Ridefinire il liberalismo

Redefining Liberalism

Abstract disponibile solo in lingua inglese

The article is an attempt to find a proper definition of the very concept of liberalism. After examining the critical theses on liberalism produced by such thinkers as Horkheimer, Marcuse and Carl Schmitt, the author considers the analogies and the differences between various thinkers of the liberal tradition. Finally, the problem of an epistemological foundation of liberalism is considered. The author believes that K. Popper and H. Albert's "critical rationalism" cannot represent a viable basis for liberal thought. There is no coincidence at all between the "scientific community" and the "political community". The "world of values", which is the main object of politics, cannot have any foundation in science. As a more viable philosophical view for liberalism the author considers the so-called "practical philosophy", a tradition which originated with Aristotle, and which was only recently rediscovered by such philosophers as Hannah Arendt and George Gadamer.