CFP: Philosophy and Public Issues: Political Liberalism vs. Liberal Perfectionism

Symposium: Political Liberalism vs. Liberal Perfectionism.

With a discussion on Jonathan Quong’s Liberalism Without Perfection (OUP 2011)

Guest Editor: Michele Bocchiola

Submission Deadline

Long Abstract (1.000 words max): May 15, 2012

Full paper (7.000 words max, upon acceptance): September 15, 2012

Invited Contributors

Joseph Chan (University of Hong Kong), Ben Colburn (University of Glasgow), Jerry Gaus (University of Arizona), and Jonathan Quong (University of Manchester).

Aims and Background

Most contemporary moral philosophers and political theorists recognize the difficulty of finding mutually acceptable terms of cooperation in societies characterized by deep disagreement about what is of general value in life. Taking such disagreement seriously, supporters of Rawls’s political liberalism claim that a conception of justice should be freestanding and not grounded on the various comprehensive values present in society. Opposing this view, perfectionists claim that liberal principles of justice and political institutions ought to be built upon a set of key liberal values, defining what is objectively good for human beings. There is a growing discussion about the consistency of the ‘political’ understanding of liberalism and on whether perfectionism can legitimately belong to the family of liberal doctrines. In this special volume of Philosophy and Public Issues we are looking for papers that explore the relationship between the two views from moral, political, or legal perspective. We expect original contributions discussing problems such as:

• the structure of political justification in pluralist societies;
• problems of cultural difference in liberal states;
• the relationship between religion and politics from a liberal perspective;
• the question of liberal education and denominational schools;
• autonomy and liberalism;
• the historical roots of the debate between liberalism and perfectionism;

… or any other relevant topic subject to the Editors’ approval.

The special issue will include a discussion on Jonathan Quong’s Liberalism Without Perfection (OUP 2011) by Michele Bocchiola, Joseph Chan, Ben Colburn, Jerry Gaus followed by Jonathan Quong’s replies.

Submission Details

Please send a (.rtf, .doc or .docx) file containing a long abstract (1000 words max) and a title, prepared for blind review with all revealing references to the author removed. All personal information (name, affiliation, and contact) must be submitted separately, along with a short abstract (200 words max). Deadline for abstract submission is May 15, 2012. Decisions will be made within a month.

Upon notification of acceptance, you will be invited to submit the full paper (7.000 words max) no later than September 15, 2012. We expect to publish the special volume by the end of 2012.

Contributions that do not make it to the special volume may be considered for publication in one of the regular volumes of Philosophy and Public Issues.

All material should be submitted to [email protected].