CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2017
| Author | Castelar Lizardo, Roberto Andree |
|---|---|
| Title | The Private Sphere and the Boundaries of Politics |
| Summary | This thesis sets out to assess, from the perspective of normative political theory, the question of whether the various activities commonly included in the realm of the private ought to be construed as inherently autonomous from political activities. Its general aim is to propose general principles that might help adjudicating cases in which political agents either contest or demand expansion of the boundaries of both the private and the political, in function of particular interests or the protection of particular rights. The thesis argues, firstly, that the recognition of the autonomy of the private from politics is required both for the protection of primary goods —such as personal self-realisation— and for the well-functioning of politics; secondly, that this autonomy ought not to entail isolation from politics, but should be recognised in a context of dynamic interaction between the private and politics; and thirdly, that specific activities of the private ought to become political, and hence to cease to be autonomous, under specific circumstances. The first part of the thesis is concerned with the formulation of an appropriate conceptual framework for the treatment of the question, involving primarily the assessment of issues related to the definition of both the private and the political, as ordinary language notions and as analytical categories. The second part seeks to draw insights to bear on the question from relevant sources in twentieth century political thought, as well as to engage with relevant approaches in contemporary political philosophy. The third part lays out the main arguments proposed by this thesis and offers substantive replies to anticipated objections. This thesis makes use of common methodological presuppositions from contemporary analytical political philosophy. |
| Supervisor | Kis, János |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2017/castelar_roberto.pdf |
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