Philosophical Knowledge in Social & Political Concerns

It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that people often believe that Philosophy is a rather abstract discipline. This impression is supported by nature of many philosophical discussions,  especially when they address such issues as mind-body dualism or the meaning of life. Nevertheless,  there are various areas where Philosophy can be applied to issues that concern everyone. A good example is Political Philosophy: though at first, it might seem that it is concerned with some general concepts,  like justice or equality, it is obvious that ultimately those considerations influence the actual structure of the government and,  therefore,  daily lives of the people.  This paper will apply philosophical knowledge in regard to certain social and political concerns.

Shaping social and political organizations

To begin with,  it may be useful to see how Political Philosophy can help in shaping social and political organizations. First of all,  it becomes obvious that they should be designed in a way that would make them achieve a particular goal. After all,  it is exactly what those organizations are needed for: to make a certain change in the social environment or make sure that the desired state of the affair does not change.  All this leads to the understanding that every social and political organization should be established with a particular goal in mind.  This may also serve as the only valid way to determine their effectiveness.  That is unacceptable that some political organizations,  especially those which are essential for the functioning of the social environment,  find themselves in a gridlock.

The next important point that Political Philosophy puts emphasis on is the role of Ethics.  The latter is a significant part of its body of knowledge which means that it would be natural for it to apply ethical theories to the work of social and political organizations.  To a certain extent,  the ethical review will serve as a guard against the possible misconduct as well as abuse of power on behalf of the organizations in question. Another point that should be mentioned with this regard is that the peculiarities of ethical review should be aligned with the goals of the organization and ensure that the latter achieves them in the most acceptable way. Therefore,  ethical review of operations will all contribute to the performance.

Finally,  there is another important element that should be mentioned with this regard: Political Philosophy also insists on the need to align the operations of the organizations with the environment.  This means that those organizations have to be modern in order to perform their functions correctly. The essential point to stress here is that “being modern” does not necessarily imply relying on modern technology,  although this is also an important part of it.  The idea in question focuses on the modern perception of reality and refraining from using outdated concepts.  With this in mind,  it becomes obvious that institutional racism should be eradicated because racism is a worldview which is wrong and outdated. 

Principles of organizing the social structure

Political Philosophy is able to provide a wide range of concepts that may be particularly helpful when organizing the social structure.  One of the is the rule of law. One might speculate that to a certain extent this is the concept that is fundamental to the understanding of how a social structure should be organized because it represents the basic assumption that interactions between people are to be guided by a set of rules that were universally agreed on and are applied to everyone.  This notion is what differentiates the social environment from anarchy.  Some may not that the two share several common aspects such as aggregation of people and interactions between them.  However,  when there are no rules that every person is expected to follow,  then one van hardly speak of the emergence of the social structure.

The next important aspect to be mentioned with this regard focuses on the respect for the rights of the people. It has already been established that the existence of rules that are universally applied to every person is an irreplaceable prerequisite for the development of the social structure.  However,  if they are not respected by the government as well as other people, then there will be little use in having them.  So,  this logically leads to the importance of enforcing the existing rules in order to make to society function properly.  Nevertheless,  one should keep in mind that the individual rights of the citizens must never be limited by the state or other people since they represent one of the fundamental elements of the social structure.

Finally, it is also worth mentioning that the issue of accountability to the people is also quite important when it comes to organizing the society. Political Philosophy states that no political body was created without the direct or indirect involvement of the people in the democratic framework. Therefore, in theory, every governmental official is responsible to all the citizens of the country. The traces of this idea can be seen in the original meaning of word “minister” which is Latin for “a servant”. Therefore, the public officials should not be deceived by their position: they are to serve people,  not decide their lives.

Who should have the power in the society?

The question regarding who should have the power in the social environment is a rather difficult since it involves a considerable number of numerous concepts that should be mentioned specifically.  As a result,  many philosophers developed different views with regard to this topic.  Nevertheless,  the view that is most spread in the contemporary world argues that the only entity that should be given the power is the nation.  While this may somewhat confusing if applied without any reservations,  this principle stands for democracy.  Indeed, the later envisions that all laws that are issued by the state have been created on behalf of the people.  This point of view is seen as dominant in the world and the majority of countries have braced the democratic principles.  Therefore,  it would be safe to say that the people should be the entity that is the only source of power. 

It may come as a surprise for many people,  but there have been numerous philosophers who supported a completely different point of view.  A good example is Plato.  Despite living in the social environment that is often seen as the cradle of democracy, he insisted that the state should seize total control of the lives of the people since it was the only way to ensure the stability of the social environment and,  therefore,  the well-being of the people.  According to this worldview, the monarch of selected officials should be given the power. Since their power will be total,  this is often referred to as totalitarianism.

