Parkhill, Richard James; (2002) Raz on political obligation. Masters thesis (M.Phil), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The thesis discusses Raz's accounts of practical reason, obligation in general and political obligation (within political obligation, treating only the obligation to obey the law, the area of the subject on which Raz concentrates). Raz's accounts of practical reason and obligation in general are explained and defended. Some changes are suggested to the notions of exclusionary reason and preemptive reason. Some problems with his account of obligation are considered, regarding the condition that obligations include a categorical reason and that the validity of this reason depends on the obligation's having intrinsic value in a form of life. I try to assess the merits of Raz's account of political obligation. This includes tracing the roots of Raz's account in his accounts of practical reason and of obligations in general. The success of the latter accounts, as far as that goes, is taken to establish them as a useful basis for assessing Raz's account of political obligation. It is claimed that the account of political obligation does not properly reflect the problematic condition mentioned above in relation to the account of obligation, concerning intrinsic value. I comment on how far this is dealt with in Raz's treatment of "secondary" justification of authority grounded on respect and consent. No satisfactory way is found for incorporating the "problematic" condition in the account of political obligation. It is suggested that the condition itself might be too strong, and that obligation in general might be sufficiently well grounded in categorical other-directed reasons, allowing those to be either instrumental or noninstrumental.

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