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

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