Course Description In this course, we will explore the question of the actual and potential connections between democracy and education. Our focus of attention will be placed on a critical examination of democratic theory and its implications for the civic education roles and contributions of teachers, adult educators, community development practitioners, and community organizers. We will survey and deal critically with a range of competing conceptions of democracy, variously described as classical, republican, liberal, radical, marxist, neomarxist, pragmatist, feminist, populist, pluralist, postmodern, and/or participatory. Using narrative inquiry as a means for illuminating and interpreting contemporary practice, we will analyze the implications of different conceptions of democracy for the practical work of civic education.

Democracy and education.

Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity

NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Penguin Books, 2009, 312 pp, ISBN 978-0-14-311526-7This book is best described formally as a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications. Informally, it is about how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society. It is paternalism in the sense that "it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better", (p. 5) It is libertarian in that "people should be free to do what they like - and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so", (p. 5) The built-in possibility of opting out or making a different choice preserves freedom of choice even though people's behavior has been influenced by the nature of the presentation of the information or by the structure of the decisionmaking system. I had never heard of libertarian paternalism before reading this book, and I now find it fascinating.Written for a general audience, this book contains mostly social and behavioral science theory and models, but there is considerable discussion of structure and process that has roots in mathematical and quantitative modeling. One of the main applications of this social system is economic choice in investing, selecting and purchasing products and services, systems of taxes, banking (mortgages, borrowing, savings), and retirement systems. Other quantitative social choice systems discussed include environmental effects, health care plans, gambling, and organ donations. Softer issues that are also subject to a nudge-based approach are marriage, education, eating, drinking, smoking, influence, spread of information, and politics. There is something in this book for everyone.The basis for this libertarian paternalism concept is in the social theory called "science of choice", the study of the design and implementation of influence systems on various kinds of people. The terms Econs and Humans, are used to refer to people with either considerable or little rational decision-making talent, respectively. The various libertarian paternalism concepts and systems presented are tested and compared in light of these two types of people. Two foundational issues that this book has in common with another book, Network of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders, that was also reviewed for this issue of the Journal are that 1 ) there are two modes of thinking (or components of the brain) - an automatic (intuitive) process and a reflective (rational) process and 2) the need for conformity and the desire for imitation are powerful forces in human behavior. …

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Truth and method

Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy

Pragmatism has enjoyed a revival of sorts in the latter part of the 20th century, but precisely what constitutes pragmatism remains a matter of some dispute. In reconstructing the pragmatic tradition in political philosophy, Matthew Festenstein rejects the idea that it is a single, cohesive doctrine. His analysis seeks to bring out the commonalities and shared concerns among contemporary pragmatists while also making clear their differences in how they would resolve those concerns. The study begins with the work of John Dewey and the moral and psychological conceptions that shaped his philosophy. Festenstein lays out the major philosophical issues with which first Dewey and then his heirs, would grapple. The second part of the text traces how Dewey's approach has been differently developed, especially in the work of three contemporary pragmatic thinkers: Richard Rorty, Jurgen Habermas, and Hilary Putnam.

Pragmatism and Political Theory: From Dewey to Rorty

List of Abbreviations. Introduction. Part I: Dewey's Political Philosophy:. 1. Interpreting Dewey's Political Thought. 2. Pragmatism in the Moral Life. 3. Individuality and Democracy. Part II: New Pragmatisms:. 4. An Overview. 5. Ethnocentrism and Irony. 6. Reconstructions. Conclusion. Notes. Index.

Pragmatism and political theory

This article examines the relationship of pragmatism to the theory of deliberative democracy. It elaborates a dilemma in the latter theory, between its deliberative or epistemic and democratic or inclusive components, and distinguishes responses to this dilemma that are internal to the conception of deliberation employed from those that are external. The article goes on to identify two models of pragmatism and critically examines how well each one deals with the tension identified in deliberative democracy.

Deliberative Democracy and Two Models of Pragmatism

List of contributors. Acknowledgements. 1. Richard Rorty: Pragmatism, Irony and Liberalism: Matthew Festenstein. 2. Irony and Commitment: An Irreconcilable Dualism of Modernity: John Horton. Reply to John Horton: Richard Rorty. 3.Richard Rorty on Truth, Justification, and Justice: Simon Thompson. Reply to Simon Thompson: Richard Rorty. 4. Irony, State and Utopia: Daniel Conway. Reply to Daniel Conway: Richard Rorty. 5. The Avoidance of Cruelty: Richard Rorty on Liberalism, Scepticism and Ironism: David Owen. Reply to David Owen: Richard Rorty. 6. Richard Rorty: Humanist and/or Anti--Humanist? Kate Soper. Reply to Kate Soper: Richard Rorty. 7.Reason and Aesthetics Between Modernity and Postmodernity: Habermas and Rorty: Richard Shusterman. Reply to Richard Shusterman: Richard Rorty. 8. Progress Without Foundations? Norman Geras. Reply to Norman Geras: Richard Rorty. 9. Rortya s Neo--Pragmatism: Some Implications for International Relations Theory: Molly Cochran. Reply to Molly Cochran: Richard Rorty. 10. Pragmatism, Social Democracy, and Political Argument: Matthew Festenstein. Reply to Matthew Festenstein: Richard Rorty. 11. Justice as a Larger Loyalty: Richard Rorty. Index

Richard Rorty : critical dialogues

This article provides a critical reconstruction of John Dewey's theory of social and political inquiry. Clearing away some misconceptions about this theory allows us to grasp its practical and political focus, and to see its similarities to other strands of anti-positivist social thought, including hermeneutics and critical theory. I go on to examine the relationship between democratic values and the theory of inquiry. Like recent proponents of discursive conceptions of democracy such as Habermas he sees a connection between democracy and the conditions for rational procedures of problem solving. What connects democracy to inquiry for Dewey is primarily ethical and political, rather than epistemological. The article considers what may be usefully taken from Dewey's conception of social inquiry, without accepting his full ethical agenda.

Matthew Festenstein

Papers

Pragmatism and Political Theory: From Dewey to Rorty

Pragmatism and political theory

Deliberative Democracy and Two Models of Pragmatism

Richard Rorty : critical dialogues

Inquiry as Critique: On the Legacy of Deweyan Pragmatism for Political Theory: