- Title
- Liberalism, rationality and religion
- Creator
- Tate, John William
- Relation
- Australian Political Studies Association Annual Conference 2009 (APSA 2009). Australian Political Studies Association Annual Conference 2009: Refereed Papers (Sydney 27-30 September, 2009)
- Relation
- http://www.pol.mq.edu.au/apsa/refereed_papers.html
- Publisher
- Macquarie University
- Resource Type
- conference paper
- Date
- 2009
- Description
- According to some political philosophers, liberalism, like Jerusalem, is a divided city. It is divided, they say, between two very different understandings of liberalism’s identity and purpose. According to one of these understandings, liberalism is essentially a practical doctrine, devoted to ensuring peaceful coexistence between those otherwise thoroughly disparate in their most fundamental commitments. According to the other, it is a reformist doctrine, devoted to shaping, constraining and directing individual liberties to certain specified ends or ideals. In the first case, liberalism accepts the reality of diversity and pluralism between individuals and, instead of seeking to eradicate these, seeks to regulate them in a peaceful manner. In the second case, such differences are viewed as disparate and disjointed and in need of transformation by a common ideal, one that will ensure the progress of such differences to a common unanimity and consensus on the best way of life.
- Subject
- liberalism; religion; rationality; political philosophy
- Identifier
- uon:9077
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/920119
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