Political Philosophy as Practical Philosophy: A response to "Political Realism"

Abstract

First paragraph: From where should political philosophy take its normative orientation? According to self‐described “political realists,” political philosophy is not oriented by ordinary moral reasoning about values and obligations, but must take its normative orientation from an interpretive understanding of the practice of politics itself. This doesn't mean that moral considerations have no place in political philosophy—only that if they do, they must be shown to be supported by or compatible with sources of normativity derived from the practice of politics. The realist answer is typically contrasted with the view that political philosophy's normative orientation has (in the words of two recent opponents of realism) “its ineliminable roots in morality.” In recent years, an increasingly complex debate has unfolded around these two positions, with much of the current focus on whether political realism ultimately collapses back into the position it seeks to reject.