Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Liberalism and the Problem of Knowledge: A New Rhetoric for Modern Democracy

Liberalism and the Problem of Knowledge: A New Rhetoric for Modern Democracy

Willard, Charles Arthur

Paperback

Series: New Practices of Inquiry

General Political Science

ISBN10: 0226898466
ISBN13: 9780226898469
Publisher: Univ Of Chicago Pr
Published: Aug 1 1996
Pages: 394
Weight: 1.19
Height: 0.86 Width: 5.99 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
In this witty and provocative study of democracy and its critics, Charles Willard debunks liberalism, arguing that its exaggerated ideals of authenticity, unity, and community have deflected attention from the pervasive incompetence of the rule of experts. He proposes a ground of communication that emphasizes common interests rather than narrow disputes.

The problem of unity and the public sphere has driven a wedge between libertarians and communitarians. To mediate this conflict, Willard advocates a shift from the discourse of liberalism to that of epistemics. As a means of organizing the ebb and flow of consensus, epistemics regards democracy as a family of knowledge problems--as ways of managing discourse across differences and protecting multiple views.

Building a bridge between warring peoples and warring paradigms, this book also reminds those who presume to instruct government that they are obliged to enlighten it, and that to do so requires an enlightened public discourse.

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