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(2010) Human Studies 33 (1).
Can pragmatists be institutionalists?
John Dewey joins the non-ideal/ideal theory debate
Shane J. Ralston
pp. 65-84
During the 1960s and 1970s, institutionalists and behavioralists in the discipline of political science argued over the legitimacy of the institutional approach to political inquiry. In the discipline of philosophy, a similar debate concerning institutions has never taken place. Yet, a growing number of philosophers are now working out the institutional implications of political ideas in what has become known as "non-ideal theory." My thesis is two-fold: (1) pragmatism and institutionalism are compatible and (2) non-ideal theorists, following the example of pragmatists, can avoid a similar debate as took place between institutionalists and behavioralists by divulging their assumptions about institutions.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/s10746-010-9138-9
Full citation:
Ralston, S. J. (2010). Can pragmatists be institutionalists?: John Dewey joins the non-ideal/ideal theory debate. Human Studies 33 (1), pp. 65-84.
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