| Abstract [eng] |
The aim of the dissertation is to examine the relationship between politics and morality. It is argued that conceptions of the autonomy of politics formulated by Hannah Arendt, Michael Oakeshott and Carl Schmitt offer a new – ontological – way of interpreting this relationship. The ontological approach is philosophically superior to the theoretical or rationalist approach that is dominant in the West. The starting point of the latter is a priori construction of abstract moral norms that make politics dependent on their realisation. Such a strategy advances an instrumental and reductive view of politics unable to recognise any inherent worth in it. The ontological perspective surpasses the theoretical one for two reasons. First, starting not from abstract norms but rather from the analysis of fundamental structures of political experience and conditions of political action, it acknowledges and respects the autonomy of politics as a unique form of human activity. Second, it uncovers an internal link between morality and politics, different from an external connection established by the theoretical approach. The ontological analysis demonstrates that when citizens act politically, they inevitably cultivate certain moral capabilities and virtues needed for political action. The examination of Arendt‘s, Schmitt‘s and Oakeshott‘s texts allows us to conclude that the affirmation of political autonomy does not compromise the close relationship between politics and morality. |
