Philosophy Quotes

"The right is prior to the good in determining principles of justice."

"Rational persons care about their life prospects and seek to protect their interests."

"The capacity for a sense of justice is a characteristic feature of moral persons."

"The distinction between the right and the good is crucial for liberal political philosophy."

"Natural talents are common assets to be used for the benefit of all."

"The basic structure is the primary subject of justice in a modern society."

"The idea of the social contract expresses the concept of fair terms of cooperation."

"The exceptional case is more interesting than the rule, for the rule proves nothing while the exception proves everything."

"The enemy is our own question as form."

"Ideology is the attempt to escape from concrete political reality through abstraction."

"Enemies need not be evil; they need only be existentially different."

"The decision on the exception is precisely what the rule cannot contain."

"Every claim to universality masks a particular political interest."

"The concept of humanity serves to dissolve all political distinctions."

"The exception is not a deviation from the rule but its most truthful expression."

"The state of nature and the state of exception are analogous concepts."

"Morality becomes political the moment it demands enforcement through law."

"Normative claims cannot escape their origins in contingent political decisions."

"Crisis reveals what normality conceals about the nature of political order."

"The modern attempt to eliminate the exception through universal law must ultimately fail."

"The attempt to transcend politics is itself the most dangerous political project."

"Political theory that ignores the possibility of conflict is not truly political."

"How does one worship a non-existent god, and what would this have to do with the existence of God?"

"Side constraints on actions reflect the underlying Kantian principle that individuals are ends, not merely means."

"Utilitarianism does not take seriously the distinction between persons."

"The question of whether some property arrangement is just depends upon how it came to be."

"The separateness of persons is morally fundamental."

"Moral constraints on action are not merely side effects but reflect deep truths about persons."

"The basis of justice is desert, not need or preference."

"Social contract theory misunderstands the nature of legitimate authority."