ISBN:
9780197535455
Language:
English
Pages:
xii, 213 Seiten
Parallel Title:
Erscheint auch als Scudder, Mary F. Beyond empathy and inclusion
DDC:
323/.042
Keywords:
Deliberative democracy
;
Listening Political aspects
;
Empathy Political aspects
;
Political participation
;
Deliberative Demokratie
;
Aktives Zuhören
;
Einfühlung
;
Politisches Handeln
Abstract:
"What makes deliberation meaningfully democratic? Beyond Empathy and Inclusion: The Challenge of Listening in Democratic Deliberation answers that it's the fair consideration or "uptake" of others' perspectives. Efforts to democratize deliberation should focus as much on expanding uptake as on broadening inclusion. The book goes on to evaluate various practices of citizenship for their ability to promote fair consideration, especially in contexts of deep difference and disagreement. Specifically, it examines the role empathy should play in promoting uptake. Deflating overblown appeals to empathy, the book shows that empathy's reliance on imagination and commonality make it ill-suited for sustaining communication across difference. Moving beyond empathy and inclusion, the book argues that fair consideration is predicated on attentive listening. It develops a "theory of listening acts" - modeled after Austin's speech act theory - to show how we act in listening. In listening to our fellow citizens, we recognize their moral equality of voice. The act of listening itself, wherein citizens acknowledge each other as having a rightful say in the decision at hand, confers democratic force on deliberation. This democratic force of listening comes from the particular affective-cognitive disposition citizens adopt when engaging with others. The book investigates how to motivate citizens to listen seriously, attentively, and humbly even to those with whom they disagree. It concludes by explaining that while a listening-centered approach to deliberation cannot resolve all of the challenges of deliberating across difference, its democratic power comes from the fact that it takes these challenges seriously"--
Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index
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