Herodotean Realism

Schlosser, Joel Alden

doi:10.1177/0090591713516472

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…While it is common to cite realist classics in contemporary realist theory and there are some articles arguing that other classical authors should be added to the realist canon (e. g. Schlosser, 2014), this practice is not without difficulties (Douglas, 2016;McQueen, 2017).…”

Section: The Variety Of Political Realismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The various meanings are not entirely unconnected, but their relationship is complicated. While it is common to cite realist classics in contemporary realist theory and there are some articles arguing that other classical authors should be added to the realist canon (e. g. Schlosser, 2014), this practice is not without difficulties (Douglass, 2020; McQueen, 2017). There are also arguments put forward for involving realist international political theory in contemporary realist theory (Sleat, 2013: 12–14).…”

Section: The Variety Of Political Realismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Aristotle’s realist regime theory

Szűcs

2018

European Journal of Political Theory

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The ambition of this article is threefold. First, it is to offer a realist reading of Aristotle’s regime theory as it is laid out mostly in Books IV–VI of his Politics. The author argues that Aristotle’s regime theory has three fundamentally realist claims about the workings of politics: first, the search for a perfect regime is not the only legitimate subject of political theory; second, every regime is built on a delicate balance of a particular understanding of political justice, a variety of sociological factors and the institutional design and political virtues of its politicians; third, there are almost as many different regimes as polities, and although they can be grouped into major regime types, there are many sub-types and mixed and transitory regimes. Second, the article argues that modern democratic theories have an unacceptable ‘moralistic bias’ from a realist point of view. Third, that a neo-Aristotelian regime theory can offer an attractive realist alternative to the predominant contemporary understandings of political regimes.

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Section: The Variety Of Political Realismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Variety Of Political Realismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aristotle’s realist regime theory

Szűcs

2018

European Journal of Political Theory

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“…There is little completely new about contemporary realism if viewed as part of a tradition of thought that goes back at least to Thucydides (or possibly Herodotus, see Schlosser forthcoming) and continues through Augustine, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Hume, Nietzsche, Schmitt and Weber (leaving aside more canonically contentious and ideologically aligned theorists such as Burke or Lenin). Besides, many of the other canonical figures of Western political thought were more realistic than most contemporary political philosophers insofar as they didn't aspire to construct purely normative theories grounded in pre‐political moral commitments but rather a blend of descriptive and normative elements anchored in an understanding of the specificity of the political.…”

Section: Conclusion: ‘New’ Realism?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The link between realist accounts of political judgement and contextualism has been stressed primarily by scholars of the history of political thought, many of whom have sought to demonstrate the contingencies and conditionalities of politics by drawing attention to the diverse possibilities and constraints under which political actors acted in the past and the manner in which that affected their contemporaries and our own assessments of those actions (see Bourke and Geuss ; Dunn , ; Sabl ; Schlosser forthcoming. For critical realist discussions of the relationship between history and political philosophy, see Floyd and Stears ).…”

Section: Realist Themesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Realism in Normative Political Theory

2014

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This paper provides a critical overview of the realist current in contemporary political philosophy. We define political realism on the basis of its attempt to give varying degrees of autonomy to politics as a sphere of human activity, in large part through its exploration of the sources of normativity appropriate for the political, and so distinguish sharply between political realism and non-ideal theory. We then identify and discuss four key arguments advanced by political realists: from ideology, from the relationship of ethics to politics, from the priority of legitimacy over justice, and from the nature of political judgment. Next, we ask to what extent realism is a methodological approach as opposed to a substantive political position, and so discuss the relationship between realism and a few such positions. We close by pointing out the links between contemporary realism and the realist strand that runs through much of the history of Western political thought.Much contemporary Anglo-American political philosophy operates as a branch of applied ethics: normative political theory is supposed to implement moral commitments external to politics, be they teleological ideals or deontological constraints. However in recent years-under the loose label of 'political realism'-an alternative approach has emerged, or perhaps reemerged (Galston 2010; Runciman 2012). Crudely, realists maintain that political philosophy should not seek to regiment politics through morality; rather, it should theorise about the distinctive forces that shape real politics. Critics of realism see this move as a capitulation of normative theory in favour of descriptive approaches to politics. Realists see it as a way to make political philosophy more relevant and less ideological.This article has two main objectives and as many main sections. First, we propose a working definition of realism, and a critical overview of what we take to be the four key arguments in favour of that position. Second, we explore the status of realist theory: is it best characterised as a series of methodological concerns or does it represent a substantive political position it is own right? In the brief conclusion we discuss to what extent realism is (or could be) a new development rather than a revival of a traditional current of political thinking.

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“…10 For meta-narrative in Herodotus, see Baragwanath (2008), Branscome (2013), Christ (1994), Demont (2009), Dewald (1987, Irwin (2014), andZali (2013). For the political consequences of this, see Apfel (2011), McWilliams (2014, Rathnam (2018), Schlosser (2014Thompson (1996). 11 Konstan (2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

The Marketplace of Ideas and the Agora: Herodotus on the Power of Isegoria

Rathnam

2022

Am Polit Sci Rev

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Popular discourse about freedom of speech tends to default to the metaphor of the marketplace of ideas, notwithstanding empirical evidence undermining this concept. Its persistence illustrates the profound attachment freedom of speech inspires, despite the difficulty of justifying it in epistemic terms. I suggest that the ancient Greek historian Herodotus offers a compelling alternative to the marketplace metaphor with his account of isegoria at Athens. In Herodotus’s telling, Athenian equal right of speech is worthwhile not because of its effects on speech but because of its effect on political culture; equal speech energizes the Athenians and Athens. He thus offers a nonepistemic defense of the right to speak, defending it instead in terms of power and belonging. Yet his account also highlights how Athenian equal speech unleashes political harms and therefore offers a way to defend free speech without minimizing its dangers. Herodotus thus helps us productively reframe contemporary free speech debates.

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Herodotean Realism

Cited by 8 publications

References 9 publications

Aristotle’s realist regime theory

Aristotle’s realist regime theory

Realism in Normative Political Theory

The Marketplace of Ideas and the Agora: Herodotus on the Power of Isegoria

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