Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780262019576
- eISBN:
- 9780262314725
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262019576.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
American monetary policy is formulated by the Federal Reserve and overseen by Congress. Both policy making and oversight are deliberative processes, although the effect of this deliberation has been ...
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American monetary policy is formulated by the Federal Reserve and overseen by Congress. Both policy making and oversight are deliberative processes, although the effect of this deliberation has been difficult to quantify. This book provides a systematic examination of deliberation on monetary policy from 1976 to 2008 by the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) and House and Senate banking committees. The innovative account employs automated textual analysis software to study the verbatim transcripts of FOMC meetings and congressional hearings; these empirical data are supplemented and supported by in-depth interviews with participants in these deliberations. The automated textual analysis measures the characteristic words, phrases, and arguments of committee members; the interviews offer a way to gauge the extent to which the empirical findings accord with the participants’ personal experiences. Decade after decade, Fed chairman after Fed chairman, one feature is evident in the discourse between central bankers and US legislators: Fed chairmen tend to talk about the technicalities of monetary policy while senators and representatives talk about other things, such as jobs, fiscal policy, energy policy, education, and so on. All too often they simply talk past one another. Analyzing why and under what conditions deliberation matters for monetary policy in the FOMC, the book identifies several strategies of persuasion used by committee members, including Paul Volcker’s emphasis on policy credibility and efforts to influence economic expectations.Less
American monetary policy is formulated by the Federal Reserve and overseen by Congress. Both policy making and oversight are deliberative processes, although the effect of this deliberation has been difficult to quantify. This book provides a systematic examination of deliberation on monetary policy from 1976 to 2008 by the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) and House and Senate banking committees. The innovative account employs automated textual analysis software to study the verbatim transcripts of FOMC meetings and congressional hearings; these empirical data are supplemented and supported by in-depth interviews with participants in these deliberations. The automated textual analysis measures the characteristic words, phrases, and arguments of committee members; the interviews offer a way to gauge the extent to which the empirical findings accord with the participants’ personal experiences. Decade after decade, Fed chairman after Fed chairman, one feature is evident in the discourse between central bankers and US legislators: Fed chairmen tend to talk about the technicalities of monetary policy while senators and representatives talk about other things, such as jobs, fiscal policy, energy policy, education, and so on. All too often they simply talk past one another. Analyzing why and under what conditions deliberation matters for monetary policy in the FOMC, the book identifies several strategies of persuasion used by committee members, including Paul Volcker’s emphasis on policy credibility and efforts to influence economic expectations.
Govind Persad
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262027465
- eISBN:
- 9780262320825
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262027465.003.0014
- Subject:
- Biology, Bioethics
This chapter explains the concept of democratic deliberation and considers its implications for ethical review of human subjects research. Democratic deliberation is an ethical principle relatively ...
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This chapter explains the concept of democratic deliberation and considers its implications for ethical review of human subjects research. Democratic deliberation is an ethical principle relatively new to research ethics. It involves a public exchange of ideas within and across groups of ordinary citizens, experts, and political representatives, and requires participants to engage actively with one another, to offer reasons that are acceptable and intelligible to their interlocutors, and to revise their decisions as new information and new perspectives come into view.Incorporating democratic deliberation into human subjects research would recommend greater inclusion of participants in the review process. This might be achieved by seating participants or their advocates on IRBs, and by otherwise involving them on advisory committees overseeing research. Such inclusion of research participants would follow the model of advisory committees elsewhere in the health care system, which include patients and other stakeholders. It would also counsel against exempting public benefits research, such as experimentation with Medicare and Medicaid benefits, from ethical review.Less
This chapter explains the concept of democratic deliberation and considers its implications for ethical review of human subjects research. Democratic deliberation is an ethical principle relatively new to research ethics. It involves a public exchange of ideas within and across groups of ordinary citizens, experts, and political representatives, and requires participants to engage actively with one another, to offer reasons that are acceptable and intelligible to their interlocutors, and to revise their decisions as new information and new perspectives come into view.Incorporating democratic deliberation into human subjects research would recommend greater inclusion of participants in the review process. This might be achieved by seating participants or their advocates on IRBs, and by otherwise involving them on advisory committees overseeing research. Such inclusion of research participants would follow the model of advisory committees elsewhere in the health care system, which include patients and other stakeholders. It would also counsel against exempting public benefits research, such as experimentation with Medicare and Medicaid benefits, from ethical review.
