A Theory of Political Obligation Membership,

Margaret Gilbert offers an incisive new approach to a classic problem of political philosophy: when and why should I do what the law tells me to do? Do I have special obligations to conform to the laws of my own country and if so, why? In what sense, if any, must I fight in wars in which my country is engaged, if ordered to do so, or suffer the penalty for law breaking--including the death penalty? Gilbert's accessible book offers a provocative and compelling case in favor of citizens' obligations to the state, while examining how these can be squared with self-interest and other competing considerations.

Part I. A Central Problem of Political Obligation

1

(90)

1. The Membership Problem

3

(23)

1.1. The problem

3

(15)

1.2. Four distinct questions

18

(8)

2. Obligations: Preliminary Points

26

(17)

2.1. The variety of obligations

26

(1)

2.2. Initial assumptions about obligation

27

(8)

2.3. Directed obligations

35

(6)

2.4. Imputed obligations

41

(2)

3. In Pursuit of a Theory of Political Obligation

43

(12)

3.1. Desiderata for a theory of political obligation

43

(10)

3.2. Some less than promising notions of membership

53

(2)

4. Actual Contract Theory: Attractions

55

(15)

4.1. Actual contract theory

55

(2)

4.2. Analytic attractions

57

(7)

4.3. Moral attractions

64

(6)

5. Objections to Actual Contract Theory

70

(21)

5.1. The no-agreement objection

70

(5)

5.2. The no-obligation objection

75

(8)

5.3. Other objections

83

(3)

5.4. Actual contract theory assessed

86

(1)

5.5. Some proposed alternatives to actual contract theory

87

(4)

Part II. Societies, Membership, and Obligation

91

(92)

6. Social Groups: Starting Small

93

(32)

6.1. Societies as social groups

93

(8)

6.2. Acting together: observations

101

(20)

6.3. How joint action comes about

6.4. The need for a theory

121

(4)

7. Joint Commitment and Obligation

125

(40)

7.1. Commitment

125

(9)

7.2. Joint commitment

134

(12)

7.3. Acting together

146

(1)

7.4. Joint commitment and obligation

147

(18)

8. Societies as Plural Subjects

165

(18)

8.1. The range of plural subjects

165

(2)

8.2. Plural subjects and common ideas about social groups

167

(6)

8.3. Large populations as plural subjects

173

(10)

Part III. A Solution to the Membership Problem

183

(115)

9. Political Societies

185

(30)

9.1. Social rules: Hart's account

185

(10)

9.2. Three issues for an account of social rules

195

(2)

9.3. Social rules: a plural subject account

197

(7)

9.4. Three forms of political institution

204

(11)

10. Reconsidering Actual Contract Theory

215

(23)

10.1. What is an agreement? The joint decision proposal

215

(8)

10.2. Agreements and promises as a source of obligation

223

(4)

10.3. Moral argument around the promise

227

(7)

10.4. Implications for actual contract theory

234

(4)

11. The Plural Subject Theory of Political Obligation

238

(49)

11.1 The theory assessed

238

(22)

11.2. Comparison with three related theories

260

(6)

11.3. Response to objections

266

(9)

11.4. The practical import of political obligations

275

(12)

12. Summary and Prospect

287

(11)

12.1. Summary

287

(6)

12.2. Prospect

293

(5)

Bibliography

298

(9)

Index

307

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

FREE SHIPPING

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

A Theory of Political Obligation Membership, Commitment, and the Bonds of Society

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials