This article offers a Kantian account of dignity violations in the context of contemporary migrat... more This article offers a Kantian account of dignity violations in the context of contemporary migration to western states. It considers three major issues: “modern slavery,” statutory detention, and lack of rights to engage in economic activity. While most Kantian accounts emphasize the dignity violations of treating people as “mere means,” we point out that this does not capture the central issue: the “hostile environment” that so many migrants face. The first part of the article briefly sets out a Kantian account of dignity violations. The second part highlights two key differences between modern slavery and its historical forebears. It emphasizes the interpersonal rather than institutional character of modern slavery, and distinguishes trafficking from smuggling. The third part argues that migrants who lack formal rights to remain and work face institutional exclusions that violate human dignity. Policies that aim to discourage and restrict immigration demean people’s status as ends...
Verantwortung und Pflicht werden manchmal als synonyme Begriffe und manchmal als voneinander zu u... more Verantwortung und Pflicht werden manchmal als synonyme Begriffe und manchmal als voneinander zu unterscheidende Konzepte verwendet. Einerseits scheint es moglich, jede Bezugnahme auf Verantwortung einfach durch eine Bezugnahme auf Pflichten zu ersetzen und die umgekehrte Ersetzung scheint ebenfalls zu funktionieren.
The relation between morality and happiness is a complex one, and it has been widely discussed th... more The relation between morality and happiness is a complex one, and it has been widely discussed throughout the history of ethics. In this chapter, Corinna Mieth scrutinizes several influential proposals of how to understand this relationship. First, she sketches four general ways of relating morality and happiness: The identity thesis, the harmony thesis, the dissonance thesis, and the incompatibility thesis. In the second step, she discusses how far individual life plans are compatible with moral demands. In this context, Mieth outlines the Kantian theory of morality as being worthy of happiness and then turns to Bernard Williams and Friedrich Nietzsche, who both are proponents of a view based on the concepts of individual authenticity and prudential rationality. There are good reasons for not abandoning the theories of Williams and Nietzsche in general; however, the strict demands of morality require subordinating our personal life plans to moral values and obligations. Finally, Mi...
In the philosophical literature, but even more so in the public debate, immigration is often link... more In the philosophical literature, but even more so in the public debate, immigration is often linked to concerns regarding the political stability of liberal democracies. Most often, these concerns are discussed as being connected to the arrival of immigrants, e.g., in accounts defending a state's right to exclude. In this paper, however, we want to contribute to the normative analysis of threats to stability stemming from citizens of liberal democracies, e.g., in the form of anti-immigration backlashes. In the philosophical literature, such threats are commonly framed as a political choice between moral claims based on justice and what concerns of stability allow for: we could either push for realizing moral aims based on justice, such as more open borders, at the expense of the stability of liberal democracies; or hold on to political stability at the expense of permissive immigration policies mandated by justice and morality. We argue that this 'tragic choice' (Blake) might be mitigated by shifting the focus of normative analysis towards the outcomes of political decision-procedures. The paper proceeds in three steps. In the first section, we introduce our understanding of political stability as based on what we call democratic cohesion, and introduce our understanding of internal threats to stability by using the example of anti-immigration backlashes. In the second section, we show why even within a Rawlsian framework the normative analysis of these threats should shift towards policy outcomes, and how conceptualizing the issue along the lines of a modus vivendi could improve the normative analysis. The third section demonstrates how the notion of a compromising mindset allows to differentiate between liberal and illiberal backlashes; we thereby further the normative understanding of possible reactions to internal threats to stability. We close by answering two possible objections. 11.
The chapters are preceded by an introduction written by the editors. It introduces the phenomenon... more The chapters are preceded by an introduction written by the editors. It introduces the phenomenon of practical necessity, distinguishes between different dimensions of this phenomenon, clarifies different theories of practical necessity and their conceptual background, and gives a detailed description of the chapters and the ways in which they interact.
