Papers by Jean-Christophe Merle
Ethic@, Dec 13, 2023
Whereas liberal philosophers, from Mill to Rawls, traditionally make a plea for a very extensive ... more Whereas liberal philosophers, from Mill to Rawls, traditionally make a plea for a very extensive freedom of opinion and of the press, invoking the no harm principle, in the last two decades, such liberal philosophers as Onora O'Neill and Jürgen Habermas, rightly worrying about the rise of antidemocratic and illiberal tendencies in the social media and on the increasing diffusion of fake news, advocate not only a self-limitation of the press, but also for substantial restrictions on the freedom of the press. Yet, their references to Kant and Mill entail a deep misunderstanding of their argument in favor of the freedom of opinion. This article attempts to demonstrate that, instead of sheltering public debates from wrong contents, one should promote the capacity of judgement of all individual participants against cognitive vices, which requires individuals to be exposed not only to true contents, but also to wrong and noxious contents.
Nicole Gerrand is right to criticize Munzer for not connecting a person's dignity to the ... more Nicole Gerrand is right to criticize Munzer for not connecting a person's dignity to the "capacity to exhibit humanity by acting rationally." However, connecting these does not mean that they are one and the same concept. Gerrand fails to make two distinctions that are decisive in the context of Kant's ethics. First, she does not distinguish between vital organs, integral organs and mere "accumulations", each of which requires a specific moral argument. Second, she does not distinguish between human rational nature in itself, or the capacity to have free will, and the possibility of action rationally, or freedom of choice. Having drawn these distinctions, I argue that Kant's own principles fully allow certain kinds of organ transplants such as blood, skin and marrow transplants from living bodies as well as the transplantation of both vital organs and essential organs from fresh corpses. In fact, Kant's own moral principles should make of these an enforceable duty of right. Unlike Gerrand, then, I think that the question of whether or not donors should be paid--and the patient should pay--is a key issue even in a Kantian context.
The globalization process is not reducible to its international dimension, i.e., to international... more The globalization process is not reducible to its international dimension, i.e., to international, or even, to transnational relationships. In many states, it also consists of domestic phenomena, such as an increasing cultural pluralism, that does not result solely from a domestic and gradual evolution, but, to a significant extent, either from migrations or from radical changes of mind made possible by cultural globalization. This kind of cultural pluralism is what one can call multiculturalism, in the descriptive sense of the characteristics of a multicultural society (as distinguished from the normative meaning, i.e., from the policies that aim at either maintaining or promoting multiculturalism in the descriptive meaning). This paper aims to discuss the articulation between deliberative democracy and cultural pluralism. RESUMO: O processo de globalização não pode ser reduzido a sua dimensão internacional, ou seja, a relações internacionais, ou ainda transnacionais. Em muitos países, ela também consiste em fenômenos domésticos, como um pluralismo cultural crescente que resulta, em uma extensão significativa, de migrações ou mudanças radicais de pensamento, tornadas possíveis pela globalização cultural. Este tipo de pluralismo cultural é o que se pode chamar de multiculturalismo, no sentido descritivo das características de uma sociedade multicultural (diferenciado de seu sentido normativo, ou seja, das políticas que visam manter ou promover o multiculturalismo no sentido descritivo). O presente texto visa abordar a articulação entre os conceitos de democracia deliberativa e pluralismo cultural.
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Nov 17, 2015
Kant's "principle of equality governing the actions and counter-actions" (8:26) belongs not only ... more Kant's "principle of equality governing the actions and counter-actions" (8:26) belongs not only to the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Sciences (1786), but also to his practical philosophy. Kant's Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose (1784) and On the Common Saying: That may be Correct in Theory, but it is of no Use in Practice (1793) may contribute to the understanding of the "principle of equality governing the actions and counter-actions" in the latter writing, and vice-versa. Referring to all three, this paper tries to show that, in the context of his concept of right, Kant understands the principle of the equality of action and reaction in two different senses, which he combines: a dynamic one and a legal one.
