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Virtue nationalism: an aristotelian defense of the nation

Aguilar, Abigail Pfister

Abstract Details

2007, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Philosophy.
Nationalism, it is argued, is a bad ideology, responsible for much of the problems of the modern world. The proofs offered to support this are empirical, in the many reprehensible acts of actual nations. Yet this criticism neglects the possibility that nations may produce, overall, more benefit than harm. A stronger argument against nationalism is theoretical, which claims that all nations are necessarily either amoral or immoral. This argument relies on the set of inherent components that all nations have, and makes the case that these must combine to create a problematic ideology because they always lead to a political structure that allows unacceptable inequalities and unjustifiable partiality. A common response is to distinguish between good and bad forms of the nation, and then show that the theoretical criticism only applies to the bad forms. Although most of these distinctions fail, one distinction seems promising: liberal nationalism, which includes the values that modern liberal readers would want in any acceptable political theory, and argues that these values are compatible with nationalism. Yet I argue that liberal nationalism also comes up short as a response. In its place I offer a new version of nationalism that starts with some of the values of the liberal nation, but which is expanded by using some of the key ideas found in Aristotle’s ethical and political writings. I argue that Aristotelian ‘Virtue Nationalism’ is a form of nationalism that is not immoral. I also argue that Aristotle’s writings offer other ideas that can be useful today, ideas that would make the Virtuous Nation superior to other types of nations currently extant. As a practical tool, I propose that this ideal be used as a guide for improving actual nation-states. Although it is an ideal and is not found anywhere, it can serve as a standard for what is considered ‘good,’ and as a measure of how far existing nations fall short. Indeed, I believe that this is its primary value for the nationalist ideology that forms the political foundation of today’s world.
Daniel Farrell (Advisor)
307 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Aguilar, A. P. (2007). Virtue nationalism: an aristotelian defense of the nation [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1196050100

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Aguilar, Abigail. Virtue nationalism: an aristotelian defense of the nation. 2007. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1196050100.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Aguilar, Abigail. "Virtue nationalism: an aristotelian defense of the nation." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1196050100

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)