This article offers a Kantian account of dignity violations in the context of contemporary migrat... more This article offers a Kantian account of dignity violations in the context of contemporary migration to western states. It considers three major issues: “modern slavery,” statutory detention, and lack of rights to engage in economic activity. While most Kantian accounts emphasize the dignity violations of treating people as “mere means,” we point out that this does not capture the central issue: the “hostile environment” that so many migrants face. The first part of the article briefly sets out a Kantian account of dignity violations. The second part highlights two key differences between modern slavery and its historical forebears. It emphasizes the interpersonal rather than institutional character of modern slavery, and distinguishes trafficking from smuggling. The third part argues that migrants who lack formal rights to remain and work face institutional exclusions that violate human dignity. Policies that aim to discourage and restrict immigration demean people’s status as ends...
Verantwortung und Pflicht werden manchmal als synonyme Begriffe und manchmal als voneinander zu u... more Verantwortung und Pflicht werden manchmal als synonyme Begriffe und manchmal als voneinander zu unterscheidende Konzepte verwendet. Einerseits scheint es moglich, jede Bezugnahme auf Verantwortung einfach durch eine Bezugnahme auf Pflichten zu ersetzen und die umgekehrte Ersetzung scheint ebenfalls zu funktionieren.
The relation between morality and happiness is a complex one, and it has been widely discussed th... more The relation between morality and happiness is a complex one, and it has been widely discussed throughout the history of ethics. In this chapter, Corinna Mieth scrutinizes several influential proposals of how to understand this relationship. First, she sketches four general ways of relating morality and happiness: The identity thesis, the harmony thesis, the dissonance thesis, and the incompatibility thesis. In the second step, she discusses how far individual life plans are compatible with moral demands. In this context, Mieth outlines the Kantian theory of morality as being worthy of happiness and then turns to Bernard Williams and Friedrich Nietzsche, who both are proponents of a view based on the concepts of individual authenticity and prudential rationality. There are good reasons for not abandoning the theories of Williams and Nietzsche in general; however, the strict demands of morality require subordinating our personal life plans to moral values and obligations. Finally, Mi...
In the philosophical literature, but even more so in the public debate, immigration is often link... more In the philosophical literature, but even more so in the public debate, immigration is often linked to concerns regarding the political stability of liberal democracies. Most often, these concerns are discussed as being connected to the arrival of immigrants, e.g., in accounts defending a state's right to exclude. In this paper, however, we want to contribute to the normative analysis of threats to stability stemming from citizens of liberal democracies, e.g., in the form of anti-immigration backlashes. In the philosophical literature, such threats are commonly framed as a political choice between moral claims based on justice and what concerns of stability allow for: we could either push for realizing moral aims based on justice, such as more open borders, at the expense of the stability of liberal democracies; or hold on to political stability at the expense of permissive immigration policies mandated by justice and morality. We argue that this 'tragic choice' (Blake) might be mitigated by shifting the focus of normative analysis towards the outcomes of political decision-procedures. The paper proceeds in three steps. In the first section, we introduce our understanding of political stability as based on what we call democratic cohesion, and introduce our understanding of internal threats to stability by using the example of anti-immigration backlashes. In the second section, we show why even within a Rawlsian framework the normative analysis of these threats should shift towards policy outcomes, and how conceptualizing the issue along the lines of a modus vivendi could improve the normative analysis. The third section demonstrates how the notion of a compromising mindset allows to differentiate between liberal and illiberal backlashes; we thereby further the normative understanding of possible reactions to internal threats to stability. We close by answering two possible objections. 11.
The chapters are preceded by an introduction written by the editors. It introduces the phenomenon... more The chapters are preceded by an introduction written by the editors. It introduces the phenomenon of practical necessity, distinguishes between different dimensions of this phenomenon, clarifies different theories of practical necessity and their conceptual background, and gives a detailed description of the chapters and the ways in which they interact.
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Papers by Corinna Mieth