Raymond Geuss’ radicalization of realism in political theory

Philosophy and Social Criticism 42 (8):777-796 (2016)
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Abstract

Raymond Geuss has been viewed as one of the figureheads of the recent debates about realism in political theory. This interpretation, however, depends on a truncated understanding of his work of the past 30 years. I will offer the first sustained engagement with this work which allows understanding his realism as a project for reorienting political theory, particularly the relationship between political theory and politics. I interpret this reorientation as a radicalization of realism in political theory through the combination of the emphasis on the critical purpose of political theory and the provision of practical, contextual orientation. Their compatibility depends on Geuss’ understanding of criticism as negative, of power as ‘detoxified’ and of the critical purchase of political theory as based on the diagnostic engagement with its context. This radicalization particularly challenges the understanding of how political theory relates to its political context.

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Janosch Prinz
Maastricht University

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References found in this work

Realism in political theory.William A. Galston - 2010 - European Journal of Political Theory 9 (4):385-411.
Legitimacy in Realist Thought.Matt Sleat - 2014 - Political Theory 42 (3):314-337.
Realismus, Wunschdenken, Utopie.Raymond Geuss - 2010 - Deutsche Zeitschrift für Philosophie 58 (3):419-429.
Economies: Good, Bad, Indifferent.Raymond Geuss - 2012 - Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy 55 (4):331-360.

View all 7 references / Add more references