Joshua Hobbs | University of Leeds (original) (raw)

Papers by Joshua Hobbs

Global Justice: Theory, Practice, Rhetoric, 2024

Allies of those experiencing injustice or oppression face a dilemma: to be neutral in the face of... more Allies of those experiencing injustice or oppression face a dilemma: to be neutral in the face of calls to solidarity risks siding with oppressors, yet to speak or act on behalf of others risks compounding the injustice. We identify what we call 'a normative demand for deference' (NDD) to those with lived experience as a response to this dilemma. Yet, while the NDD is prevalent, albeit sometimes implicitly so, in contemporary solidarity theory and activist practice, it remains under-theorised. In this article, we analyse the potential benefits of adhering to the NDD, highlighting both a commonly accepted epistemic benefit, and a neglected but important good in bearing witness. Yet adhering to the NDD also raises real challenges. While the literature focuses on a gold standard model of direct engagement, we defend a valuable role for a second-order form of engagement through reading, films, and similar media, which, we argue, is particularly salient for global and transnational solidarity, an important element of contemporary global politics.

International Political Theory, 2022

It is often argued that cosmopolitanism faces unique motivational constraints, asking more of ind... more It is often argued that cosmopolitanism faces unique motivational constraints, asking more of individuals than they are able to give. This ‘motivational problem’ is held to pose significant challenges to cosmopolitanism, as cosmopolitanism appears unable to transform moral demands into motivated action. This article develops a novel response arguing that self-interest, alongside appeals to sentiment, can play a vital, and neglected, transitional role in moving towards an expanded cosmopolitical condition. Section One explicates the ‘motivational problem’ and highlights a number of concerns with the solutions offered in the existing literature. Sections Two and Three analyse the relationship between self-interest and sentimental cosmopolitanism, arguing that self-interest can be compatible with sentiment-based approaches while also rendering these strategies significantly more plausible. Section Four develops our basic claim that self-interest can be one important component in what we label as ‘transitional cosmopolitanism’. Section Five addresses potential critiques of ‘transitional cosmopolitanism’: A) That it cannot address feasibility constraints that limit cosmopolitical advancement, and; B) That appeals to self-interested motivations cannot meet the demands of what an ‘authentic’ cosmopolitanism entails. We refute these critiques outlining three conditions in which self-interest can advance a transitional form of cosmopolitanism, while also being compatible with cosmopolitanism writ large.

Res Publica, 2021

This paper examines the relationship between strategies of cosmopolitan education intended to mot... more This paper examines the relationship between strategies of cosmopolitan education intended to motivate citizens of affluent countries to care about distant others facing injustice, and injustices within the borders of these affluent countries. I argue that promoting justice within affluent countries and motivating citizens to act to address global injustices, are potentially complementary rather than competing projects. I make two claims. (i) Injustices within national borders can undermine the development of cosmopolitan concern. (ii) National institutions delivering health and social care play a vital role in developing and sustaining affective dispositions necessary to care about the fate of distant others.

Res Publica, 2020

Duties to address global poverty face a motivation gap (Lichtenberg, 2014; Long, 2009). We have g... more Duties to address global poverty face a motivation gap (Lichtenberg, 2014; Long, 2009). We have good reasons for acting yet we do not, at least consistently. A ‘sentimental education’, in which literature and journalism detailing the lives of distant others serves to encourage greater affective identification with these individuals (Nussbaum 2001; Rorty 1998), has been suggested as a promising means by which to close this gap. Although sympathetic to this project, this article argues that it is too heavily wed to a charitable model of our duties to address global poverty, understood as requiring we sacrifice a certain portion of our income. However, political action, aimed at altering institutions at both a global and a local level is likely to be necessary in order to provide effective long-term solutions to poverty globally. I then go on to develop an alternative account of sentimental education, suitable for motivating support for political action to address global poverty.

The argument is divided into three sections. Section one outlines the traditional model of sentimental education, and argues that it faces two key shortcomings as a means to motivate support for political strategies to address global poverty. Firstly, it presents individuals facing poverty globally in a manner that obscures their capacity for agency; however, political strategies to address global poverty rely on a picture of these individuals as capable agents. Secondly, this model leads to affective connections with distant others that are highly abstract in nature. Motivating effective political solutions requires the development of more specific affective ties. Drawing on the arguments advanced in section one, section two develops an alternative model of sentimental education as dialogue, conducive to motivating political action. As dialogue may not always be feasible in practice, dialogue operates here as a guiding ideal rather than a strict requirement. I argue that processes of dialogue will typically be mediated in practice, through the presence of third parties, such as journalists or NGOs, and examine what appropriate mediation entails. Section three applies this dialogic model of sentimental education to four sites of sentimental education: (i) The Media, (ii) NGO practices, (iii) formal education, and (vi) the international Trade Union Movement. In doing so, I highlight examples of good practice, which serve to demonstrate that the account offered here is not only practically feasible, it is a reality in action.