Nomy Arpaly and Timothy Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199348169
- eISBN:
- 9780199348183
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199348169.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
In Praise of Desire aims to show that ordinary desires belong at the heart of moral psychology. It has three core theses, adding up to a doctrine it calls Spare Conativism. These are (1) ...
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In Praise of Desire aims to show that ordinary desires belong at the heart of moral psychology. It has three core theses, adding up to a doctrine it calls Spare Conativism. These are (1) that intrinsic desires for the right or good (correctly conceived) are what makes it possible to act for the right reasons; (2) that doing what is right or good out of an intrinsic desires for the right or good (correctly conceived) is acting in a praiseworthy manner; and (3) that to be virtuous is to greatly intrinsically desire the right or good (correctly conceived). In addition, intrinsic desires are central to understanding such diverse topics as love, care, pleasure, acting on side constraints, open-mindedness, the virtue of modesty, the moral status of dreams, the possibility of inner struggle, and the diminished blameworthiness addicts have for bad acts they perform out of addiction. Even deliberation can only be understood through intrinsic desires, since deliberation is itself a kind of mental action performed out of an intrinsic desire to determine what to think or what to do. While other moral-psychological theories put Reason ahead of desires or give desires roles only when managed and contained, In Praise of Desire gives a full defence of the central role intrinsic desires have in our moral lives.Less
In Praise of Desire aims to show that ordinary desires belong at the heart of moral psychology. It has three core theses, adding up to a doctrine it calls Spare Conativism. These are (1) that intrinsic desires for the right or good (correctly conceived) are what makes it possible to act for the right reasons; (2) that doing what is right or good out of an intrinsic desires for the right or good (correctly conceived) is acting in a praiseworthy manner; and (3) that to be virtuous is to greatly intrinsically desire the right or good (correctly conceived). In addition, intrinsic desires are central to understanding such diverse topics as love, care, pleasure, acting on side constraints, open-mindedness, the virtue of modesty, the moral status of dreams, the possibility of inner struggle, and the diminished blameworthiness addicts have for bad acts they perform out of addiction. Even deliberation can only be understood through intrinsic desires, since deliberation is itself a kind of mental action performed out of an intrinsic desire to determine what to think or what to do. While other moral-psychological theories put Reason ahead of desires or give desires roles only when managed and contained, In Praise of Desire gives a full defence of the central role intrinsic desires have in our moral lives.
Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey and Andrew Bailey
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780262019576
- eISBN:
- 9780262314725
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262019576.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
This chapter sets out the aim of the book—to examine systematically deliberation on monetary policy in the U.S. in two different institutions, the Federal Reserve and Congress. It establishes reasons ...
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This chapter sets out the aim of the book—to examine systematically deliberation on monetary policy in the U.S. in two different institutions, the Federal Reserve and Congress. It establishes reasons why deliberation may matter in US monetary policy. For instance, even though the legal framework for the independence of the Fed has remained constant, (1) interpretations of this independence among policy makers and politicians have changed considerably — and so it may be important to gauge how their thinking and arguments on this have evolved; (2) policy makers do not generally envisage their decisions on monetary policy as falling along a single dimension, and so there are potential trade-offs to be made across dimensions, which may entail argued reasoning; (3) the uncertainty inherent to monetary policy decision making creates questions that in turn create the opportunity for deliberation; (4) studying the Fed and Congress together allows us insight into the ways in which each institutional setting shapes the ways that monetary policy is understood and discussed; and (5) studying deliberation provides insight into the effects of changes in transparency and the chairman’s leadership on the committees’ discussions.Less
This chapter sets out the aim of the book—to examine systematically deliberation on monetary policy in the U.S. in two different institutions, the Federal Reserve and Congress. It establishes reasons why deliberation may matter in US monetary policy. For instance, even though the legal framework for the independence of the Fed has remained constant, (1) interpretations of this independence among policy makers and politicians have changed considerably — and so it may be important to gauge how their thinking and arguments on this have evolved; (2) policy makers do not generally envisage their decisions on monetary policy as falling along a single dimension, and so there are potential trade-offs to be made across dimensions, which may entail argued reasoning; (3) the uncertainty inherent to monetary policy decision making creates questions that in turn create the opportunity for deliberation; (4) studying the Fed and Congress together allows us insight into the ways in which each institutional setting shapes the ways that monetary policy is understood and discussed; and (5) studying deliberation provides insight into the effects of changes in transparency and the chairman’s leadership on the committees’ discussions.
Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey and Andrew Bailey
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780262019576
- eISBN:
- 9780262314725
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262019576.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
This chapter briefly surveys the difficulties in measuring empirically the motivations of members of congressional committees and the FOMC. It challenges the bias against the empirical investigation ...
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This chapter briefly surveys the difficulties in measuring empirically the motivations of members of congressional committees and the FOMC. It challenges the bias against the empirical investigation of political “talk”, and particularly deliberation within committee settings. Deliberation is defined as exhibiting the important characteristic of reason-giving, so that deliberative discourse would entail members of the FOMC and legislators providing reasons for their positions, and responding to those of others. Ultimately, then, members must be willing to be persuaded by the merits of their colleagues’ reasoned argument. This chapter sets out a number of hypotheses for what we might expect to find within FOMC and congressional committee deliberation, with attention given to the effects of key institutional and ideational features that may affect deliberation—e.g., committee rules and procedures, transparency, clarity of the policy objective, and the degree of consensus surrounding the role of monetary policy in the economy.Less
This chapter briefly surveys the difficulties in measuring empirically the motivations of members of congressional committees and the FOMC. It challenges the bias against the empirical investigation of political “talk”, and particularly deliberation within committee settings. Deliberation is defined as exhibiting the important characteristic of reason-giving, so that deliberative discourse would entail members of the FOMC and legislators providing reasons for their positions, and responding to those of others. Ultimately, then, members must be willing to be persuaded by the merits of their colleagues’ reasoned argument. This chapter sets out a number of hypotheses for what we might expect to find within FOMC and congressional committee deliberation, with attention given to the effects of key institutional and ideational features that may affect deliberation—e.g., committee rules and procedures, transparency, clarity of the policy objective, and the degree of consensus surrounding the role of monetary policy in the economy.
Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey and Andrew Bailey
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780262019576
- eISBN:
- 9780262314725
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262019576.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Deliberation is an understudied area of policy-making, in part because it is a challenging task. First, it is hard to reduce words into a measurable form while maintaining the integrity of the ...
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Deliberation is an understudied area of policy-making, in part because it is a challenging task. First, it is hard to reduce words into a measurable form while maintaining the integrity of the concepts and arguments. Second, even if we can capture the content of deliberation in a more systematic fashion that preserves meaning, we face the question of how we then assess whether and how deliberation makes a difference. This book finds that deliberation matters because it can change the views and preferences of participants, and these changes can in turn result in both abrupt policy consequences (e.g., the Volcker Revolution) and longer term policy consequences (e.g., cementing a legislative consensus around the primacy of low inflation as a precursor to stable economic growth). Simply put, deliberation matters in a process where policy is made in a committee setting because committee members (1) seek to persuade others to alter their views and (2) are themselves persuaded to revise their own views. The views of committee members are malleable. Thus, it is not satisfactory to assess policymaking using just a crude measurement of preferences in a statistical framework.Less
Deliberation is an understudied area of policy-making, in part because it is a challenging task. First, it is hard to reduce words into a measurable form while maintaining the integrity of the concepts and arguments. Second, even if we can capture the content of deliberation in a more systematic fashion that preserves meaning, we face the question of how we then assess whether and how deliberation makes a difference. This book finds that deliberation matters because it can change the views and preferences of participants, and these changes can in turn result in both abrupt policy consequences (e.g., the Volcker Revolution) and longer term policy consequences (e.g., cementing a legislative consensus around the primacy of low inflation as a precursor to stable economic growth). Simply put, deliberation matters in a process where policy is made in a committee setting because committee members (1) seek to persuade others to alter their views and (2) are themselves persuaded to revise their own views. The views of committee members are malleable. Thus, it is not satisfactory to assess policymaking using just a crude measurement of preferences in a statistical framework.
