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For Johnson, feminism must recognize itself as a humanism in order to avoid certain theoretical quagmires. [The argument] is extremely provocative, and even, I would say, necessary. This book is sure to be controversial and of interest to a wide audience in feminist theory. I know of no other treatment of feminism and humanism that is so clear, cogent, and systematic. Judith Grant University of Southern California Feminism is currently at an impasse. Both the liberation feminism of the 1970’s and the more recent feminism of difference are increasingly faced with the limitations of their own perspectives. While feminists today generally acknowledge the need to recognise diversity, they lack a coherent framework through which this need can be articulated. In Feminism as Radical Humanism, Pauline Johnson calls for a reassessment of feminism’s relationship to modern humanism. She argues that despite its very thorough and necessary critique of mainstream formulations of humanist ideals, feminism itself remains strongly committed to humanist values. Drawing on a broad range of political and intellectual traditions, Johnson demonstrates that, only by proudly affirming its own humanist commitments can feminist theory find a way to negotiate the impasse in which it currently finds itself. Feminism as Radical Humanism is an important and controversial contribution to feminist theory, and to the ongoing debate about the meaning of contemporary humanism.
This text challenges the direction taken by much recent work in the field of feminist studies. It mounts a defence of humanism - a tradition of which many contemporary feminists have been sharply critical, as they saw reason as constructed by men and oppressing women.
Philosophy has strayed away from its main task of clarifying proprieties of pursuits in human- life and has got caught up in methodology, logic and Linguistics. Too much hair-splitting is done about truth, knowledge, reality and language. Our main concerns should be Duty, Beauty, Piety and Complementarity. Substantial factors of fortuity and self-earned conditions are simply not considered in political philosophy. Equality is too problematic to take it as an ethical principle. Justice is being over-emphasized than Non-violence and Prosperity (almost in vain). The disaster of scientific socialism had its roots in Marxian theory itself. Antagonistic radicalisms including radical feminism are deepening the problems than solving them. Scientism (Materialist reductionism) is under-cutting the very sense of Responsibility! Existentialist and Post-Modernist traditions are leading to nowhere and only generating despair and sense of meaninglessness. Deep-Ecology is becoming Anthropo-phobic and blocking Human progress. Religious dogmatisms and fundamentalisms cannot be fought with by merely refuting truth-claims of their beliefs. A ‘non-supernatural’ spirituology will have to earn ‘therapeutic’ success over the clutches of religions. Any pair of required factors ‘competing as well as complementary’ is a dialectical pair. Their balance has to be finely tuned and wisdom lies precisely there. One-sided thinking often destroys the balance and intensifies Evils. There is an eminent possibility of convergence towards universal humanist ethic and scope for common minimum program in spite of multitude of ethics. In short, there is a possibility of a constructive, ameliorative and reconciliatory path for humanity at this juncture of human history.
The late Susan Moller Okin was a leading political theorist whose scholarship integrated political philosophy and issues of gender, the family, and culture. Okin argued that liberalism, properly understood as a theory opposed to social hierarchies and supportive of individual freedom and equality, provided the tools for criticizing the substantial and systematic inequalities between men and women. Her thought was deeply informed by a feminist view that theories of justice must apply equally to women as men, and she was deeply engaged in showing how many past and present political theories failed to do this. She sought to rehabilitate political theories--particularly that of liberal egalitarianism, in such a way as to accommodate the equality of the sexes, and with an eye toward improving the condition of women and families in a world of massive gender inequalities. In her lifetime Okin was widely respected as a scholar whose engagement went well beyond the world of theory, and her premature death in 2004 was considered by many a major blow to progressive political thought and women's interests around the world.This volume stems from a conference on Okin, and contains articles by some of the top feminist and political philosophers working today. They are organized around a set of themes central to Okin's work, namely liberal theory, gender and the family, feminist and cultural differences, and global justice. Included are major figures such as Joshua Cohen, David Miller, Cass Sunstein, Alison Jaggar, and Iris Marion Young, among others. Their aim is not to celebrate Okin's work, but to constructively engage with it and further its goals.
What really happened in Me Too? The Gender Church, The Trauma Culture, The Feminized Macho, are only a few of the terms revealed in Lovism. The millions of women who wanted to be treated as equals but could not relate to the aggressiveness and self-victimization of present-day feminism, could find in Lovism the word they were looking for to express their feelings and views without compromising their aspirations; gents who felt left out of a world created by radical feminism could finally join the women they love by saying with them "I am a Lovist". If you want to find love and to give love while all you see around you is anger, blaming, hate and fear, and wish that men and women could just talk to each other, and be with each other, because you long for one another, then you are not alone, and have many friends among the readers of this book. Lovism is a mutual conversation of, and for, both sexes, to replace the current hostility and competitive antagonism that extremists of both sexes have created between men and women. Feminism has implemented early on a separatist agenda and acted without including men, while drifting further and further away from the wishes and dreams of ordinary women, by adopting unfounded and rigid perspectives. In the process, ordinary men have become excluded from all discussions about the relations between the sexes, and male groups - while bringing to light some male issues - imitated the feminist separatism, fostering a similar reclusive attitude. All along, what most women and men were looking for was not a conflict, but a shared, mutual discussion, for both men and women, in which they could help each other to be happy together, and not through intimidation and fear but through understanding, sympathy and empathy. This is what Lovism is for. It is a movement of love. The book is critical of contemporary feminism and of its assumptions, which amount to imposing norms and demands that neither women nor men consider relevant to their relations, and which ultimately transforms feminism into a dictating party. Much of the book is devoted to replacing misconceptions with well-founded insights and beliefs about the sexes, without which no perspective could attend to people's actual emotions and dreams. Henry Blair is a novelist and a poet. Based on his experiences in the ideological left as a human rights worker and activist, he reveals how feminism has adopted views that contradict humanism and equality, similarly to the right-wing extremism. He portrays a new conversation, which is mutual and shared by both men and women, and is based on love and not on fear. He and his wife are the parents of a four-year-old boy; he has a master's degree in Neuroscience, a bachelor's degree in Psychology, and has a background in Philosophy, all become relevant in this book. While his books won several awards, Lovism appears under the alias Henry Blair.
