Steven Lukes is een vooraanstaand politiek en sociaal theoreticus wiens werk zich verdiept in de complexiteit van macht, ideologie en sociale rechtvaardigheid. Zijn intellectuele bijdragen hebben het hedendaagse denken gevormd en bieden diepgaande inzichten in de krachten die samenlevingen besturen en het leven van individuen beïnvloeden. Lukes' academische carrière omvatte prestigieuze instellingen, wat zijn aanzienlijke impact op het politieke en sociologische discours onderstreept.
In a converted European castle a weekend conference is taking place. Gathered together is a group of architects, town planners and government officials, and the action of the play concerns itself with the professional, intellectual, ideological and sexual concerns of the participants.
Everyone holds beliefs. So what gives us the right to judge the behaviour of others in a world where ethics seem increasingly diverse and conflicting? Do universal human rights exist, or do we just have to accept that there's an irreparable moral discord between us and the other?
Are there absolute truths that can be gradually approached over time through rational processes? Or are all modes and systems of thought equally valid if viewed from within their own internally consistent frames of reference? Are there universal forms of reasoning and understanding that enable us to distinguish between rational beliefs and those that are demonstrably false, or is everything relative? These central questions are addressed and debated by the distinguished contributors to this lively book. Some of them - Hollis, Lukes, Robin Horton, and Ernest Gellner - discuss new directions in their thinking since their earlier articles appeared in 1970 in the seminal volume Rationality (edited by Bryan Wilson). They are now joined in the debate by Ian Hacking, W. Newton-Smith, Charles Taylor, Jon Elster, Dan Sperber, and, in the jointly authored lead article, by Barry Barnes and David Bloor. Emerging from the debate are a variety of supportable interpretations and conclusions rather than a single, distinct "truth." The contributors represent the complete spectrum of positions between a relativism that challenges the very concept of a single world and the idea that there are ascertainable, objective universals.
<i>Die neugierige Aufklärung des Professors Caritat</i> ist eine brillante fiktive Reise durch die westliche politische Philosophie eines unserer originellsten Denker. Professor Caritat, ein mittelalter Candide, wandert naiv durch die benachbarten Länder Utilitaria, Communitaria und Libertaria auf der Suche nach der besten aller möglichen Welten. Von den Grenzen seines Elfenbeinturms befreit, sieht sich dieser umherirrende Professor mit dem verwirrten Zustand des modernen Denkens in dieser schillernden Komödie der Ideen konfrontiert.