This collection of essays from the Royal Institute of Philosophy, first published in 2007, looks at a wide range of topics in political philosophy ranging from issues such as terrorism, egalitarianism and the just war to considerations of the political philosophy of Edmund Burke, of philosophical liberalism and of the current state of utilitarianism in political thought. There are also treatments of the role of innocence and of emotion in political discourse.
Preface; Notes on contributors; 1. Making the world safe for utilitarianism Jonathan Wolff; 2. Innocent before God: politics, morality and the case of Billy Budd Susan Mendus; 3. Democracy and openness Anthony O'Hear; 4. Rights and human beings Oswald Hanfling; 5. Prerogative to depart from equality Michael Otsuka; 6. Casting the first stone: who can, and who can't, condemn the terrorists? G. A. Cohen; 7. Against egalitarianism John Kekes; 8. Big decision: opting, converting, drifting Edna Ullmann-Margalit; 9. The epistemology of unjust war Hilary Putnam; 10. High culture, low politics Robert Grant; 11. Edmund Burke and the Anglo-American tradition of liberty Joao Carlos Espada; 12. The politics of emotion: liberalism and cognitivism Susan James; Index of names.
