Democracy, Diversity, Religion

Рет қаралды 10,642

8 жыл бұрын

Date: Tuesday 1 December 2015
Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue: Old Theatre, Old Building
Speaker: Professor Charles Taylor
Chair: Professor Craig Calhoun
Professor Charles Taylor will look at the constant temptation for modern democracies to veer towards exclusion. This is despite them being founded on a principle of inclusion, and is due to a weakness built into motivations which democracies draw upon. Having firmly established this context, Professor Taylor will discuss the exclusionary moves we have seen in many Western democracies which have targeted (unfamiliar) religions. Why this intense focus and how to overcome it? This lecture will focus mainly on the Quebec/Canadian situation, and will also point to the current parallels evident in many European countries today.
Charles Taylor is a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at McGill University. His recent works include: Modern Social Imaginaries, A Secular Age, and Laïcité et Liberté de Conscience (with Jocelyn Maclure).
Professor Craig Calhoun (@craigjcalhoun) is Director of the London School of Economics and Political Science.
This event is co-organised with the Québec Government Office in London.

Пікірлер: 5

@Joey_Doe Жыл бұрын

The mental gymnastics is exhausting. Is this what you have to do in Canada instead of being straightforwardly against demographic replacement?

@kilpatrickkirksimmons5016 7 жыл бұрын

Interesting and nuanced talk. It is true that societies always have to evolve, and will anyway. The point about how groups within a society can bring profound change with no significant input from immigrants is 100% correct. Just look at the late 1960s. However, those who join a society cannot simply go on as they did before and expect no pushback. Accommodation must be matched with assimilation, and vice versa. It seems to me that there is too much emphasis on the accommodation part, and people who ask "what about assimilation?" don't really have anyone beyond the far-right addressing this issue. Especially in Europe. Balkanization is a disaster in waiting, not to mention a godsend for (real) bigots. Salad bowls don't work. Mosaics crumble. A society that isn't cohesive is about as useful as a sand house; it's doomed to crumble, and sooner rather than later. Those who try to stigmatize Muslims get a lot of help from Muslims themselves, and this is something that needs work.