Raymond Geuss’ radicalization of realism in political theory

Janosch Prinz

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    43 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Raymond Geuss has been viewed as one of the figureheads of the recent debates about realism in political theory. This interpretation, however, depends on a truncated understanding of his work of the past 30 years. I will offer the first sustained engagement with this work (in English and German) which allows understanding his realism as a project for reorienting political theory, particularly the relationship between political theory and politics. I interpret this reorientation as a radicalization of realismin political theory through the combination of the emphasis on the critical purpose of political theory and the provision of practical, contextual orientation. Their compatibility depends on Geuss’ understanding of criticism as negative, of power as ‘detoxified’ and of the critical purchase of political theory as based on the diagnostic engagement with its context. This radicalization particularly challenges the understanding of how political theory relates to its political context.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)777-796
    Number of pages20
    JournalPhilosophy and Social Criticism
    Volume42
    Issue number8
    Early online date08 May 2015
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2016

    Keywords

    • Raymond Geuss, realism in political theory, critique, theory and practice, diagnostic political theory

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