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Exorcising the Demons Final.pdf (487.95 KB)

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Exorcising the Demons-A Critique of the Totalizing Political Ideologies of Modernity.

Davies, Jack Frederick
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1524826887336661

Abstract Details

2018, Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, Philosophy.
In his polemic novel 'Demons' Fyodor Dostoevsky noted the destructive power of political actors 'possessed' by the righteousness of ideas over concern for actually existing people. The ideologies of the 20th century, Liberalism, Fascism and Socialism contain within them absolute statements of ontology, teleology and broad human purpose that allow them to incorporate any and all aspects of human social existence into their state projects. The absolute and universal nature of the claims made by these ideologies causes a state of incommensurability in dialougue with other systems that can lead to violent action as political disagreement is translated into ontological incompatibility leading to demonization and dehumanization. This project aims to propose a system based on a modified form of Burkean conservatism that allows for a recognizes the importance of universal beliefs in the context of humility. A humility rooted in the knowledge of the historical contingency of political situations and the inevitability of philosophical change leading to an epistemological skepticism as to the absolute validity of ideological claims. Instead of locating the need for community on shared convictions, political action is rooted in a shared sense of suffering and responsibility interpreted through the Russian Orthodox concept of Sobornost- where each person is responsible for the suffering of others and has an obligation to relieve the suffering of the world in shared humility.
Julie White, PhD (Advisor)
106 p.
Philosophy
Liberalism; Fascism; Socialism; Conservatism; Dostoevsky; Burke; Kirk; Eastern Orthodoxy; Marx; Lasalle; Ideology; Ontology; Rawls; Colonialism; War; Foreign Intervention;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Davies, J. F. (2018). Exorcising the Demons-A Critique of the Totalizing Political Ideologies of Modernity. [Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1524826887336661

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Davies, Jack. Exorcising the Demons-A Critique of the Totalizing Political Ideologies of Modernity. . 2018. Ohio University, Undergraduate thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1524826887336661.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Davies, Jack. "Exorcising the Demons-A Critique of the Totalizing Political Ideologies of Modernity. ." Undergraduate thesis, Ohio University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ouhonors1524826887336661

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ouhonors1524826887336661
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University Honors Tutorial College and OhioLINK.