Short description:

By analysing the notion of political identity, these essays provide the conceptual resources for a deeper understanding of the theoretical and practical debates on populism, on the crisis of sovereignty, on the feasibility of a world government, and on ethical, religious, and cultural pluralism.

Long description:

The chapters in this volume clarify the notion of political identity by focusing on the metaphysics of polities. By analysing the notion of political identity, they provide the conceptual resources for a deeper understanding of the theoretical and practical debates on populism, the crisis of sovereignty, the feasibility of a world government, and ethical, religious, and cultural pluralism.

What is a political community? Any answer to this question lies at the intersection between three fields: metaphysics, philosophy of action, and political philosophy. The question concerns how and why a plurality of individuals becomes a political unity, what principles or forces keep that unity together, and what threats that unity can encounter. In this volume, the contributors investigate how different metanormative views affect the possible answers to this metaphysical question. They explore the role that the individual identities of agents play in grounding common practices that underpin political life. They investigate the individual identities of agents as the result of the interplay between natural and cultural factors. Finally, they observe the ways in which a political community, as a collection of individuals who hang together in an attempt to reach common purposes, demonstrate a certain metaphysical solidity.

Political Identity and the Metaphysics of Polities will appeal to researchers and advanced students working in metaphysics, political philosophy, political theory, and philosophy of action.

Table of Contents:

Political Identity: Political Discourse and Philosophical Analysis. An Introduction. Gabriele De Anna and Manuele Dozzi  Part 1: Political Identity and Human Agency  1. Casta?eda?s Moral Theory as Point of Departure: Moral Codes, Moral Ideal, Political Communities, Global Community Francesco Orilia  2. Practical Identity and Open Cooperation Mario De Caro, Benedetta Giovanola, and Massimo Marraffa  3. Political Agency and Identity in the Framework of an Interactional Approach Marina Sbis?  4. The Anthropological Bases of Political Identity Gabriele De Anna and Christian Illies  Part 2: The Metaphysical Identity of Polities  5. Political Communities and the Logic of Identities Ludger Jansen  6. Plato and Aristotle on the Unity of the City Christopher Frey  7. Political Identity: Human Nature, Common Good, and Narratives Tomaso Allodi and Manuele Dozzi  8. What Makes the Identity of Notre-Dame de Paris? Roger Pouivet  Part 3: The Practical Significance of the Identity of Polities  9. Moral Demandingness: A (Partly Historical) Critique Thomas Angier  10. A Sense for Political Community: Obligations and Motivations in Time of Covid19 Pandemic Roberta Sala and Sarah Songhoria  11. Comedies of the Cultural Commons Talbot Brewer  12. National Identity and the Human Good John Hacker-Wright