Are citizens morally obligated to obey and support their states？ ＂Political Obligations and Authority＂ is perhaps A. John Simmons＇ most comprehensive summary of his mature views on this enduring philosophical prob...Are citizens morally obligated to obey and support their states？ ＂Political Obligations and Authority＂ is perhaps A. John Simmons＇ most comprehensive summary of his mature views on this enduring philosophical problem. In this essay, Simmons critically engages Plato＇s dialogue Crito and culls from it three types of strategies for justifying political obligations： natural duty, associative, and transactional. Simmons argues that natural duty accounts are inherently incapable of providing moral grounding for political obligations, disqualifies both associative and transactional accounts on empirical grounds, and settles for a form of anarchism. I argue, assuming as Simmons does in this essay that natural duties imply obligations of support and obedience to political institutions, that the natural duty strategy promises to provide an escape route out of anarchism.展开更多
The publication of The Tat＇ping Heavenly Chronicle （Taiping tianr） in 1862 marks a critical moment in the development of the Taiping propaganda machine. Printed with copper plate printing technology that evinces im...The publication of The Tat＇ping Heavenly Chronicle （Taiping tianr） in 1862 marks a critical moment in the development of the Taiping propaganda machine. Printed with copper plate printing technology that evinces imperial authority, this text is the only official history written by the Taipings in their quest to institute an overarching narrative of the movement. A systematic description of the origin and nature of the Taiping movement, The Taiping Heavenly Chronicle aims to establish Hong Xiuquan as the sole religious and political leader after the internecine Tianjing Incident （1856）, which radically restructured the Taiping leadership. Using imagery, popular literary tropes, and narrative devices, this text incorporates the heterogeneous elements found in the Christian-inspired Taiping discourse to rewrite thousands of years of Chinese history.展开更多
Cross-Straits relations is a critical issue that Taiwan’s new leader needs to be clear on Taiwan’s new leader Tsai Ing-wen took office in Taipei on May 20.Following the change of leadership in Taiwan,the most import...Cross-Straits relations is a critical issue that Taiwan’s new leader needs to be clear on Taiwan’s new leader Tsai Ing-wen took office in Taipei on May 20.Following the change of leadership in Taiwan,the most important question now is whether the ruling Democratic Progressive Party（DPP）will acknowledge the 1992 Consensus and its core implications,because the question involves the political foundation for peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.展开更多
文摘Are citizens morally obligated to obey and support their states？ ＂Political Obligations and Authority＂ is perhaps A. John Simmons＇ most comprehensive summary of his mature views on this enduring philosophical problem. In this essay, Simmons critically engages Plato＇s dialogue Crito and culls from it three types of strategies for justifying political obligations： natural duty, associative, and transactional. Simmons argues that natural duty accounts are inherently incapable of providing moral grounding for political obligations, disqualifies both associative and transactional accounts on empirical grounds, and settles for a form of anarchism. I argue, assuming as Simmons does in this essay that natural duties imply obligations of support and obedience to political institutions, that the natural duty strategy promises to provide an escape route out of anarchism.
文摘The publication of The Tat＇ping Heavenly Chronicle （Taiping tianr） in 1862 marks a critical moment in the development of the Taiping propaganda machine. Printed with copper plate printing technology that evinces imperial authority, this text is the only official history written by the Taipings in their quest to institute an overarching narrative of the movement. A systematic description of the origin and nature of the Taiping movement, The Taiping Heavenly Chronicle aims to establish Hong Xiuquan as the sole religious and political leader after the internecine Tianjing Incident （1856）, which radically restructured the Taiping leadership. Using imagery, popular literary tropes, and narrative devices, this text incorporates the heterogeneous elements found in the Christian-inspired Taiping discourse to rewrite thousands of years of Chinese history.
文摘Cross-Straits relations is a critical issue that Taiwan’s new leader needs to be clear on Taiwan’s new leader Tsai Ing-wen took office in Taipei on May 20.Following the change of leadership in Taiwan,the most important question now is whether the ruling Democratic Progressive Party（DPP）will acknowledge the 1992 Consensus and its core implications,because the question involves the political foundation for peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.
