Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/920119

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Title
Liberalism, rationality and religion
Author/Creator
Tate, John William
Institution
The University of Newcastle. Faculty of Business & Law, Newcastle Business School
Description
According to some political philosophers, liberalism, like Jerusalem, is a divided city. It is divided, they say, between two very different understandings of liberalism’s identity and purpose. According to one of these understandings, liberalism is essentially a practical doctrine, devoted to ensuring peaceful coexistence between those otherwise thoroughly disparate in their most fundamental commitments. According to the other, it is a reformist doctrine, devoted to shaping, constraining and directing individual liberties to certain specified ends or ideals. In the first case, liberalism accepts the reality of diversity and pluralism between individuals and, instead of seeking to eradicate these, seeks to regulate them in a peaceful manner. In the second case, such differences are viewed as disparate and disjointed and in need of transformation by a common ideal, one that will ensure the progress of such differences to a common unanimity and consensus on the best way of life.
Relation
Australian Political Studies Association Annual Conference 2009 (APSA 2009). Australian Political Studies Association Annual Conference 2009: Refereed Papers (Sydney 27-30 September, 2009)
Relation
http://www.pol.mq.edu.au/apsa/refereed_papers.html
Date
2009
Publisher
Macquarie University
Keyword(s)
liberalism;  religion;  rationality;  political philosophy
Resource Type
conference paper
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/920119
Reviewed
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"Liberalism, rationality and religion"
 
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