Public and Private in Social Life

by S. I. Benn (Editor), G. F. Gaus (Editor)

Overview

Conceptions of publicness and privateness structure not only our thinking about society and ourselves, but also, by structuring our institutions and practices, dictate how we act within society. Originally published in 1983, the complexity inherent in the distinction between public and private is explored fully in this book.

Opening chapters examine the familiar western liberal understanding of the public and the private; how it reflects not always coherent ideas about the relation of individuals to society, and how it structures legal, political, economic and moral practices and institutions.

Attention is turned to Hegelian, Marxist and feminist critiques on the public and private dichotomy, and the study concludes with a comparative analysis of the public and the private in three non-western forms of society. In all, this study provides a fascinating insight into the ways different societies see themselves and into the concepts that shape society today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040347805
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/01/2025
Series:	Routledge Revivals
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	422
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

S. I. Benn was at the time of original publication Professorial Fellow in Philosophy at the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University, Canberra.

G. F. Gaus was at the time of original publication Assistant Professor of Politics at Wake Forest University, North Carolina, USA.

Table of Contents

Preface. Introductory. 1. The Public and the Private: Concepts and Action Stanley I. Benn and Gerald F. Gaus Part I: Public and Private in Western Cultures 2. The Liberal Conception of the Public and the Private Stanley I. Benn and Gerald F. Gaus 3. Public Law – Private Law Alice Erh-Soon Tay and Eugene Kamenka 4. Public Function – Private Action: A Common Law Dilemma Paul Finn 5. Information Control: Availability and Exclusion Ruth Gavison 6. Private Selves and Public Parts Alan Ryan 7. Private and Public Morality: Clean Living and Dirty Hands Stanley I. Benn 8. Private and Public Interests in Liberal Political Economy, Old and New Gerald F. Gaus 9. Public and Private Property Alan Ryan Part II: Critiques of the Liberal Conception of Public and Private 10. Public and Private Interests: Hegel on Civil Society and the State Anthony S. Walton 11. Public/Private in Marxist Theory and Marxist Practice Eugene Kamenka 12. Feminist Critiques of the Public/Private Dichotomy Carole Pateman Part III: Public and Private in Non-Liberal Cultures 13. Publicness, Privateness and ‘Primitive Law’ Martin Krygier 14. Privacy in a Mexican Indian Village Leslie K. Haviland and John B. Haviland 15. Classical Greek Conceptions of Public and Private Arlene Saxonhouse. Notes on Contributors. Index of Persons. Index of Subjects.