Kadish Workshop in Law, Philosophy, and Political Theory: Dr. James Orr, Cambridge University

The Twilight of Liberalism: The Eclipse of Freedom in An Age of Autonomy

Abstract 

This paper argues that the faltering trajectory of political liberalism arises not from external challenges but from conceptual tensions in its founding principles.  Section 1 contests the dominant narrative of liberalism’s emergence in the seventeenth century, revealing its dependence on a unique constellation of ideas and conditions that long precede its birth.  Section 2 analyses the shift from a teleological conception of freedom to an autonomous one. Section 3 traces the emancipatory logic of liberalism and argues that it corrodes those social structures—family, community, religion—in ways that expands the power of the state in ways that are plainly inimical to the only forms of freedom worth possessing. Section 4 turns to examine how these play out in modern society, where the therapeutic governance of the managerial state exemplify liberalism’s internal contradictions. The paper concludes by suggesting that if it is to avert ideological collapse or authoritarian drift, the merits of its metaphysical and anthropological assumptions should be reassessed. 

About Dr. James Orr, Cambridge University:

Dr. James Orr is Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the University of Cambridge and Chair of the Edmund Burke Foundation UK. His research interests include the historical origins of phenomenology in Husserl and Heidegger, as well as Neo-Aristotelianism and Thomism, especially with respect to grounding, kinds, universals, causation, laws, and powers. In addition to his academic research, Dr. Orr is engaged in a range of policy debates in the public square, including on academic freedom and freedom of speech, patriotism and nationhood, and bioethical issues at the beginning and end of human life.’

About the workshop:

A workshop for presenting and discussing work in progress in moral, political, and legal theory. The central aim is to provide an opportunity for students to engage with philosophers, political theorists, and legal scholars working on normative questions. Another aim is to bring together people from different disciplines who have strong normative interests or who speak to issues of potential interest to philosophers and political theorists.

The theme for Spring 2025 is “Critics of Liberalism,” and we will host scholars working in Philosophy, Law, History, and Political Science. Our underlying concern will be the normative critiques of substantive liberal ideas from both the left and right, as well as staunch defenders of liberalism.

This semester the workshop is co-taught by Joshua Cohen and Desmond Jagmohan.