"For the Love of Wissenschaft?". Political Theory: Activism or Social Science?

October 24, 2024
Department of Philosophy, University of Oxford

Lincoln College
Oxford
United Kingdom

This will be an accessible event, including organized related activities

Speakers:

Cambridge University
University of Essex
University of Oxford
University of Bristol
London School of Economics
University of Amsterdam

Organisers:

(unaffiliated)
University of Oxford

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This workshop titled “For the Love of Wissenschaft?” seeks to bring together scholars from political theory, social epistemology, and social philosophy at large to explore what we think might be a deeply rooted disciplinary divide within political, social, and legal philosophy: a divide between theory practiced as a form of political activism and theory committed to the project of social science. 

Some of the questions we wish to explore include, but are not limited to:

  • Should there be a disciplinary divide in political philosophy between theory as activism and theory as Wissenschaft? Why or why not?
  • What does a metatheory that recognises this distinction look like? 
  • Is it true that any social theory not aligned with the project of Wissenschaft is always “incongruous on its face,” as Susan Haack suggests?
  • What is the proper role of “lived experience” in political inquiry?
  • What are the epistemic or social-scientific standards in political theory, if there are any, and what should they be?
  • If political philosophy is a value-laden project, what values are we pursuing, and why?

Time: 10.00 – 5.30, 24th October 2024.

Location: Turl Yard Lecture Room, Lincoln College, University of Oxford

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October 17, 2024, 11:00pm BST

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Stevens Institute of Technology

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