Daniel H. Levine
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780748675890
- eISBN:
- 9780748697199
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748675890.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
The concept of consent, part of the traditional “holy trinity” is analysed. This chapter argues that consent is best understood not as a one-time agreement, but as an ongoing process (in line with ...
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The concept of consent, part of the traditional “holy trinity” is analysed. This chapter argues that consent is best understood not as a one-time agreement, but as an ongoing process (in line with much contemporary thought). Approaches to consent that focus on an agreement by the host nation government are morally dangerous, as peacekeepers operate where institutions are not in place to allow any formal government to embody the desires or interests of the political community as a whole.Less
The concept of consent, part of the traditional “holy trinity” is analysed. This chapter argues that consent is best understood not as a one-time agreement, but as an ongoing process (in line with much contemporary thought). Approaches to consent that focus on an agreement by the host nation government are morally dangerous, as peacekeepers operate where institutions are not in place to allow any formal government to embody the desires or interests of the political community as a whole.
Walter F. Baber and Robert V. Bartlett
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262028738
- eISBN:
- 9780262327046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028738.003.0008
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
The arguments for the unavoidability of administrative discretion are both political and functional. Administrative structures are a practical inevitability in modern environmental governance; no ...
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The arguments for the unavoidability of administrative discretion are both political and functional. Administrative structures are a practical inevitability in modern environmental governance; no citizenry or legislature has the insight, vision, cognitive assets, or time to create, much less administer, all the rules likely to be judged desirable by a collective will. But administrative discretion must be subjected to democratic control in any system of popular governance. The aim should not be to render government less effective but to render citizens’ control over government more effective, by building new forms of participation and new deliberative arenas into the decisionmaking processes of administration. The problems posed by administrative discretion for global environmental governance are not so much institutional and procedural as they are normative and political.Less
The arguments for the unavoidability of administrative discretion are both political and functional. Administrative structures are a practical inevitability in modern environmental governance; no citizenry or legislature has the insight, vision, cognitive assets, or time to create, much less administer, all the rules likely to be judged desirable by a collective will. But administrative discretion must be subjected to democratic control in any system of popular governance. The aim should not be to render government less effective but to render citizens’ control over government more effective, by building new forms of participation and new deliberative arenas into the decisionmaking processes of administration. The problems posed by administrative discretion for global environmental governance are not so much institutional and procedural as they are normative and political.
Elisabeth Ellis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300125221
- eISBN:
- 9780300152050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300125221.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy
This chapter takes a look at the relationship between provisionalism and democratic theory. The task given to provisional democratic theory is to investigate what factors and conditions make the ...
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This chapter takes a look at the relationship between provisionalism and democratic theory. The task given to provisional democratic theory is to investigate what factors and conditions make the principle of affected interest possible. This principle refers to the notion that the people that are affected by certain policies should have a say in their formation and implementation. The chapter then moves on to discuss how deliberative democratic theory came about through the promotion of Deliberation Day by Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin. The chapter analyzes the flaws in deliberative democracy and how these flaws affect issues such as sex discrimination, affirmative action, property rights, and freedom of speech. It looks particularly at Cass R. Sunstein's The Partial Constitution and its understandings on status quo neutrality.Less
This chapter takes a look at the relationship between provisionalism and democratic theory. The task given to provisional democratic theory is to investigate what factors and conditions make the principle of affected interest possible. This principle refers to the notion that the people that are affected by certain policies should have a say in their formation and implementation. The chapter then moves on to discuss how deliberative democratic theory came about through the promotion of Deliberation Day by Bruce Ackerman and James Fishkin. The chapter analyzes the flaws in deliberative democracy and how these flaws affect issues such as sex discrimination, affirmative action, property rights, and freedom of speech. It looks particularly at Cass R. Sunstein's The Partial Constitution and its understandings on status quo neutrality.
Nomy Arpaly and Timothy Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199348169
- eISBN:
- 9780199348183
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199348169.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Deliberation is a mental action performed with the end of determining what to think or do. Because it is an action, deliberation is undertaken for (better or worse) reasons. Thus, it cannot be what ...
