This paper reconsiders Hannah Arendt’s “method” of political thinking and its implicated critiques of the Rawlsian methodology of political philosophy today, namely, the reflective equilibrium. By addressing Arendt’s approach to political thinking and comparing it with John Rawls’ counterpart, I argue that inasmuch as thinking cannot be reduced to philosophising, the outcome of thinking is by no means nothing but philosophy, either. That is to say, in opposition to the analytic method of normative political philosophy ever since Rawls, I contend that reflective equilibrium, as Rawls and some political philosophers proposed, is not the paradigmatic method of thinking on political matters and that political philosophy (or in Rawls’ words the coherent theory) is not the only possible product of political thinking. Based on these points, this paper concludes that Arendt’s approach to political thinking, namely, thinking in plurality and judgmental theory, could provide a trenchant critique of the belief that is held by Rawlsians and most philosophers today. That is, reflective equilibrium and political philosophising are neither adequate for theorising politics nor the best way of thinking about political matters.
Regular Isuue
第 25 卷・第 2 期
發行於 十二月, 2021
This study addresses an interesting question on political participation in direct versus representative democracies. That is, are citizens more likely to turn out to vote in direct issue-oriented referendums or in indirect candidate-oriented public office elections? In order to answer this question, this study takes advantage of a rare case of a natural experiment in Taiwan’s 2018 concurrent referendum and local elections. Capitalizing on a gap between the voting-age eligibility rule of 18 for referendums and 20 for local offices, this study develops rigorous regression-discontinuity (RD) designs in causal inference with the “two cutoffs model” for the referendums and “the standard single cutoff model” for the local elections. The two RD designs are then applied to a unique set of individual-level validated turnout data with large sample size released by the Central Election Commission. Empirical estimates of the two RD designs confirm our hypothesis that, other things being equal, the first-time voters are much more likely to turn out when they are eligible for both referendum and public office ballots than when they are only eligible for referendum ballots. This finding has important implications not only for theories of direct versus indirect democracies but also in practice for democratic decision-making mechanisms.
減止訟為臺北市率全國之先的首創政策，藉由集中管理臺北市政府訴訟案件，由減止訟組專案管制，力求快速定紛止爭。依據臺北市政府法務局的統計，自減止訟創新執行以來，民事訴訟案件新增案減少，積案亦逐年減少。從組織內部創新執行的角度來看，有效的創新執行需要制度助力的支持。同時，制度助力會塑造組織成員對於創新制度的信念與反應，從而影響內部創新的結果。針對公部門的特性以及減止訟的制度源起，本研究以管理支持與資源憑藉，做為減止訟的重要制度助力。本研究向臺北市政府類一條鞭法制人員進行問卷調查，進行統計分析。迴歸分析的結果顯示，法制人員普遍肯定首長立場對於減止訟創新執行的重要性。尤其，市長的鼓勵或表揚會影響機關首長在減止訟的立場。同時，減止訟的作業程序是法制人員的重要資源憑藉，對於創新執行同樣具有顯著的影響效果。本研究並研提實務建議，希冀未來可進一步疏減訟源，建立市府同仁安心執法的環境。
影響大學生政治參與的因素相當多，但是人格的因素長期被忽略。隨著近年人格與政治參與相關的研究愈來愈多，我國大學生對政治活動的參與也頗受重視，因此大學生的人格如何影響其政治參與的課題頗值得探討。本研究以五大人格特質理論為基礎，運用太陽花學運後的調查資料來分析大學生的人格、政治興趣及黨性對他們參與示威運動的可能影響。
本研究發現：人格特質不會影響黨性，但會影響個人的政治興趣。人格特質在控制其與黨性及政治興趣的互動關係後，不會直接影響大學生參與太陽花學運，但開放性人格及親和性人格會間接影響學生參與太陽花學運。開放性人格愈高，會因為政治興趣愈高而影響學生參與太陽花學運；親和性人格愈低，會因為政治興趣愈高而影響學生參與太陽花學運。除此之外，社會科學相關科系的學生，也較傾向參與太陽花學運。
自 2016 年美國總統大選，假新聞蔚為話題，打擊假新聞的迫切性成了共識。在假新聞盛行的年代，我國民眾認為假新聞該不該管制呢？本研究發現，高達八成五的民眾同意政府管制假新聞。其中明顯會影響民眾認為假新聞需不需要管制的是「第三人效果」，亦即認為假新聞的流傳會影響「其他」民眾對公共事務的判斷，所以需要政府管制假新聞，但認為假新聞的流傳會影響「自己」對公共事務判斷的民眾，反而不會支持政府管制假新聞，這是典型的第三人效果。
然而，政府是不是應該管制假新聞呢？從本研究發現，政黨認同是影響民眾此一態度的重要因素，可見政府是否管制假新聞此一議題仍有政治色彩，非純粹第三人效果的影響，且已經有七成六的民眾認為「政府為了規避責任，會將對政府不利的消息，說成是假消息」。建議政府審慎應對，即使立法管制假新聞，也應考慮管制程度，不宜違反言論自由。