IDEALIZATION, JUSTICE, AND THE FORM OF PRACTICAL REASON

In: Social philosophy & policy, Band 33, Heft 1-2, S. 372-392

Abstract

Abstract:Current debates about ideal theory and idealization in modern moral and political philosophy do not typically scrutinize the form of reflection itself. This is an unfortunate oversight: assumptions about the form of reflection shape the positions defended in those debates. I argue that the appropriate form of reflection on the nature and justification of standards of justice and morality is the form of practical reason. I further argue that the form of practical reason cannot support many of the idealizations typically deployed in modern moral and political philosophy.