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Deliberation is a mental action performed with the end of determining what to think or do. Because it is an action, deliberation is undertaken for (better or worse) reasons. Thus, it cannot be what makes it true that actions are performed for (better or worse) reasons, on pain of regress and other problems. Instead, deliberation is made possible by nondeliberative, nonreflective, nonvoluntary capacities to act for reasons.Less
Deliberation is a mental action performed with the end of determining what to think or do. Because it is an action, deliberation is undertaken for (better or worse) reasons. Thus, it cannot be what makes it true that actions are performed for (better or worse) reasons, on pain of regress and other problems. Instead, deliberation is made possible by nondeliberative, nonreflective, nonvoluntary capacities to act for reasons.
Nomy Arpaly and Timothy Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199348169
- eISBN:
- 9780199348183
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199348169.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
If deliberation is not what makes it possible to think or act for reasons, a question arises: what is the role of deliberation? The role of deliberation is to enhance pre-existing but imperfect ...
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If deliberation is not what makes it possible to think or act for reasons, a question arises: what is the role of deliberation? The role of deliberation is to enhance pre-existing but imperfect capacities to think and act for reasons independently of deliberation. Deliberation contingently, typically assists human beings in overcoming imperfections such as difficulties accessing stored information, difficulties chaining together simple inferences and insights, difficulties overcoming distractions, and others. An extended example shows how capacities to think and act for reasons independently of deliberation can be deployed in the process of deliberation itself to overcome the imperfections and, when all goes well, improve what is thought or done.Less
If deliberation is not what makes it possible to think or act for reasons, a question arises: what is the role of deliberation? The role of deliberation is to enhance pre-existing but imperfect capacities to think and act for reasons independently of deliberation. Deliberation contingently, typically assists human beings in overcoming imperfections such as difficulties accessing stored information, difficulties chaining together simple inferences and insights, difficulties overcoming distractions, and others. An extended example shows how capacities to think and act for reasons independently of deliberation can be deployed in the process of deliberation itself to overcome the imperfections and, when all goes well, improve what is thought or done.
Mark A. Graber
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199943883
- eISBN:
- 9780199369799
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199943883.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
Constitutions attempt to secure important social benefits by establishing fundamental laws, mandating the rule of law, entrenching political procedures, limiting government powers, and, in liberal ...
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Constitutions attempt to secure important social benefits by establishing fundamental laws, mandating the rule of law, entrenching political procedures, limiting government powers, and, in liberal orders, guaranteeing basic human rights. Entrenched constitutional provisions organize government, vest governing officials with necessary powers, structure politics, enable government to make credible commitments to investors and foreign powers, facilitate coordination between subnational governing units, prevent self-dealing by governing officials, promote deliberation on the public interest, offer some insurance against uncertain futures, articulate national aspirations, and foster compromises among persons who disagree on national aspirations. The Constitution of the United States proposes to help Americans secure national union, social peace, commercial prosperity, and various liberal rights.Less
Constitutions attempt to secure important social benefits by establishing fundamental laws, mandating the rule of law, entrenching political procedures, limiting government powers, and, in liberal orders, guaranteeing basic human rights. Entrenched constitutional provisions organize government, vest governing officials with necessary powers, structure politics, enable government to make credible commitments to investors and foreign powers, facilitate coordination between subnational governing units, prevent self-dealing by governing officials, promote deliberation on the public interest, offer some insurance against uncertain futures, articulate national aspirations, and foster compromises among persons who disagree on national aspirations. The Constitution of the United States proposes to help Americans secure national union, social peace, commercial prosperity, and various liberal rights.
Sam Ferguson
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198814535
- eISBN:
- 9780191852121
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198814535.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter examines a moment when the literary avant-garde returned to diary-writing and the writing subject, by focusing on Roland Barthes’s experiments with the diary (journal intime). These ...
