Speculation, “Speculative Men”

Speculative, 思辨的

(adnominal adjective)

That which is purely theoretical, derived from pure reason without the aid of experience.

When reading Western writings on politics and society, the words speculation and speculative appear routinely. In our society, where the tradition of social science is short, our linguistic framework lacks an exact translation that immediately conveys what these words mean. In older translations, they are rendered as sabeon, but for the Hangul generation this makes the meaning even harder to grasp intuitively.

Looking for the antonym helps in estimating the meaning. The word speculation (or idea) is generally used in contrast to practice. Also, the opposite of “abstract, speculative” is “concrete, empirical.”

There are two opposing traditions in theories of liberty. One is the empirical and unsystematic tradition; the other is the speculative and rationalistic tradition. That is, the former is the tradition of Scottish liberalism, based on interpretations of traditions and institutions that grew spontaneously, while the latter is the tradition of French rationalism, which aims at constructing utopia and believes in the power of human reason.

In other words, speculation refers to a purely theoretical mode of conduct that infers something through the power of reason rather than through experience. This article does not merely seek to repeat criticisms of the latter speculative philosophical tendency that leads to socialism. Rather, it seeks to speak of the power of speculation: the force that, if blindly trusted alone, can lead to false conclusions, yet a force that must still be used with full awareness of its limits.

John Stuart Mill once said the following:

“The lesson that has been given to mankind in every age, but has been ignored, is this: speculative philosophy seems on the surface far removed from the real and immediate problems of life. But in fact, it is precisely this that exerts the greatest influence in this world, and ultimately ensures that the things which absolutely must be preserved do not disappear.”

Seeing that his speculative philosophy still exerts power to this day despite its mistaken conclusions, there seems to be at least some truth in what he said.

In The Federalist Papers, which sought to persuade readers as to what form federalism should take in the founding process of the United States, the authors explain why the power of the federal government must extend to each individual citizen, and say the following:

“The benefits of local government are practical and direct, and are therefore readily recognized by many people. But since the benefits deriving from the central government are less directly visible to most citizens, the activities of the central government are chiefly perceived and attended to by speculative men.”

They clearly recognized the social role played by people who think speculatively, that is, idealists. Of course, this does not mean they admired speculative men uncritically. They also discussed constitutional devices intended to prevent the harmful effects of excessive idealism, such as arguments for excluding a standing army in peacetime or for excessively restricting the continuation of leaders in office.

In The Constitution of Liberty and “The Intellectuals and Socialism,” Hayek speaks of the formidable power of abstract thinkers, that is, speculative men. He explains that once the ideas born from their speculations pass through public intellectuals and become the common possession of a generation, they come to wield an absolute influence over political action. He says we must strive to ensure that the products of speculative thinkers undergo a long process of selection and revision before they acquire such influence. And to do that, he says, we classical liberals too must have the courage to become dreamers. He speaks of the power of speculation in urging us to articulate universal ideals and utopias capable of captivating public intellectuals.

Mises, too, used the power of speculation to prove the errors of socialism through utilitarian examination and foresaw its failure. Without the power of speculation, we can neither envision the future nor predict disaster.

It was not until Francis Bacon in the 17th century that the empire of ideas founded on speculation—the Aristotelian empire—was seriously challenged. It is therefore no surprise that our country, situated on the periphery of the continent, remained trapped until recently in the iron fortress of speculative ideas known as Neo-Confucianism. Even Adam Smith, when writing The Theory of Moral Sentiments, was still a simple speculative philosopher who believed in a harmonious order sustained by divine providence, and only around the time he wrote The Wealth of Nations did he transform into a practical inquirer who gave broad consideration to common sense and facts. This means that the method of speculative philosophy remains familiar to humanity in our age and still possesses powerful persuasive force. It also means that one can advance beyond a speculative worldview on one’s own, without abandoning the speculative method all at once.

In Korea, where speculative philosophical ideas exercised their exclusive power the longest in the form of Neo-Confucianism, it is only natural that the speculative mode of thought—that is, an idealistic attitude—still dominates society and politics. This offers an important strategic hint to Korean liberals. In fighting the idealistic constructivism that dominates our society, a conservative approach that simply rejects the speculative method as a whole has no chance of success. In the struggle to spread liberalism, the society in which we stand is one where the method of presenting universal ideals and utopias can exert even greater power.

2023.4.3. Sangmin Nam

https://docs.google.com/document/d/114WDpJ5IyLyZJeX8bNNfWivQfLlqt0tKum6yTDiB6vQ/edit?usp=sharing

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Original title: 사변(speculation), '사변적 인간(speculative men)'

Author: Jayujuui Ipmun Dokseotoronmoim

Date: 2023-04-03

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=reading01&pn=3&idx=25509