Given the existence of these two points of view that oppose each other,  one should note that democracy is still perceived as the most desirable kind of social structure.  Therefore,  the people should be given the power over the society and their elected representatives should perform all the functions.  This has been described as “the government of the people,  for the people,  and by the people”. This formula reflects three major elements of power distribution. First of all,  it shows that it is the people who are responsible for the formation of the government.  Secondly, it shows that the ultimate goal of the government is to serve the people Finally,  it also shows that all the functions are performed by the people.

Social values and how to maximize them

It may be useful to note that Political Philosophy has developed a deep analysis of various important values that should become the foundation of the social order.  Given the complexity of the topic,  this section will focus on there of them.  The first is equality.  The concept of equality seems to be self-explanatory for many people;  however,  there are several philosophical dimensions of this issue.  To begin with,  it may be useful to identify what is being claimed equal.  Since it is virtually impossible to develop and objective way to compare individuals,  it is worth mentioning that the value of equality does not engage the equality of people as individuals based on a particular or a set of aspects.  All this leads to the understanding that the public is mostly concerned with the rights that a person is entitled to.

The next important value to be considered is freedom.  Once again,  many might think that freedom is equal to absence of servitude or restraints. However,  this may be a rather narrow approach towards it. Obviously,  freedom may be understood as the ability to choose one’s actions under any circumstances,  but this leaves out an important aspect of it – moral freedom.  Political Philosophy claims that the government should be expected to protect the freedom of the citizens,  but refrain from limiting one’s moral freedom.  One night recall the First Amendment which introduces freedom of religion clause.  Obviously,  this is just an aspect of moral freedom.  So,  it may be useful to keep in mind that the concept of freedom has multiple dimensions.

The third value that will be analyzed is justice. It may be even more complex if compared to the two mentioned above.  The philosopher has tried to develop a proper understanding of justice throughout centuries.  For example, according to Plato, justice should be determined based on merits of the people.  In other words,  it is just that some talented individuals get more than others.  Thomas Aquinas argued that justice can be observed in nature since it was created by God.  As a result,  natural law should become the law of the people.  Mills insisted that justice focuses on performing actions that will bring the biggest amount of public good.  Rawls developed a more detailed understanding of this value,  putting emphasis on the needs of the disadvantages. 

After the values mentioned above were identified and explained,  it may be useful to consider the measures that may be useful to achieve them.  Speaking of equality one should note that the government should focus on the rights of the people and make sure that they are respected and protected.  This way it will not utilize one size fits all when evaluating the citizens,  but will protect their rights equally.  Furthermore,  one should not forget about the fact that the government is the only actor in the social environment that is able to ensure equality of the citizens since if the people will assume this role of the government,  then it will lead to anarchy.

The next value to be considered is freedom.  The most obvious way to achieve it is to make sure that the involvement of the government in the lives of the people is limited to a certain extent.  There have been instances when the government has been invading the privacy of the citizens,  thus limiting the number of their freedoms.  It goes without saying that this is not acceptable and is likely to lead to public dissatisfaction.  The government is expected to intervene only when this is done for the benefit of others.  Therefore,  protection of freedoms of the citizens should be one of the priorities of the government. 

The value of justice may be the most difficult to achieve because there is no universal approach towards it. True means that the citizens, as well as politicians, may adopt conflicting views on it.  For example,  a part of the society may support the initiatives of the government that entitles the disadvantaged parts of the population to additional benefits.  However,  those who got used to relying on themselves will protest those measures claiming that the government practically steals from them. The best way to settle this dispute is to adopt such measures that would be acceptable to both parties involved or will change the state of affairs gradually.  In any case,  it is essential to reach a compromise over any issue at hand.

Conclusion

Having examined all the points that were mentioned in the paragraphs above,  one is able to come to the conclusion that Political Philosophy has a considerable number of valuable provisions for the discussion regarding how the social environment should be structured.  It has been shown that there are certain principles that guide the activities of social and political organizations.  In addition to that, there are some universal principles that guide the organization of the social structure differentiating it from anarchy.  They allow people to live in the social environment that will support them.  Speaking of the issue of power distribution,  one might note that the view that is widely developed favors democracy and calls the people the only entity that should have power. 

Works cited

Lawhead, William F. The philosophical journey: an interactive approach. Mountain View: Mayfield Pub., 2013. Web.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
Available at:

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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