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This chapter examines a moment when the literary avant-garde returned to diary-writing and the writing subject, by focusing on Roland Barthes’s experiments with the diary (journal intime). These experiments take place in the context of his project for a ‘Vita Nova’ (seeking a unification of his life and writing, and a new, subjective form of literature), and are all related to his mourning for his mother. His Journal de deuil (written 1977–1979) pursues an impossible ideal of diary-writing, in which a univocal, fully present writing subject expresses a valuable interior experience to produce a literary œuvre. The impossibility of this ideal leads Barthes to his reflections on the diary in the article ‘Délibération’, and then to an almost perfectly opposite form of diary-writing project, with Soirées de Paris. These two diaries, exploring opposite extremes of writing, are placed by Barthes as components within his imagined novel (Vita Nova).Less
This chapter examines a moment when the literary avant-garde returned to diary-writing and the writing subject, by focusing on Roland Barthes’s experiments with the diary (journal intime). These experiments take place in the context of his project for a ‘Vita Nova’ (seeking a unification of his life and writing, and a new, subjective form of literature), and are all related to his mourning for his mother. His Journal de deuil (written 1977–1979) pursues an impossible ideal of diary-writing, in which a univocal, fully present writing subject expresses a valuable interior experience to produce a literary œuvre. The impossibility of this ideal leads Barthes to his reflections on the diary in the article ‘Délibération’, and then to an almost perfectly opposite form of diary-writing project, with Soirées de Paris. These two diaries, exploring opposite extremes of writing, are placed by Barthes as components within his imagined novel (Vita Nova).
Robert E. Goodin and Kai Spiekermann
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- June 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198823452
- eISBN:
- 9780191862137
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198823452.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization, Political Theory
Virtually all of our knowledge is second-hand, learned from others. In ideal deliberative settings, such as Habermas’s ‘ideal speech situation’, learning from others works well because participants ...
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Virtually all of our knowledge is second-hand, learned from others. In ideal deliberative settings, such as Habermas’s ‘ideal speech situation’, learning from others works well because participants are challenged to provide evidence and be consistent in their arguments. Not all real-world deliberation lives up to such high standards, but even non-ideal deliberation can be epistemically advantageous. We investigate five ways how: by improving voter competence; by reducing positive correlation; by incentivizing more sincere voting; by making the decision problem more truth-conducive; and by changing the decision problem in epistemically beneficial ways. The chapter ends with the conjecture that the ‘Deliberation Effect’ will boost group competence at least a little.Less
Virtually all of our knowledge is second-hand, learned from others. In ideal deliberative settings, such as Habermas’s ‘ideal speech situation’, learning from others works well because participants are challenged to provide evidence and be consistent in their arguments. Not all real-world deliberation lives up to such high standards, but even non-ideal deliberation can be epistemically advantageous. We investigate five ways how: by improving voter competence; by reducing positive correlation; by incentivizing more sincere voting; by making the decision problem more truth-conducive; and by changing the decision problem in epistemically beneficial ways. The chapter ends with the conjecture that the ‘Deliberation Effect’ will boost group competence at least a little.
Robert E. Goodin and Kai Spiekermann
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- June 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198823452
- eISBN:
- 9780191862137
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198823452.003.0016
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization, Political Theory
On the face of it, direct democracy should outperform representative democracy based on the number of voters. If, however, the electorate is better at selecting representatives than policies (the ...
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On the face of it, direct democracy should outperform representative democracy based on the number of voters. If, however, the electorate is better at selecting representatives than policies (the Selection Effect) or if the deliberation feasible among representatives leads to epistemic gains (the Deliberation Effect), then representative democracy may be preferable. Another factor is whether representatives act as delegates or trustees. If the former, the epistemic loss from bunching voters into constituencies is minimal. If the latter, the much smaller number of voters may be compensated for by the ability to deliberate among trustees. A mix of delegates and trustees can possibly benefit from both Selection and Deliberation Effects.Less
On the face of it, direct democracy should outperform representative democracy based on the number of voters. If, however, the electorate is better at selecting representatives than policies (the Selection Effect) or if the deliberation feasible among representatives leads to epistemic gains (the Deliberation Effect), then representative democracy may be preferable. Another factor is whether representatives act as delegates or trustees. If the former, the epistemic loss from bunching voters into constituencies is minimal. If the latter, the much smaller number of voters may be compensated for by the ability to deliberate among trustees. A mix of delegates and trustees can possibly benefit from both Selection and Deliberation Effects.
James S. Fishkin
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- June 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198820291
- eISBN:
- 9780191860188
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198820291.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Consider four main arguments against applications of deliberative democracy—domination by the more advantaged, polarization, lack of citizen competence, and the gap between mini-publics and the ...