This text challenges the direction taken by much recent work in the field of feminist studies. It mounts a defence of humanism - a tradition of which many contemporary feminists have been sharply critical. Many feminists have viewed reason and rationality with deep suspicion. They have argued that reason was constructed by male philosophers in a way that excluded feminine traits: the man of reason was a masculine fiction. But this rejection of humanism assumes that there is only one tradition of humanism and only one conception of the rational individual.
Since 1972, the journal Radical Philosophy has provided a forum for the discussion of radical and critical ideas in philosophy. It is the liveliest and probably the most widely read philosophical journal in Britain. This anthology reprints some of the best articles to have appeared in the journal during the past five years. It covers topics in social and moral philosophy which are central to current controversies on the left, focusing on theoretical issues raised by the socialist, feminist and environmental movements. Topics covered include feminist perspectives on a range of traditional philosophical issues and contemporary problems; theoretical questions involved in the rethinking of socialism and Marxism; and questions about the relation between humanity and nature raised by environmental debates. The pieces included engage with contemporary issues in critical terms, and represent the best of recent philosophical work on the left. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the current state of radical thought.
In assessing the current state of feminism and gender studies, whether on a theoretical or a practical level, it has become increasingly challenging to avoid the conclusion that these fields are in a state of disarray. Indeed, feminist and gender studies discussions are beset with persistent splits and disagreements. This reader suggests that returning to, and placing centre-stage, the role of philosophy, especially critical realist philosophy of science, is invaluable for efforts that seek to overcome or mitigate the uncertainty and acrimony that have resulted from this situation. In particular, it claims that the dialectical logic that runs through critical realist philosophy is ideally suited to advancing feminist and gender studies discussions about broad ontological and epistemological questions and considerations, intersectionality, and methodology, methods, and empirical research. By bringing together four new and eight existing writings this reader provides both a focal point for renewed discussions about the potential and actual contributions of critical realist philosophy to feminism and gender studies and a timely contribution to these discussions.
Raya Dunayevskaya is one of the twentieth century’s great but underappreciated Marxist and feminist thinkers. Her unique philosophy and practice of Marxist-Humanism—as well as her grasp of Hegelian dialectics and the deep humanism that informs Marx’s thought—has much to teach us today. From her account of state capitalism (part of her socio-economic critique of Stalinism, fascism, and the welfare state), to her writings on Rosa Luxemburg, Black and women’s liberation, and labor, we are offered indispensable resources for navigating the perils of sexism, racism, capitalism, and authoritarianism. This collection of essays, from a diverse group of writers, brings to life Dunayevskaya’s important contributions. Revisiting her rich legacy, the contributors to this volume engage with her resolute Marxist-Humanist focus and her penetrating dialectics of liberation that is connected to Black, labor, and women’s liberation and to struggles over alienation and exploitation the world over. Dunayevskaya’s Marxist-Humanism is recovered for the twenty-first century and turned, as it was with Dunayevskaya herself, to face the multiple alienations and de-humanizations of social life.
With Emancipation And Education, And The Awakening Among Women That Spread To All Parts Of The World, It Was But Natural For Feminism To Grow Into A Struggle For Women S Human Rights. This Book Outlines The Beginnings Of The Ferment Of Women S Liberation And Feminism. It Approaches The Subject From All Angles And Puts It In The Right Perspective. Written In A Lucid And Concise Style, It Explains What Feminism Is All About, What Are Its Linkages To Human Rights And Humanism, How It Evolved, How It Grew From Strength To Strength Despite Pressures And Obstacles Set By Vested Interests And How It Developed Into A World-Wide Movement That Finally Came To Be Described As The Women S Liberation Movement, Or Women S Lib. The Chapters Include Issues In Feminism And Humanism, Cultural Basis Of Feminism, Economic Basis Of Feminism, Problems Of Feminism And Marxism, Radical Feminism, Feminism S Changing Role In Liberalism, The Age Of Enlightenment And Feminism, Feminism And Existentialism And The New Feminist Moral Vision. This Comprehensive Coverage Will Make This Book Useful For Indian Scholars, Educationists, Researchers In Women S Studies And Sociologists To Hone Their Own Perceptions Of Feminism.