Welcome to the 'P.ie Political Philosophy Series'.

[Cato]

Welcome to the Politics.ie ‘Political Philosophy’ forum.


The intention in setting this forum is to have in depth discussions on political thinkers, including philosophers, economists, sociologists and other persons of relevance and interest and also to have such discussion on political and economic ideas and concepts.


Co-incidentally, the launch of this forum coincides with the election of Michael D. Higgins to the Irish Presidency who, during his acceptance speech on being declared president-elect, said that his presidency would be a presidency of ideas. It is his intention that debates on the political and economic ideas that are to influence the governance of this republics be held and that the populace be encourage to engage in such discussions. Depending on how his idea for presidential seminars on these matters works out, they may also be covered here.


Ideas have power and their effects, both good and ill can last for many centuries. The working out of these ideas, their evolution, their use and misuse, and their ultimate effects can take a long time to become apparent. Ideas can also have to power to inspire action - again for good or ill - and are an area of great contest. This forum is an attempt by Politics.ie to take such ideas seriously and to use the talents and knowledge of our members to inform and encourage debate on them.


The first project of this forum is the ‘P.ie Political Philosophy Series’. The intention is that members will volunteer to write OPs on a particular political or economic thinker or concept of around 1,200 words and that a debate on that thinker or concept will then follow.


The moderation of the forum will be to the same standard as the other fora but the ability to open threads will be restricted to those providing the OPs mentioned above. I will take responsibility for providing a short post after the OP providing a short bio and information to contextualize the ideas or thinkers and relate them to the time they came from.


This thread is the place for people to volunteer to write the OPs and is also the place for people to suggest suitable topics. People may also volunteer by sending me a PM. I will act as a co-ordinator for the series and will schedule the OPs but will not edit them. Depending on the take-up on this idea we will launch one or two threads a week. I may try to encourage members to contribute OPs as their are many here with a lot to offer and I want to make sure that contrasting and competing thinkers or ideas are offered.


So now, it is over to you!

[Cato]

I am now looking for a volunteer to write the Opening Thread for the series!

[tipp revolution]

Intention man intention

[drummed]

I'd offer only i was afraid of getting run over in the rush.

[Cato]

Intention man intention

Oh Nemesis my old friend, ever willing to punish even the mildest form of hubris...

[Humbert]

I'd have a crack at Plato's Republic - its a good start for the new republic I think.

[bob115]

Oh Nemesis my old friend, ever willing to punish even the mildest form of hubris...

At the risk of falling victim to Muphry's law, you missed two other 'intensions'

Muphry's law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Jack Maher]

Maybe Toland would like to contribute a piece on his hero John. Seriously, I'd look forward to reading it - freethinker, philosopher, druid, deist..etc

[west'sawake]

Yes ideas do indeed have consequences but I doubt if the egalitarian Michael D would agree with the man who wrote the seminal work of the same title. Richard Weever, a prophetic piece of work in the same league as Lewis's 'Abolition of Man' and the Agnostic Huxley's 'Brave New World'. (I'd add Alasdair McIntyre of 'After Virtue') as well. When these become the staple of Post Enlightenment Philosophy, we might get away from the madness that now surrounds us, the madness of failed ideas that have had terrible consequences.

From Weever:

'The most portentous general event of our time is the steady obliteration of those distinctions which create society. Rational society is a mirror of the logos, and this means that it has a formal structure which enables apprehension. The preservation of society is therefore directly linked with the recovery of true knowledge. For the success of our restoration it cannot be too often said that society and mass are contradictory terms and that those who seek to do things in the name of mass are the destroyers in our midst. If society is something which can be understood, it must have structure; if it has structure, it must have hierarchy; against this metaphysical truth the declamations of the Jacobins break in vain'.


If there were four books I would recommend people to read then it would be: C.S. Lewis's 'Mere Christianity' and 'The Abolition of Man', Weever's 'Ideas Have Consequences', and Huxley's 'Brave New World'.

Here to get your started are the first few Chapters of Ideas have Consequences.
INTRODUCTION

[stopdoingstuff]

I won't do the opening one but I will chip in anytime you want after the first one is out of the way. In terms of stuff I know a bit about, it centers more on Asia, where I studied and worked for a good few years, mostly in China, Singapore and Taiwan.