Das Reichsgesetz, betreffend die Grundrechte hat aus der Kritik an der französischen Menschenrech... more Das Reichsgesetz, betreffend die Grundrechte hat aus der Kritik an der französischen Menschenrechtserklärung gelernt, dass es Menschenrechte weder ohne System der Rechte und Pflichten des Bürgers noch ohne Verankerung in der einschlägigen Organisation der Staatsorgane geben kann, die gleichzeitig die Freiheit und die Einheit des Volkes sichern. Außerdem sieht die den Reichsgesetzen zugrunde liegende Auffassung keine Grundrechte ohne Verankerung im zu schützenden geistigen Leben des Volkes vor. Unter dem Einfluss der Rechts- und Staatsphilosophie J. G. Fichtes und Hegels wurden im Vormärz rechtsphilosophische Theorien entwickelt, die individuelle Menschenrechte nicht abstrakt, sondern nur in einem "System des Rechts" aufeinander bezogener Komponenten gelten lassen, das den Menschen grundsätzlich als gesellschaftliches Wesen betrachtet und dem eine organische und geistige Auffassung der Gesellschaft zugrunde liegt. [...] Das Jahrbuch erforscht diese Zusammenhänge; neben der ...
First Volume of the work "Spheres of Global Justice" (Springer, Dordrecht, 2013). Spher... more First Volume of the work "Spheres of Global Justice" (Springer, Dordrecht, 2013). Spheres of Global Justice is the collection of 63 lectures, which were given in the scope of the European Research and Training Network 'Applied Global Justice' (Framework Program of the European Commission, HPRN-CT-2002-0031). The Global Justice Network was a co-operation of 5 universities (Graz, Louvain, Saarbrücken, Tilburg, Zürich), two national research institutes (The French National Centre for Scientific Research - CNRS, the Spanish Centre for Scientific Research - CSIC), and the Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO). The first volume Global Challeges to Liberal Democracy: Political Participation, Minorities and Migrations deals with global democracy, minority rights and cultural rights, and right to migration.European Commission (5th Framework Program)Peer reviewe
O mal em um mundo sem Deus The evil in a world without god * * Tradução do original francês reali... more O mal em um mundo sem Deus The evil in a world without god * * Tradução do original francês realizado por Elsa Mônica Bonito Basso, a quem a revista Conjectura deseja manifestar seu agradecimento.
Fichtes System der Sittenlehre, 2015
Genauso wie die Grundlage des Naturrechts gliedert Fichte auch die Sittenlehre in eine Deduktion ... more Genauso wie die Grundlage des Naturrechts gliedert Fichte auch die Sittenlehre in eine Deduktion des Prinzips, eine Deduktion der Anwendbarkeit und eine systematische Anwendung; in beiden Werken besteht die systematische Anwendung aus formalen und aus materiellen Bedingungen. Die letzteren sind Gegenstand dieser zwei Kapitel. Nach Fichtes eigener Angabe stellt Kapitel 17 nichts neues dar ("Ich muß an einiges alte erinnern", I, 5, 189), sondern es formuliert auf der Basis der vorigen Kapitel die Frage und den "Plan [ihrer] Beantwortung" (ebd.), die Fichte im Kapitel 18 beschäftigen werden. Am Ende des Kapitels 17 lautet die entsprechende Aufgabe des Kapitels 18: "Der Begriff der Ichheit, und der der absoluten Selbstständigkeit sind synthetisch zu vereinigen, und wir erhalten den materiellen Innhalt des Sittengesetzes" (I, 5, 193). Allerdings mag dieses Zitat irreführend sein. Denn Fichte schrieb: Mein Trieb als Naturwesen, meine Tendenz als reiner Geist, sind es zwei verschiedene Triebe? Nein, beides ist vom transscendentalen Gesichtspunkte aus ein und eben derselbe Urtrieb, der mein Wesen constituirt: nur wird er angesehen von zwei verschiedenen Seiten. Nemlich, ich bin Subject-Object […]. Erblicke ich mich, als durch die Gesetze der sinnlichen Anschauung, und des discursives Denkens vollkommen bestimmtes Object, so wird das, was in der Tat mein einziger Trieb ist, mir zum Naturtriebe, weil ich in dieser Ansicht selbst Natur bin. Erblicke ich mich als Subject, so wird er mir zum reinen geistigen Triebe; oder zum Gesetze der Selbstständigkeit. Lediglich auf der Wechselwirkung dieser beiden Triebe, welche eigentlich nur die Wechselwirkung eines und eben desselben Triebes mit sich selbst ist, beruhen alle Phänomene des Ich. (I, 5, 125f.) Damit wird deutlich, daß der "Begriff der Ichheit", der mit der "absoluten Selbstständigkeit […] synthetisch zu vereinigen" ist, der Begriff der "Wechselwirkung dieser beiden Triebe" ist. Darum wird die Aufgabe des
Handbuch Philosophie und Armut, 2021
A luz da secularizacao da sociedade, que marcou a epoca moderna e a contemporânea e, sobretudo, c... more A luz da secularizacao da sociedade, que marcou a epoca moderna e a contemporânea e, sobretudo, com a larga difusao do ateismo, trata-se de discutir a questao do mal, mostrando, por um lado, que a crenca em Deus poderia atribuir uma importância cada vez maior a questao do mal, mas, por outro, poder-se-ia esperar, a luz da influencia do ateismo, que o mal assumisse uma significacao inedita, ou seja, o deslocamento da questao do mal, exclusivamente, a perspectiva moral. Neste artigo, fala-se nao de um mundo sem religiao nem sem divino nem sem divindades. Fala-se de um mundo sem Deus, no singular, limitando-se o autor a tratar de uma so das religioes monoteistas e a filosofia que ela inspirou, a saber, o Cristianismo, ainda que sem fazer distincoes entre suas diferentes confissoes. Partindo, pois, do pressuposto de que o mal e a unica coisa que Deus nao criou, o autor mostra que os filosofos, inspirados no Cristianismo, consideraram que nao seria possivel ser virtuoso e dizer-se ateu ...
