series looks at the state of property rights under the current legislative scheme in New Zealand. Particularly I address attempts to suggest that the passage of Acts such as the Crown Minerals Act and the Resource Management Act have not significantly altered the common law concept of property rights and the claim [...]
Tags: Crown Minerals Act 1991 · Edward Feser · John Locke · Property Rights · Resource Management Act 1991 · Rights and Freedoms · Sub-Soil Land Rights · William Blackstone
Religious Restraint and Public Policy: Part VI
December 3rd, 2009 No Comments
In my last posts, beginning Religious Restraint and Public Policy: Part I, I set out the doctrine of religious restraint and critiqued some of the key arguments in support of it. I looked at the objection that the argument from respect is too thin, that applied consistently it excludes too much and Audi’s response to [...]
Tags: Christopher Eberle · Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Freedom of Religion · Jurisprudence · Law Studies · Lydia McGrew · Nicholas Wolterstorff · Phillip Quinn · Philosophy of Religion · Political Philosophy · Public Policy · Religion in Public Life · Robert Audi · Stephen Carter · Terence Cuneo
Religious Restraint and Public Policy: Part V
November 30th, 2009 1 Comment
In my last posts, beginning Religious Restraint and Public Policy: Part I, I set out the doctrine of religious restraint and critiqued some of the key arguments in support of it. I looked at the objection that the argument from respect is too thin, that applied consistently it excludes too much and Audi’s response to [...]
Tags: Christopher Eberle · Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Edward Feser · Freedom of Religion · Jurisprudence · Law Studies · Philosophy of Religion · Political Philosophy · Public Policy · Religion in Public Life · Terence Cuneo
Religious Restraint and Public Policy: Part IV
November 27th, 2009 No Comments
In my last posts, beginning Religious Restraint and Public Policy: Part I, I set out the doctrine of religious restraint and critiqued some of the key arguments in support of it. I looked at the objection that the argument from respect is too thin, that applied consistently it excludes too much and Audi’s response to [...]
Tags: Christopher Eberle · Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Freedom of Religion · Gerald Gaus · Glenn Peoples · Jurisprudence · Law Studies · Philosophy of Religion · Political Philosophy · Public Policy · Religion in Public Life · Robert Audi · Terence Cuneo
Religious Restraint and Public Policy: Part III
November 25th, 2009 3 Comments
In my last posts, beginning Religious Restraint and Public Policy: Part I, I set out the doctrine of religious restraint and touched on some criticisms of it. I looked at and critiqued some of the key arguments in support of the doctrine of religious restraint. In this post I will look at the objection that [...]
Tags: Christopher Eberle · Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Freedom of Religion · Gerald Gaus · Glenn Peoples · John Rawls · Jurisprudence · Law Studies · Nicholas Wolterstorff · Philip Quinn · Philosophy of Religion · Political Philosophy · Public Policy · Religion in Public Life · Robert Audi
