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Church and State in Stanley Fish's Antiliberalism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

J. Judd Owen
J. Judd Owen*
Affiliation:
Boston College
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Abstract

Even though they contain one of the most forceful critiques of liberalism in contemporary political thought, the political writings of Stanley Fish have been neglected by political theorists. Fish's critique of liberal claims of moral and religious neutrality points to the conclusion that the liberal separation of church and state lacks a coherent justification. I offer a qualified defense of liberalism by arguing that while Fish's critique of liberal neutrality is sound, he fails to do justice to liberalism's substantive basis. Moreover, by simply negating liberalism, Fish's thinking remains within the liberal horizon in a way he fails to recognize.

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Forum
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 93 , Issue 4 , December 1999 , pp. 911 - 924
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1999

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