Kultur und Entwicklung, 2007
Daß wir auf die Idee kommen können, Brasilien mit Robert Musils Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften zu ve... more Daß wir auf die Idee kommen können, Brasilien mit Robert Musils Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften zu vergleichen, mag erstaunen. Es geht doch um einen anderen Kontinent, um eine andere Zeit ... und vielleicht auch um ernsthaftere Probleme als diejenigen der "Parallelaktion", die für eine würdige Feier des Jubiläums des österreichischen Kaisers Sorge tragen wollte. Dennoch haben Ulrich, die Hauptfigur von Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften, und Brasilien zumindest ihre Hauptcharakterisierung gemeinsam. Ulrich zieht der reellen Wirklichkeit die mögliche Wirklichkeit vor. Er spielt alle interessante möglichen Optionen in Gedanken durch, legt sich aber nicht auf eine bestimmte Option fest, sondern läßt schließlich alles beim alten. Nach Stefan Zweigs berühmtem Ausdruck ist Brasilien "ein Land der Zukunft". Von den fünfziger bis in die siebziger Jahren wurde diese Charakterisierung als * Dieser Text wurde im Rahmen der Ringvorlesung Studium Generale "Kultur und Entwicklung in Afrika, Asien, dem Vorderen Orient und Lateinamerika" (Leiter: Prof. Andreas Boeckh und Rafael Sevilla) an Universität Tübingen am 19. Dezember vorgetragen. Wir danken Rafael Sevilla für seine hilfreichen Bemerkungen. ** Professor für Rechtstheorie und Rechtsphilosophie an der juristischen Fakultät der Bundesuniversität von Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte-UFMG. *** Professor für Philosophie an den Universitäten von Saarbrücken und Tours.
Spheres of Global Justice, 2013
My main claim is then that, by shaping and enforcing the social conditions that foreseeably and a... more My main claim is then that, by shaping and enforcing the social conditions that foreseeably and avoidably cause the monumental suffering of global poverty, we are harming the global poor-or, to put it more descriptively,we are active participants in the largest, though not the gravest, crime against humanity ever committed. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were vastly more evil than our political leaders, but in terms of killing and harming people they never came anywhere near causing 18 million deaths per year.
Immanuel Kant: Zum ewigen Frieden, 2004
Spheres of Global Justice, 2013
The so-called "cultural defense" before the courts, which seeks full or partial exculpation based... more The so-called "cultural defense" before the courts, which seeks full or partial exculpation based on the cultural identity of either the defendant or the plaintiff, and the newly established category of "hate crimes", which enhances the criminal sentences in cases in which the criminal acts from motives of prejudice, are two examples-tending in opposite directions-for culturally based exceptions to the principle of equal enforcement of the law, the intent of which is to treat everybody as an equal. The justification for these departures from equal enforcement is that the law is allegedly biased in favor of the cultural majority within the population. However, if one accepts this claim, one should (i) complement these measures by creating a consistent set of rights and duties for the cultural communities, (ii) limit these rights and duties to a merely legal, not comprehensive culture, (iii) subject it to legislative review and (iv) define clear legal relationships between the cultural communities. The "personal status" of traditional as well as of new cultural communities (both with membership on a voluntary basis and under the respect of Mill's "no harm principle") may provide us with elements of a real equal treatment of individuals belonging to different cultures .
Spheres of Global Justice, 2013
Uploads
Papers by Jean-Christophe Merle