Matthias Kramm | Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen (original) (raw)

Papers by Matthias Kramm

Handbook of Equality of Opportunity, 2023

According to the capability approach, human well-being should be conceptualized in terms of capab... more According to the capability approach, human well-being should be conceptualized in terms of capabilities – the real freedoms of individuals to achieve certain doings and beings. Yet, what does it mean to have the ‘real freedom’ to achieve these things? In this chapter, we argue that ‘real freedom’ implies that someone has the substantive opportunity to do or be something (i.e., turn it into the corresponding functioning), in the sense that there is nothing or no one that impedes its achievement. We analyze this notion of ’substantiveness’ and argue that the enabling and disabling factors can be conceptualized along three dimensions, namely (i) whether they are of a personal, social, or environmental nature; (ii) whether they are of a positive or negative nature; and (iii) whether they are of a tangible or intangible nature. Moreover, we argue that the substantiveness of someone’s opportunities could be called into question insofar as the capability – that is, the real freedom to achieve a certain doing or being – is not robust or secure. Consequently, we identify five conditions of robustness, which specify the robustness of a capability and/or its conversion factors, namely (i) non-competition for finite capabilities, (ii) permanence of enabling conversion factors, (iii) decisive control over the outcome and decisive preference over the choice, (iv) content- and context-independence, and (v) non-dependency on favors. Finally, we argue that this analysis reveals two ways of conceptualizing substantive opportunities. On the binary view of substantiveness, all conditions need to be met for someone to have the corresponding capability because only if all conditions are met can we say that the opportunity has been cleared of all obstacles to its realization and therefore be substantive. By contrast, on the incremental view of substantiveness, it is possible to hold that the opportunity to realize a certain doing or being is more or less substantive beyond either being present or not.

Constellations, 2023

Consulting tradition to address political or ethical problems within the community is a prominent... more Consulting tradition to address political or ethical problems within the community is a prominent practice in religious communities. However, in liberal democracies, the epistemic contribution of religious traditions to political or ethical problem solving remains controversial. In this paper, I investigate whether there are nonreligious, epistemic reasons that could justify consulting religious traditions. In this way, I supplement the ongoing debate on the value of tradition, which has focused mostly on practical values for maintaining traditions, with an examination of epistemic reasons for consulting traditions. To do so, I focus on the problem-solving aspect of religious traditions and their epistemic resources. I discuss whether consulting traditions of religious wisdom, religious practical knowledge, religious institutions, or religious rationalities can be justified based on their continuous transmission, the test of time, an intergenerational learning process, or moral enquiry.

Zeitschrift für philosophische Forschung, 2022

Tradition is a complex phenomenon of which we can find a multiplicity of conceptualizations in th... more Tradition is a complex phenomenon of which we can find a multiplicity of conceptualizations in the philosophical, sociological, anthropological, and economic literature. In this paper, I offer a critical contribution and a constructive contribution to answering the question of how tradition should be conceptualized. In the critical part, I argue against attempts to construct a unified conception of tradition. In the constructive part, I discuss three taxonomies proposed in the literature and then develop an analytical grid of tradition as an alternative. The analytical grid is
based on a sample of 28 accounts of tradition that can be found in the contemporary scholarly literature, and makes use of seven dimensions to distinguish among these conceptions.

Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 2021

In this paper, I defend the claim that addressing dominating ontologies is crucial for achieving ... more In this paper, I defend the claim that addressing dominating ontologies is crucial for achieving Indigenous self-determination. Consequently, the struggle for Indigenous self-determination comprises not only an engagement with political practices, structures, and institutions, but also with political ontology. I first argue that implementing Indigenous self-determination requires an engagement with political ontology. I then introduce Iris Young's conception of selfdetermination as non-domination as a way to engage with diverging ontologies within the political framework of federalism. In the final section of the paper, I present two constructive proposals concerning how Indigenous peoples and settler states can establish an ontology at the federal level that facilitates Indigenous self-determination.

Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 2020

In March 2017, the Whanganui River in Aotearoa New Zealand was the first river to officially rece... more In March 2017, the Whanganui River in Aotearoa New Zealand was the first river to officially receive the status of a legal person. This legal personhood is based on the ontological understanding of the river as an indivisible and living whole and as the spiritual ancestor of the Whanganui Iwi (a Māori tribe). In this paper, I analyse the Te Awa Tupua Act in which the Whanganui River is declared a legal person and suggest to supplement the document with a cross-cultural account of the Whanganui River's wellbeing and with two normative principles that can help to effectively protect the river. First, I distinguish between a pre-political, a legal, and an institutional level within the Te Awa Tupua Act. I then identify the normative issues at stake in conceptualising and protecting the river's wellbeing. Subsequently, I discuss how the capability approach would need to be modified in order to incorporate the Whanganui River's wellbeing in terms of functionings. In the final section, I suggest two duties that could supplement the normative framework of the Te Awa Tupua Act. The paper concludes with a policy recommendation.

European Journal of Philosophy, 2020

In contemporary political philosophy, it has recently been proposed that upper limits should be p... more In contemporary political philosophy, it has recently been proposed that upper limits should be put on individual wealth acquisition. In this article, we discuss the arguments made by canonical writers in the history of economic and political philosophy about ideas that can be considered prototypes of limitarianism. In contemporary discussions, a distinction has been made between intrinsic and non-intrinsic limitarianism, whereby it has been doubted that, in present-day pluralistic societies, the former can be justified. We have found proto-limitarian claims or justifications for limitarianism in four moral domains: moral psychology, moral reasoning, virtue ethics and political morality. While in the present-day context the view that there should be an upper limit to wealth may sound much too radical, we show that throughout history, many influential philosophers made limitarian or proto-limitarian claims, including many intrinsic arguments for wealth limitarianism. We end the article by outlining the implications of those historical insights for systematic contemporary discussions of limitarianism.

Journal of Global Ethics, 2019

In his action theory, John Dewey makes use of the concept of capability to highlight the way huma... more In his action theory, John Dewey makes use of the concept of capability to highlight the way human capacities depend on the environment and the character of an agent. In his capability approach, Amartya Sen likewise refers to the environment by discussing the role of conversion factors. Yet, he abstains from a discussion of character development, presumably in order to allow for a variety of conceptions of the good and ways in which characters can develop. In this paper, I develop the outlines of a pragmatist capability theory by enriching the core concepts of Sen's capability approach with the Deweyan notions of habit and character. In this way, the role of the environment in the capability approach can be reaffirmed and supplemented by a notion of character development. Subsequently, I explore the implications of this framework for Sen's notions of impartiality and freedom. The result is a pragmatist capability theory which builds on Sen's conceptual framework and puts additional emphasis on character development and sensitivity to one's environment.

Praefaktisch.de (Blog), 2019

Bis zu der Scheidung von seiner Frau MacKenzie bleibt Jeff Bezos mit einem Besitz von 131 Milliar... more Bis zu der Scheidung von seiner Frau MacKenzie bleibt Jeff Bezos mit einem Besitz von 131 Milliarden Dollar der reichste Mann der Welt. Dicht auf ihn folgt Bill Gates mit 96,5 Milliarden Dollar. Die Aldi-Süd-Erben Karl Albrecht Junior und Beate Heister landen mit 36,1 Milliarden Dollar auf Platz 23 der Forbes-Liste[1]. Laut Statista[2] besaßen deutsche Bundesbürgerinnen und Bundesbürger im Jahr 2017 ein durchschnittliches Pro-Kopf-Geldvermögen von 52.390 Euro. In Österreich betrug das Pro-Kopf-Geldvermögen 53.980 Euro und in der Schweiz erstaunliche 173.990 Euro. Auch wenn noch Vermögenswerte wie Haus, Auto etc. dazu kommen würden, bleibt der Vergleich schwindelerregend: Jeff Bezos und Bill Gates würden jeweils immer noch mehr als 490.000 Schweizer, 1,5 Millionen Österreicher oder 1,6 Millionen Deutsche besitzen.

Book Reviews by Matthias Kramm

European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy, 2018

Ethical Perspectives, 2018