Reasonableness in Liberal Political Philosophy

Previously published as a special issue of the Critical Review of Social and Political Philosophy, this collection offers a thought-provoking critique of the role of the concept of reasonableness in liberal political theory, focusing on the proposed relationship between reasonableness and the establishment and preservation of a just and stable liberal polity. The essays explore the explicit and implicit use of the idea of reasonableness, presenting an analysis that incorporates normative and empirical observations and employs a number of different analytical approaches, including liberalism, feminism, environmentalism, Marxism, and communitarianism. This unique book provides in a single volume a critique that engages not only a vast array of issues but also a diversity of critical perspectives. It not only rectifies a deficiency in the existing scholarship, but also addresses the issues of socio-political justice and stability, offering new, insightful critiques that respond to the increasingly complex circumstances and conflicts that confront life in contemporary pluralistic societies. Reasonableness in Liberal Political Philosophywill be a valuable resource for those interested in liberal political theory and its potential usefulness in helping to secure a just and stable polity.

Introduction PART I: Chapter 1: Reason(ableness) and Conscience in Liberal Political Theory (Edward Andrew, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto) Chapter 2: Reasonable Judgments and Collective Choice: Voting in a Deliberative Democracy (Gerald F. Gaus, Department of Philosophy, Tulane University) Chapter 3: Reasonableness and Exclusion (J. Donald Moon, Department of Government, Wesleyan University) Chapter 4: Reasonableness and the Limits of Political Liberalism (Patrick Neal, Department of Political Science, University of Vermont) Chapter 5: The Problem of Reasonableness (Shaun Young, Department of Political Science, York University) PART II: Chapter 6: Liberalism, Reason(ableness) and the Politicization of Truth: Marx's Critique and the Ironies of Marxism (Terrell Carver, Department of Politics, University of Bristol) Chapter 7: Unreasonable Environmentalism, or Why Greens are Not Liberals (Mathew Humphrey, School of Politics, University of Nottingham) Chapter 8: The Gender of Public Reason(ableness) (Ann E. Cudd, Department of Philosophy, Department of Women's Studies, University of Kansas) Chapter 9: What is Reasonableness? And Is It Reasonable to Demand That of Citizens in a Liberal Democracy? (Thomas Spragens, Jr., Department of Political Science, Duke University) Chapter 10: The Unreasonableness of the Idea of Public Reason (Steven Kautz, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University) Notes on Contributors Index