LE3 .A278 1998

1998

Pyrcz, Greg

Acadia University

Master of Arts

Masters

Political Science

Politics

This thesis discusses the communitarian political philosophies of two prominent Canadian thinkers, George Grant and Charles Taylor. Cultural fragmentation is considered a crisis because it is difficult to construct a state which reflects the diversity of interests and identities. The collapse of morality is feared because without a moral order there is no bulwark against tyranny. The philosophical debate regarding this crisis has resulted in the establishment of two factions, communitarians and individualists. Grant and Taylor analyze Canada's crisis of identity in light of this larger philosophical dilemma. Both ground their analyses in significant ways in the philosophy of G. W. Hegel and both conclude by advocating state protection of cultural groups. Their prescriptions are based on the importance of providing a moral context within which justice can be nourished. The author suggests that Grant and Taylor are mistaken in their championing of cultural communities. Rather he construes humanity as a complex web of interacting diverse cultural influences. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:2870