Intended Meaning
The civil state in this context is based on freedom, pluralism, and human rights It is not built on excluding one side in favor of another, but on accepting diversity within a single political unity
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: Political
- Movement of the argument: It makes freedom, pluralism, and human rights the foundation of the civil state.
- Key terms: civil state, pluralism, human rights, freedom.
- Degree of centrality: Primary.
This atom establishes the model of the state on acceptance of diversity rather than exclusion, and links politics to public rights within a shared civil unity.
Reading aids
- Muhammad Shahrur: The State and Society
- The Civil State, Religion, and Authority
- Civil state
- Pluralism
- Freedom
Grounding
- Supporting text: “The desired civil state is based on freedom, pluralism, and human rights.”
Location of the Grounding in the Book
- Book: The State and Society.
- Location: Early in the book
- Type of grounding: Near witness.
- Marker that helps verification: based on pluralism
- Reading note: This location supports the atom because it links the civil state to pluralism, freedom, and the guarantee of rights.
Documentation Level
- Level: Directly documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom rests on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of reading: The wording above is an analytical summary and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is quoted verbatim.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is definitional; it fixes a meaning or conceptual distinction that Shahrur relies on in building the idea.
Related to
Editorial Note
A foundational atom in Shahrur’s conception of the civil state.