On Philosophical Anarchism

Radical Philosophy Review 19 (3):551-567 (2016)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

In this essay I argue that what has been called “philosophical anarchism” in the academic literature bears little to no relationship with the historical anarchist tradition and, for this reason, ought not to be considered a genuine form of anarchism. As I will demonstrate, the classical anarchism of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is to be distinguished from other political theories in regarding all hierarchical institutions and relationships—including, but not limited to, the state—as incorrigibly dominative or oppressive and, for this reason, immoral. Lastly, I argue that defenders of such institutions and relationships must take the challenge posed by classical anarchism seriously by engaging substantively with actual anarchist positions.

Other Versions

No versions found

Similar books and articles

Against Philosophical Anarchism.Fabian Wendt - 2020 - Law and Philosophy 39 (5):527-544.
On the edge of anarchism: a realist critique of philosophical anarchism.Zoltán Gábor Szűcs - 2024 - Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 27 (7):1180-1203.
Philosophical Anarchism.Victor S. Yarros - 1940 - Journal of Social Philosophy and Jurisprudence 6:254.
Philosophical Anarchism and Democracy.Victor S. Yarros - 1938 - Journal of Social Philosophy and Jurisprudence 4:174.
Philosophical anarchism and the paradox of politics.Jeremy Arnold - 2016 - European Journal of Political Theory 15 (3):293-311.
Philosophical Anarchism and Legal Indifference.Mark C. Murphy - 1995 - American Philosophical Quarterly 32 (2):195 - 198.
Metaethical assumptions of philosophical anarchism.Andrea Luisa Bucchile Faggion - 2020 - Ethic@: An International Journal for Moral Philosophy 19 (1):33–48.
Wolff's defence of philosophical anarchism.Rex Martin - 1974 - Philosophical Quarterly 24 (95):140-149.

Analytics

Added to PP
2015-02-25

Downloads
839 (#29,643)

6 months
249 (#11,194)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Nathan Jun
John Carroll University

Citations of this work

Smashing the state gently: Radical realism and realist anarchism.Gearóid Brinn - 2020 - European Journal of Political Theory 19 (2):206-227.
Introduction to "Anarchism: A Conceptual Approach".Nathan Jun, Benjamin Franks & Leonard Williams - 2018 - In Benjamin Franks, Nathan Jun & Leonard Williams, Anarchism: A Conceptual Approach. London: Routledge. pp. 1-12.
Anarchist Conceptions of the State.Nathan Jun - 2018 - In Carl Levy & Matthew S. Adams, The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism. Cham: Springer Verlag. pp. 27-45.

View all 6 citations / Add more citations

References found in this work

Anarchism.Richard Sylvan - 1996 - In Robert E. Goodin, Philip Pettit & Thomas Winfried Menko Pogge, A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 255–284.
Ideology, Political Theory and Political Philosophy.Michael Freeden - 2004 - In Gerald F. Gaus & Chandran Kukathas, Handbook of political theory. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE. pp. 1.
Romantic Anarchism and Pedestrian Liberalism.Don Herzog - 2007 - Political Theory 35 (3):313-333.
Anarchism: some theoretical foundations.Alan Carter - 2011 - Journal of Political Ideologies 16 (3):245-264.

Add more references