Identity, Political Freedom, and Collective Responsibility The Pillars and Foundations of Global Ethics

by Souffrant, Eddy M. M.

• ISBN13: 9781137365828
• ISBN10: 113736582X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-12-05
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Motivated by the observation that our current social and political theories do not properly account for the actual living circumstances of persons living the 21st century, this book calls for a reassessment of the starting points of moral, social, and political philosophy. Souffrant recognizes that, as it stands, our ethical theories start from a specific conception of the individual. While he believes that this approach has been helpful, he holds however that the contemporary circumstances regarding the way individuals live their lives, their particular interconnectedness and tacit and active participation in the conditions that affect us all, call for a reassessment of the starting points of moral, social and political philosophy.

Author Biography

Eddy M. Souffrant is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction
PART I: CONCEPTIONS OF IDENTITY
1. Introduction
2. Singular and Collective Identity
3. Linguistic and Racial Identity
4. Using History and Nation to Be
5. From Regional to Global Identity
6. Contextual Identities
7. Oppressive Liberties
8. Emancipatory Identities
9. Composite Identities
10. Whence does a Writer Derive her Sense of Identity?
11. Caribbean Philosophy: In Guise of a Conclusion
PART II: LIBERALISM BEYOND BORDERS
1. Philosophy and Contemporary Realities
2. David Held's Cosmopolitan Democracy
3. Sovereignty, Democracy, and Globalization
4. Transnational Ethics, Multiple Appurtenance and Anarchy
5. Informal Democracy
6. Informal Citizens: Immigrants or Refugees
7. Searching Freedoms: Political Representation in Informal Democracies
8. Public Accountability
9. Inclusion and Accountability
10. Toward a Collective Responsibility
PART III: ETHICS AND COLLECTIVITY
1. Morality in an Unpredictable World
2. Moral Philosophy in the Present
3. On Being Moral
4. 3 Conceptions of Collective Responsibility
5. Examples of Collective Responsibility in Practice
6. Conclusion
PART IV: THOUGHTS ON A CARIBBEAN PHILOSOPHY AND HOW NOT TO DO GLOBAL ETHICS
1. Introduction
2. Africana Cosmopolitanism
3. Allegiance, Global Ideologies, Contemporary Directions
4. Radicalism à la Mode or Outmoded
5. Global Justice
6. Collective Responsibility
7. Conclusion