Raymond Geuss

Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge Raymond Geuss

Many contemporary political thinkers are gripped by the belief that their task is to develop an ideal theory of rights or justice for guiding and judging political actions. This book argues that philosophers should first try to understand why real political actors behave as they actually do.

Philosophy and Real Politics

The purpose of this series is to help make contemporary European philosophy intelligible to a wider audience in the English-speaking world, and to suggest its interest and importance in particular to those trained in analytical philosophy.

Habermas and the Frankfurt School

The Idea of a Critical Theory

The distinguished political philosopher Raymond Geuss examines critically the central topics in Western political thought. In a series of analytic chapters he discusses the state, authority, violence and coercion, the concept of legitmacy, liberalism, toleration, freedom, democracy, and human rights. He argues that the liberal democratic state committed to the defense of human rights is in fact a confused conjunction of disparate elements. This is a profound and concise essay on the basic structure of contemporary politics, written throughout in voice that is skeptical, engaged, and clear.

History and Illusion in Politics

Auguste Comte

Fresh translation of Comte’s early writings, with scholarly apparatus which places Comte in his historical context.

Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge Raymond Geuss

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