In de huidige tijd van polarisering, technologisering en digitalisering zijn onze liberale vrijheden niet meer zo vanzelfsprekend. Onze democratische rechtsstaat staat onder druk. Voor een...Show moreIn de huidige tijd van polarisering, technologisering en digitalisering zijn onze liberale vrijheden niet meer zo vanzelfsprekend. Onze democratische rechtsstaat staat onder druk. Voor een oplossing kijkt men al snel naar het onderwijs, maar dat gaat zelf gebukt onder de gevolgen van het economisch rendementsdenken. Hoofdvraag in deze scriptie is: Hoe kan het toekomstig Nederlands onderwijs vorm en inhoud worden gegeven om te bewerkstelligen dat we, als mens en als burger, onze vrijheden beter leren bewaken en dat onze liberale democratische rechtsstaat wordt versterkt? Om een antwoord op deze vraag te formuleren bespreek ik allereerst om welke vrijheden het gaat en noem ik een aantal ontwikkelingen waardoor ze onder druk zijn komen te staan. Ook Plato’s beschrijving van de democratie komt aan de orde. Vervolgens bespreek ik wat de doelen van onderwijs zijn. Vertrekpunt daarbij is de visie van Aristoteles. Vervolgens wordt besproken wat in Nederland zwaarder moet wegen, het algemeen belang of individuele vrijheden. Daarbij ga ik in op de reikwijdte van de vrijheid van onderwijs. Vervolgvraag is in hoeverre het wenselijk is om burgerschapsonderwijs en/of persoonsvorming verplicht onderdeel te maken van het curriculum en zo ja, hoe dat kan worden gerechtvaardigd in een politiek liberaal land als Nederland, omdat dergelijk verplicht onderwijs op gespannen voet staat met de liberale waarden. De meningen hierover lopen uiteen, zo laat ik zien aan de hand van de visies van onder anderen Fowler, Brighouse en Rawls. Tevens ga ik in op de Capability Approach en de benadering van Nussbaum. Aan de hand van onder andere de theorieën van Rawls en Nussbaum zal ik verdedigen dat het wenselijk is het algemeen belang boven de vrijheden van het individu te stellen en bepaalde grenzen te stellen aan onze vrijheden, juist om deze te beschermen. Daarna bespreek ik drie onderwijsmodellen die Robeyns onderscheidt en ga ik in op de vraag welk onderwijsmodel het meest geschikt is voor Nederland. In het laatste deel beoordeel ik de plannen voor het toekomstig onderwijs zoals geformuleerd in het eindadvies van Platform 2032 en beargumenteer ik waarom deze slechts gedeeltelijk tegemoetkomen aan de in het voorafgaande deel door mij geformuleerde wensen.Show less
Mental disorders: living with it is a challenge in and of itself. But life with a mental illness is made even more difficult by systematic injustice sufferers have long faced. Political philosophy...Show moreMental disorders: living with it is a challenge in and of itself. But life with a mental illness is made even more difficult by systematic injustice sufferers have long faced. Political philosophy can give us an example of how to organise our societies, but often fails to address the struggles of the mentally ill. Can we find a politically philosophical theory that can explain how we should address problems regarding the ‘mad’?Show less
The question of whether animals should gain rights is not uncommon in contemporary society. The strategy that most scholars use to argue for animal rights is to find a specific characteristic that...Show moreThe question of whether animals should gain rights is not uncommon in contemporary society. The strategy that most scholars use to argue for animal rights is to find a specific characteristic that animals and humans both have and which serves as a basis for attributing rights. This paper, using Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities theory, takes a somewhat different road. One of the biggest concerns Nussbaum has with contractarian theories is that they are persistent in conflating the question of “Who frames the Principles of Justice?” with “Whom are the Principles of Justice framed for?”. Instead of ignoring the rights of certain groups by only focusing on species membership, Nussbaum concentrates on the capabilities every being possesses and the importance of enforcing these capabilities. Her theory has further potential than she imagined; we could use Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach to prove that not one, but all capabilities that a being has are important when we design a justice system. Capabilities indicate what a being needs to lead a fulfilled and dignified life. As well as enforcing them, we could also use them as a foundation on which the attribution of rights is decided.Show less
Martha Nussbaum provides with her capabilities approach some interesting ideas that might improve the current human rights doctrine substantially. However, Charles Beitz – who bases his practical...Show moreMartha Nussbaum provides with her capabilities approach some interesting ideas that might improve the current human rights doctrine substantially. However, Charles Beitz – who bases his practical conception on the existing human rights practices – questions if the capabilities approach can adequately cope with feasibility constraints. In this thesis, I will examine the relation of capabilities and human rights, and argue that the capabilities approach can account for Beitz’s feasibility-concerns. In addition, I will suggest that Beitz places feasibility constraints too central in his theory, and incorrectly assumes his practice-based method does not need a normative basis.Show less
Despite the fact that women and men are equal before the law, and discrimination based on sex, race, ethnic background or sexual orientation is prohibited, economic, political and social...Show moreDespite the fact that women and men are equal before the law, and discrimination based on sex, race, ethnic background or sexual orientation is prohibited, economic, political and social inequalities still persist. Increasing employment opportunities and advances in educational achievement have not end widespread discrimination against women. It is for example still difficult for women to combine paid work with family duties, without limiting their chances of promotion. Women experience a gender pay gap of 16% in the European Union (EU) and are becoming more involved in the informal economy, with its lack of protection and often poor working conditions. Moreover, the trafficking of people for sexual exploitation and sexual and domestic violence disproportionally affects women. It is important for these problems of inequality to be solved because the EU can only be a viable and (gender) just system, when the ongoing disadvantaged position of women, i.e. lack of equal opportunities, unequal access to remunerative employment and gender based sexual and domestic violence is put to an end. Gender Equality Policies (GEP) are set up to diminish these inequalities in opportunities for women, in all areas of life. Since GEP are not solely focussed on rights but on the correction of actual cases of social, economic and political inequality, the question rises how to normatively evaluate GEP. Nussbaum’s capability approach has proved itself of great importance for understanding the human rights discourse accompanied with a focus on human capabilities and functioning. The capability approach provides “a benchmark in thinking about what it is really to secure a right to someone” (Nussbaum, 1997, p. 294), therefore the capability approach is the right end to evaluate GEP in that it argues the importance of policy making that actualizes the human rights discourse. GEP are rectifications of social, political and economic inequalities, therefore Nussbaum’s capability approach, that provides a theoretical framework focussed on gender equality, is the right framework to explore GEP. My thesis will address this question: which GEP could be seen as an example of Nussbaum’s capability approach? In addition, empirical applications in policy making could show the relevance of adding philosophical value to political examples, in order to overcome concrete inequalities. GEP will be discussed in the context of Europe, because the EU could be seen as a unique case to study gender equality, but also diversity and social justice in an increasing globalizing world.Show less
Since the turn to democracy in 1985, Brazil has experienced a dramatic rise in violence in its big cities. This article will look at the rise in violence, attempting to research which parts of...Show moreSince the turn to democracy in 1985, Brazil has experienced a dramatic rise in violence in its big cities. This article will look at the rise in violence, attempting to research which parts of society are affected most by the violence. One of the main arguments is that Violence perpetuates poverty already present within Brazilian favela communities. Favelas communities endure most of the violence and as a result are often inhibited in their development. In order to see what effect the violence has to the development of favela inhabitants, this essay will use the Capability approach as developed by Martha S. Nussbaum, making it possible to look further than only monetary measurements of poverty when researching the effects of violenceShow less
