Living Together: Re-Thinking Social Unity for a Multi-Faith Society
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Leeds
Department Name: Politics and International Studies
Abstract
The 'civic health' discourse in contemporary politics presupposes an analogy between the lives of communities and the lives of individuals that is often overlooked. This report examines two prominent philosophical conceptions of the life of an individual - the 'episodic' and the 'narrative' - and considers what they can tell us about the lives of communities.
The report finds that both conceptions obscure what they seek to disclose: the process of living, and sharing, a life. The episodic conception, according to which a life is a sequence of discrete episodes, ignores the fact that there is more to a good life than a succession of happy moments, while the narrative conception, which interprets a life as an unfolding story, tends to prescribe its preferred way of life in such a way as to frustrate the enterprise of actually living.
In order to preserve the 'vitality' of a civic association, it is necessary to assess civic health rather differently: by identifying and promoting the basic form of a meaningful civic life whilst refraining from the effort to specify its content. The story of a healthy civic life must be lived before it can be told.
The report finds that both conceptions obscure what they seek to disclose: the process of living, and sharing, a life. The episodic conception, according to which a life is a sequence of discrete episodes, ignores the fact that there is more to a good life than a succession of happy moments, while the narrative conception, which interprets a life as an unfolding story, tends to prescribe its preferred way of life in such a way as to frustrate the enterprise of actually living.
In order to preserve the 'vitality' of a civic association, it is necessary to assess civic health rather differently: by identifying and promoting the basic form of a meaningful civic life whilst refraining from the effort to specify its content. The story of a healthy civic life must be lived before it can be told.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Derek John Edyvane (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Annelies Blom (Author)
(2011)
Britain 2.0: The Union, England and Political Community After 5 May
Edyvane Derek
(2012)
Civic Virtue and the Sovereignty of Evil
Luciana Juvenal (Author)
(2011)
On Civic Health: Narrative, Community and Meaning
| Description | This project brings research in political philosophy to bear on the public understanding of 'civic health'. Its central finding is that existing formulations of civic health fail adequately to capture the idea of political community as a shared civic life. The project identifies the need for a change of focus: away from speculation about the character of a 'good' civic life, and towards the more basic conditions of 'decency' in the life we share in society. So doing creates space for a related notion that is presently neglected in the civic health discourse: that of civic vitality. |
| Exploitation Route | This research is of particular relevance to policy debates around the promotion of civic health in multi-faith societies. It can be used to identify new and better pathways to community cohesion. The research also has broader application in a variety of non-academic contexts involving team-work. For example, in commercial contexts, the research may inform the activity of managers seeking to foster self-organising, flexible and dynamic teams of employees. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | My findings were used to inform parliamentarians and policymakers about questions of nationhood and national unity in the wake of SNP electoral success in 2011. This was achieved via a seminar held in the Houses of Parliament in which I participated. My findings were also used to inform the public about the idea of civic health and its relationship to civic vitality. This was achieved via a public lecture I gave in Lancaster in 2012. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | Leverhulme Research Fellowship |
| Amount | £43,641 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | RF-2014-111 |
| Organisation | The Leverhulme Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2014 |
| End | 08/2015 |
| Description | Britain 2.0: The Union, England and Political Community After 5 May (Debate) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Talk given at Houses of Parliament on the future of the United Kingdom hosted by John Cruddas, organised by Theos thinktank, funded by AHRC project. Consolidation of working relationship with Theos and prospect of future engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Civic Health and Civic Vitality |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public lecture in Lancaster on the idea of 'civic health' that sought to distinguish it from the related (and overlooked) idea of 'civic vitality'. - |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | The Meaningfulness of a Shared Life: Educating for 'Civic Health' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | The paper considers what makes a shared life meaningful and challenges the commonplace assumption that moral diversity and conflict need pose a threat to the meaningfulness of a community. It concludes by considering some of the implications of these findings for the enterprise of educating for civic health. Provoked a lively discussion, but no further impact. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |