Justificatory Liberalism An Essay on Epistemology and Political Theory

Abstract

Abstract Justificatory Liberalism advances a theory of personal, public, and political justification. Drawing on current work in epistemology and cognitive psychology, the book develops a theory of personally justified belief. Building on this account, it then advances an account of public justification that is more normative and less “populist” than that of “political liberals”. Following the social contract theories of Hobbes, Locke, and Kant, Gaus argues that citizens have inconclusive public justification. The rule of law, liberal democracy, and limited judicial review are defended as elements of a publicly justified umpiring procedure.