The Ethics of Democracy: A Contemporary Reading of Hegel's Philosophy of Right

Lucio Cortella

wrz 2015 · State University of New York Press

Informacje o e-booku

The legal regulations and formal rules of democracy alone are not enough to hold a society together and govern its processes. Yet the irreducible ethical pluralism that characterizes contemporary society seems to make it impossible to impose a single system of values as a source of social cohesion and identity reference. In this book, Lucio Cortella argues that Hegel's theory of ethical life can provide such a grounding and makes the case through an analysis of Hegel's central political work, the Philosophy of Right. Although Hegel did not support democratic political ends and wrote in a historical and cultural context far removed from the current liberal-democratic scene, Cortella maintains that the Hegelian theory of ethical life, with its emphasis on securing a framework conducive to human freedom, nevertheless offers a convincing response to the problem of the ethical uprootedness of contemporary democracy.

O autorze

Lucio Cortella is Full Professor of History of Philosophy at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice in Italy. Giacomo Donis is a professional translator.