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Consider four main arguments against applications of deliberative democracy—domination by the more advantaged, polarization, lack of citizen competence, and the gap between mini-publics and the broader society. We consider why these problems seem intractable according to the political theory literature. Drawing on the case studies in Part III, we show that these challenges can be overcome. Thought experiments for deliberation are considered, drawing on work from John Rawls and Jürgen Habermas. The argument for applied deliberative democracy, as in Deliberative Polling, is developed. “Deliberative systems,” where deliberation enters a democratic decision process at one point or another, are discussed. Topics include reform of the US presidential selection process, commissions within specific issue domains such as the Texas utility experience, the Japanese use of Deliberative Polling, and the use of Deliberation Day. The issue of constitutional change is also discussed, drawing on the recent Deliberative Poll in Mongolia.Less
Consider four main arguments against applications of deliberative democracy—domination by the more advantaged, polarization, lack of citizen competence, and the gap between mini-publics and the broader society. We consider why these problems seem intractable according to the political theory literature. Drawing on the case studies in Part III, we show that these challenges can be overcome. Thought experiments for deliberation are considered, drawing on work from John Rawls and Jürgen Habermas. The argument for applied deliberative democracy, as in Deliberative Polling, is developed. “Deliberative systems,” where deliberation enters a democratic decision process at one point or another, are discussed. Topics include reform of the US presidential selection process, commissions within specific issue domains such as the Texas utility experience, the Japanese use of Deliberative Polling, and the use of Deliberation Day. The issue of constitutional change is also discussed, drawing on the recent Deliberative Poll in Mongolia.
Neil Sinhababu
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198783893
- eISBN:
- 9780191826542
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198783893.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Desire causes pleasant or unpleasant feelings when we have various kinds of thoughts about its object. Chapter 3 shows how this Hedonic Aspect of desire is manifested in the feeling of obligation, in ...
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Desire causes pleasant or unpleasant feelings when we have various kinds of thoughts about its object. Chapter 3 shows how this Hedonic Aspect of desire is manifested in the feeling of obligation, in our emotional experiences during moral deliberation, in the feelings of being unable to answer others’ questions, and in actions expressing emotion. Desire explains why thoughts of situations we’re motivated to bring about please us in all these cases. While anti-Humeans raise all these cases as counterexamples to the Humean theory, their own theories can’t provide equally simple explanations of our hedonic phenomenology. That desire explains the pleasant and unpleasant feelings accompanying deliberation and action is evidence for the Humean Theory.Less
Desire causes pleasant or unpleasant feelings when we have various kinds of thoughts about its object. Chapter 3 shows how this Hedonic Aspect of desire is manifested in the feeling of obligation, in our emotional experiences during moral deliberation, in the feelings of being unable to answer others’ questions, and in actions expressing emotion. Desire explains why thoughts of situations we’re motivated to bring about please us in all these cases. While anti-Humeans raise all these cases as counterexamples to the Humean theory, their own theories can’t provide equally simple explanations of our hedonic phenomenology. That desire explains the pleasant and unpleasant feelings accompanying deliberation and action is evidence for the Humean Theory.
Neil Sinhababu
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198783893
- eISBN:
- 9780191826542
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198783893.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Chapter 9 describes how desire makes us recognize reasons and act on them. The Attentional and Hedonic Aspects of desire give reasons a perceptual salience that lets us recognize them, and the ...
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Chapter 9 describes how desire makes us recognize reasons and act on them. The Attentional and Hedonic Aspects of desire give reasons a perceptual salience that lets us recognize them, and the Motivational Aspect makes us act for reasons. This explains when we act on advice about what we have reason to do, why some options look like genuine possibilities in deliberation while others don’t, how some desired options can be excluded from deliberation, and how we can act for one reason rather than another. It blocks arguments for treating reasons as Platonic facts, instead suggesting that reasons are natural facts seen in the light of desire. Furthermore, it suggests that moral facts aren’t facts about reasons.Less
Chapter 9 describes how desire makes us recognize reasons and act on them. The Attentional and Hedonic Aspects of desire give reasons a perceptual salience that lets us recognize them, and the Motivational Aspect makes us act for reasons. This explains when we act on advice about what we have reason to do, why some options look like genuine possibilities in deliberation while others don’t, how some desired options can be excluded from deliberation, and how we can act for one reason rather than another. It blocks arguments for treating reasons as Platonic facts, instead suggesting that reasons are natural facts seen in the light of desire. Furthermore, it suggests that moral facts aren’t facts about reasons.
