Izvorni znanstveni članak
The Word "Liberty" on the Chains of Galley-Slaves: Bosanquet's Theory of the General Will
Igor Primorac
; Sveučilište u Jeruzalemu, Jeruzalem, Izrael
Sažetak
This is a critical examination of the most elaborate statement of the general
will theory. Bosanquet contrasts our „Jower", merely "actual" will, described as
a series of momentary and passing, ignorant, routine, commonplace, irational,
barren, mutually conflicting violations, with our „high“, "true", "real", will, which
is a comprehensive and coherent system of stable and long-term, well informed
violations that require effort of self sacrifice and are expressed in "the great
moments of life". His central thesis is that the individual's „real" will is the "general
will" of the community that has been internalized and makes up the individual's
"higher'', "better" self. The theory is meant to solve the problem of political
obligation by showing that, when obeying the law, the individual obeys only himself/
herself, and his/her freedom is not curtailed but rather affirmed. The author argues
that Bosanquet's argument fails at both crucial steps: it does not succeed in
contrasting our "actual" and our "real" will, nor in identifying the latter with the
"general will" of our community. The individual will is not embedded in his/ her
community the way the theory makes it out to be, and if we have a moral obligation
to obey the law, it is not grounded in the "general will" of community as our
own "higher'', "true" will
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
111986
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.3.1993.
Posjeta: 1.435 *