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20155
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Society is alienating if it lacks our values, and its values repel us [Kekes]
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Full Idea:
We feel estranged from our society if the values we prize are not available, and if we do not want to live by the available values.
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From:
John Kekes (The Human Condition [2010], 04.4)
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A reaction:
There are two pictures here, for a monolithic culture, and for pluralism. For example, the values of Islam are fairly available in the Christian/atheist UK - but not sharia law. Pluralism can embrace a huge array of moderate values, but not extremes?
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20164
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The ideal of an ideology is embodied in a text, a role model, a law of history, a dream of the past... [Kekes]
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Full Idea:
The ideal in an ideology may be set down in a sacred text, exemplified in an exceptional life, dictated by laws of history, sociology, or psychology, located in a past uncorrupted idyllic past, or in a future Utopia of perfected human nature, and so on.
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From:
John Kekes (The Human Condition [2010], 06.4)
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A reaction:
A bit grumpy, but a fair observation about an awful lot of slightly mad social endeavours.
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20163
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Ideologies have beliefs about reality, ideals, a gap with actuality, and a program [Kekes]
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Full Idea:
Ideologies have a set of beliefs about the world, an ideal of life, an explanation of the gap between the ideal and actuality, and a program for closing the gap.
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From:
John Kekes (The Human Condition [2010], 06.4)
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A reaction:
[compressed] Kekes emerges as a bit right of centre in his politics. He clearly despises such ideologies, yet his book is an optimistic program for correcting things. Maybe the enemy is dogmatic ideologies. Kekes gives an undogmatic account of values.
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22876
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Democracy is the development of human nature when it shares in the running of communal activities [Dewey]
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Full Idea:
Democracy is but a name for the fact that human nature is developed only when its elements take part in directing things which are common, things for the sake of which men and women form groups.
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From:
John Dewey (The Middle Works (15 vols, ed Boydston) [1910], 12:199), quoted by David Hildebrand - Dewey 4 'Democracy'
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A reaction:
It is hard to prove that human nature develops when it particpates in groups. If people are excluded from power, their loyalty tends to switch to sub-groups, such as friends in a pub, or a football team. Powerless nationalists baffle me.
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