Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
4-2004
Abstract
A number of theorists have touted the merits of the contextual approach to political theory, arguing that a close examination of real-world cases is more likely to yield both theoretical insight and practical solutions to pressing problems. This is particularly evident, it is argued, in the field of multiculturalism in political theory. The present paper offers some skeptical reflections on this view, arguing the merits of a view of political theory which sees the contextual approach as less distinctive than its proponents imagine, and less useful than many would suggest. It maintains that there are serious limits to what political theorists can achieve, even if political theory is not without its uses if we value social criticism.
Keywords
Abstraction, Contextualism, Headscarves, Joseph Carens, Multiculturalism, Political theory
Discipline
Political Theory
Research Areas
Political Science
Publication
Ethical Theory and Moral Practice
Volume
7
Issue
2
First Page
215
Last Page
225
ISSN
1386-2820
Identifier
10.1023/B:ETTA.0000032808.92466.f5
Publisher
Springer Verlag (Germany)
Citation
KUKATHAS, Chandran.(2004). Contextualism reconsidered: Some skeptical reflections. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 7(2), 215-225.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2930
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ETTA.0000032808.92466.f5