Nomocratic Pluralism

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Kenneth B. McIntyre

   Pages 1-8

3. The Critique of Moral Monism

   • Kenneth B. McIntyre

   Pages 9-35

4. Morality and the Incompatibility and Incommensurability of Values

   • Kenneth B. McIntyre

   Pages 37-63

5. Practical Reason, the Importance of Personal Commitments, Plans, and Projects, and the Minimum Content of Morality

   • Kenneth B. McIntyre

   Pages 65-97

6. Varieties of Pluralist Political Theories: Modus Vivendi Pluralism and Egalitarian Pluralism

   • Kenneth B. McIntyre

   Pages 99-130

7. Liberal Pluralism, Negative Liberty, and Toleration

   • Kenneth B. McIntyre

   Pages 131-165

8. Negative Liberty, the Rule of Law, and Nomocratic Pluralism

   • Kenneth B. McIntyre

   Pages 167-192

9. Conclusion

   • Kenneth B. McIntyre

   Pages 193-197

10. Back Matter

    Pages 199-214

    PDF

This book is a contribution to the ongoing conversation about value pluralism and its relation to political life. Its uniqueness lies in its insistence that the acceptance of value pluralism involves placing certain limitations on what is an acceptable form of government and what functions governments ought to be legitimately performing. In a new approach coined “nomocratic pluralism,” this volume argues that liberty under the rule of law, which is not merely liberty where the law is silent, is a key concept of liberty and cannot be subsumed by the other primary implications of the acceptance of value pluralism: that political communities must reject positive liberty as a political value, and place a high, but not absolute, priority on negative liberty as a political value. The concept of liberty under the rule of law is particularly suited to accommodate a great variety of individual and group conceptions of value and the moral good, and thus, along with negative liberty, should be a primary value for those who accept value pluralism.

• Pluralism
• Value Pluralism
• Nomocratic liberalism
• Epistemological pluralism
• Isaiah Berlin
• Liberty
• Liberal Pluralism
• Positive Liberty
• Negative liberty
• Rule of law
• Moral Pluralism
• Moral Philosophy
• Utilitarianism
• Autonomy
• Michael Oakeshott
• Friedrich Hayek
• David Wiggins
• John Rawls
• Practical reason
• Theoretical reason

“Kenneth McIntyre’s Nomocratic Pluralism: Plural Values, Negative Liberty, and the Rule of Law is an excellent critique of many of the misconceptions spread by analytic philosophy about the nature of morality. It demonstrates, in exquisite detail, why so many analytic philosophers’ work in this area cannot and does not reflect the realities of how people reach moral decisions while living peacefully with each other, nor do they provide any positive guidance for improving society or government. This book provides a coherent and realistic philosophical explanation of why nomocratic pluralism and negative liberty provide the only stable way of enabling peace and tolerance among different moral views in a plural society.”

—Nicholas Capaldi, Legendre-Soulé Chair in Business Ethics and Professor of Management, Loyola University New Orleans, USA

 

“Kenneth B. McIntyre’s Nomocratic Pluralism couldn’t come at a more important time. As society fractures, journalism disintegrates into rank sensationalism and faux outrage, and public discourse degenerates into angry threats and shouting matches, the importance of nomocratic order and value pluralism is all the more apparent. We need to accommodate differences and diversity to avoid violence and coercion. McIntyre’s astute reasoning is an important step in that direction.”

—Allen Mendenhall, Allen Mendenhall, Associate Dean, Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, Faulkner University, USA

 

“A very useful and original contribution to the study of morality from a philosophical/political theory perspective. McIntyre’s work far outstrips recent scholarship and presents a coherent view of the field and cogent criticisms based on the realities of human interaction and in context with functional and functioning governmental habits. I very much enjoyed reading this book.”

—Nadia E. Nedzel, Reilly Family Professor of Law, Southern University Law Center, USA

 

“McIntyre's incisive study of our current political climate rejects the moral monism that remains the dominant approach to cultural conflict and contributes to the poisonous discourse that characterizes the twenty-first century. Our politics offers the impression of pluralism, to the extent that diverse viewpoints exist, but these views tend to reject the legitimacy of their political rivals. In a move reminiscent of Aristotle's ethics, McIntyre attempts to carve out a path to real political pluralism and human flourishing through the development of practical reasoning and connoisseurship, which involves not only expertise but also sincere concern for solving cultural problems rather than promoting a single way of life.”

—Jack Simmons, Professor of Philosophy, Georgia Southern University, USA

 

• Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, USA

  Kenneth B. McIntyre

Kenneth B. McIntyre is Professor of Political Science at Sam Houston State University, USA. His other books include The Limits of Political Theory (2004), Herbert Butterfield (2011), and Critics of Enlightenment Rationalism (2020).

Policies and ethics