The Lippmann-Dewey "Debate" Revisited: The Problem of Knowledge and the Role of Experts in Modern Democratic Theory

Autor/in	DeCesare, Tony
Titel	The Lippmann-Dewey "Debate" Revisited: The Problem of Knowledge and the Role of Experts in Modern Democratic Theory
Quelle	In: Philosophical Studies in Education, 43 (2012), S.106-116 (11 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0160-7561
Schlagwörter	Democracy; Politics; Theories; Expertise; Knowledge Level; Competence + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Demokratie; Politik; Theory; Theorie; Expert appraisal; Wissensbasis; Kompetenz
Abstract	With only some fear of oversimplification, the fundamental differences between Walter Lippmann and John Dewey that are of concern here can be introduced by giving attention to Lippmann's deceptively simple formulation of a central problem in democratic theory: "The environment is complex. Man's political capacity is simple. Can a bridge be built between them?" Or, borrowing Dewey's formulation of the same problem, one might ask "how the gap between the limited capacities of the citizen and the complexity of his environment [is] to be bridged." That such a gap existed was a point of agreement between Dewey and Lippmann. Both understood the difficulties that would result from a relatively uninformed and incompetent citizenry governing popularly in the complex modern age of political affairs. Where the two men had a fundamental disagreement was not so much in their diagnoses or critiques of the problems in modern democracy as in the constructive and prescriptive aspects of their respective democratic theories. This essay focuses on the "problem of knowledge" as understood by Lippmann and Dewey and on the different roles that each subsequently gives to the "expert" in the constructive aspects of their respective democratic theories. The author argues that the heart of Lippmann's and Dewey's disagreement over the role of the expert vis-a-vis the public in a democracy are fundamental differences of thought concerning (1) the kind and degree of knowledge and competence required of citizens in a popularly governed polity and, related, (2) the potential of the average citizen to acquire and exercise such knowledge and competence in political affairs and practical life in general. (Contains 59 footnotes.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society. Web site: http://www.ovpes.org/journal.htm
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10