Open Society Unresolved: The Contemporary Relevance of a Contested Idea

Open Access Published by Central European University Press 2023

Open Society Unresolved

The Contemporary Relevance of a Contested Idea

Edited by: Christof Royer and Liviu Matei

https://doi.org/10.1515/9789633865903

Overview
Contents

About this book

Is the concept of open society still relevant in the 21st century? Do the current social, moral, and political realities call for a drastic revision of this concept? Here fifteen essays address real-world contemporary challenges to open society from a variety of perspectives. What unites the individual authors and chapters is an interest in open society’s continuing usefulness and relevance to address current problems. And what distinguishes them is a rich variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds, and a wide range of academic disciplines and traditions.

While focusing on probing the contemporary relevance of the concept, several chapters approach it historically. The book features a comprehensive introduction to the history and current ‘uses’ of the theory of open society. The authors link the concept to contemporary themes including education, Artificial Intelligence, cognitive science, African cosmology, colonialism, and feminism. The diversity of viewpoints in the analysis reflects a commitment to plurality that is at the heart of this book and of the idea of open society itself.

Author / Editor information

Royer Christof :

Christof Royer is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Central European University, Open Society Research Platform.

Matei Liviu :

Liviu Matei is Head of School & Professor of Higher Education and Public Policy, King's College London. He was previously Provost of Central European University and a Professor of Higher Education Policy at the School of Public Policy, CEU.

Reviews

Robert Schuett:
"Not much in Open Society Unresolved is surprising, but that is a good thing—let me repeat: that is a good thing. If looked at the concept of open society from within the broader intellectual open society context, there’s nothing new or radical or startling for us to uncover. The distinctive contribution of Royer and Matei’s book is to have reiterated in diverse ways the challenge where to draw a clear boundary line between open society’s friends and foes." https://www.oezp.at/index.php/OEZP/article/view/4118

John Thrasher:

“As new challenges continue to emerge and threaten open societies around the world, there is a renewed urgency in understanding the nature of the open society in all its complexity and diversity. This collection of essays does just that, exploring different historical, analytical, and political elements that make up open societies while noting that the very idea of the open society is itself contested. This is as it should be. Open societies prize the contestation of ideas and this volume exemplifies that ideal while examining it. Understanding the foundations and challenges of an open, free, and dynamic society is one of the most urgent and crucial intellectual tasks of our time and I can’t think of a better place to start wrestling with those issues than this excellent volume.”

Oseni Taiwo Afisi:

“Open Society Unresolved contributes some new perspectives to the existing literatures on the concept of Open Society. The volume demonstrates how the significant enrichment of the Open Society is possible with an emphasis on the pluralism of ideas and the embrace of non-western political ideologies, other than liberal politics alone. This enhances both the theory and practice of Karl Popper’s own stress on openness. The book advances constructive debates on new ways of thinking about the open society, and the plurality of ways that will help to promote openness in society. It is a must-read for scholars interested in liberal politics, international politics and justice, moral philosophy and law.”

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Introduction: Open Society Unresolved: Charting the Contested Terrain Christof Royer Open Access Download PDF	1
PART I. Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives on Open Society
1 HUMAN NATURE AND THE OPEN SOCIETY Thom Scott-Phillips Open Access Download PDF	23
2 IN PRAISE OF COLDNESS: THE OPEN NEIGHBORHOOD AND ITS ENEMIES Rachid Boutayeb Open Access Download PDF	38
3 AGAINST IDENTITY: INDIVIDUALITY AS THE FOUNDATION OF OPEN SOCIETY Gregory Lobo Open Access Download PDF	48
4 EMPIRICAL EMBODIMENT OF CRITICAL RATIONALISM: DELIBERATIVE THEORY AND OPEN SOCIETY Gazela Pudar Draško and Predrag Krstić Open Access Download PDF	59
5 OPEN SOCIETY AS AN ACHIEVEMENT: POPPER, GAUS, AND THE LIBERAL TRADITION Piers Norris Turner Open Access Download PDF	72
6 NOZICK’S META-UTOPIA AS AN OPEN SOCIETY Avery Fox White Open Access Download PDF	83
7 HANNAH ARENDT AND LITERARY PEDAGOGY Andrea Timár Open Access Download PDF	94
8 CAN BERGSON’S DEFINITION OF OPEN SOCIETY BE USEFUL TODAY? Jean-Louis Fabiani Open Access Download PDF	105
PART II National and Regional Perspectives on Open Society
9 THE GENDER OF ILLIBERALISM: NEW TRANSNATIONAL ALLIANCES AGAINST OPEN SOCIETIES IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE Katalin Fábián Open Access Download PDF	117
10 OPEN SOCIETY CONTESTED: LIBERAL UNIVERSALISM VERSUS AUTOCRATIC FUNCTIONALISM IN HONG KONG Kenneth Ka-Lok Chan Open Access Download PDF	132
11 “SOROSOIDS”: USES OF LABELING IN BULGARIA Lubomir Terziev Open Access Download PDF	148
12 AN AFRICAN BACKGROUND TO THE CONCEPT OF OPEN SOCIETY: IKENGA AND OFO CULTIC FIGURES AS STRUCTURAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THE ENTERPRISING SPIRIT OF THE IGBO OF NIGERIA Nwankwo T. Nwaezeigwe Open Access Download PDF	162
13 IMAGINING THE FUTURE OF INTELLIGENCE IN OPEN SOCIETIES: VENTURING BEYOND SECRECY AND SCIENTIFIC PROPHECY AS TOTALITARIAN MODES OF MODERNITY Anna Eva Grutza Open Access Download PDF	174
14 OPEN SOCIETY IN CRISIS: MAKING SENSE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND EXPERT ADVICE DURING COVID-19 Tarun Weeramanthri Open Access Download PDF	190
List of Contributors Open Access Download PDF	207
Index Open Access Download PDF	211

Language: English
Publisher: Central European University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 228
Keywords: Open society; theory and practice; contemporary relevance; diversity and plurality; geographically and intellectually global

eBook

Published: March 29, 2023
ISBN: 9789633865903