Journal of Social Philosophy, 2019

Journal of Global Ethics, 2019

https://doi.org/10.1080/17449626.2019.1687567

Ethics & Global Politics, May 2017

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16544951.2017.1312991

Books by Joshua Hobbs

Engagement/Journalism by Joshua Hobbs

The Scotsman / The Conversation, 2022

Thesis by Joshua Hobbs

Teaching Documents by Joshua Hobbs

Applications for Associate Fellowship: please complete the introduction and a minimum of two area... more Applications for Associate Fellowship: please complete the introduction and a minimum of two areas of activity from A1-A5. You also need to include two references. The word limit is 1400 words, +/-10%. This excludes the introduction, references from your referees and any citations, which do not constitute part of the word limit. If your application does not comply with the word count it will be returned to you without having been reviewed. You will be invited to edit and resubmit your application to be considered at a later assessment point.

This example discusses how I incorporated podcasts, featuring leaders from the business world, to... more This example discusses how I incorporated podcasts, featuring leaders from the business world, to provide real-world examples of the application of the theoretical topics discussed in the module. What did you do? Why did you do it? I recorded a series of 40-minute podcasts featuring leaders from business and other professional sectors as part of a second year discovery module on leadership ethics. These served to compliment recorded lectures, and to show the real-world application of the theoretical topics discussed in the reading material and lectures. Podcasts took a classic discussion format, with prepared questions used as prompts to keep things on topic. Each podcast complimented a companion lecture, approaching the same topic from a theoretical perspective. Example topics include: i) the role of trust in leadership, ii) how leaders can distinguish between legitimate persuasive strategies and manipulation, and iii) leader's responsibility for organisational culture. Using guest speakers from industry and professional sectors has worked well on the module in previous years as a means to bring ethical issues in leadership to life and to engage students. However, face-to-face guest lectures were not possible this year due to the requirement for teaching to be primarily online due to COVID-19.

Conference Presentations by Joshua Hobbs

Although cosmopolitanism has recently gained increased interest and general support in relation t... more Although cosmopolitanism has recently gained increased interest and general support in relation to its underwriting moral principles advocating human worth, dignity and corresponding obligations to those beyond borders, this has not translated into widespread action. Accordingly, both cosmopolitans and their critics alike identify what is often referred to as a ‘motivation gap’ at the heart of cosmopolitanism. The significance of this gap is that it questions whether cosmopolitans can offer a convincing route from present conditions to a meaningful cosmopolitics, while also undermining the credibility of cosmopolitanism’s account of obligations to others. To many this shortfall renders cosmopolitanism untenable as both a practical political project and as a viable theoretical alternative to nationalism.

The purpose of this paper is to explore what we see as a largely underdeveloped area of research in cosmopolitan thought as it relates to cosmopolitanism’s motivational problem, namely, the potential role of self-interest as a key motivational component in the development and furtherance of an expanded cosmopolitical condition. In doing so we detail the ‘motivational problem’ in cosmopolitanism and outline a number of key issues at the heart of this debate. From this, the paper provides analyze the potential relationship between self-interest and sentimental cosmopolitanism in addressing the solidarity problem, arguing that self-interested motivations can be mutually consistent and compatible with sentiment-based cosmopolitanism. From this position the paper outlines our basic claim that self-interest can be one important component in what we label as ‘transitional cosmopolitanism’ and address two potential critiques of our vision of self-interested ‘transitional cosmopolitanism’: A) That it cannot meet the demands of what an ‘authentic’ cosmopolitanism entails, and; B) That it cannot address key feasibility constraints that currently limit cosmopolitical advancement. In both cases we refute and challenge these critiques and outline three conditions in which self-interest can be compatible with cosmopolitanism writ large while advancing a transitional form of cosmopolitanism. Through this our paper concludes that self-interest should be understood as providing an important motivational and transformative component within a broader conception of ‘transitional cosmopolitanism’.

A major recent trend in normative political theory has been the development of radical 'cosmopoli... more A major recent trend in normative political theory has been the development of radical 'cosmopolitan' theories. It has frequently been claimed, for instance, that justice requires equality of opportunity between persons worldwide (not just between citizens of particular states) or that global circumstances are such that there is now a case for globalised democracy.