Empathy and Democracy: Feeling, Thinking, and Deliberation

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Penn State Press, 2010 - Philosophy - 221 pages
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Democracy harbors within it fundamental tensions between the ideal of giving everyone equal consideration and the reality of having to make legitimate, binding collective decisions. Democracies have granted political rights to more groups of people, but formal rights have not always guaranteed equal consideration or democratic legitimacy.

It is Michael Morrell&’s argument in this book that empathy plays a crucial role in enabling democratic deliberation to function the way it should. Drawing on empirical studies of empathy, including his own, Morrell offers a &“process model of empathy&” that incorporates both affect and cognition. He shows how this model can help democratic theorists who emphasize the importance of deliberation answer their critics.

 

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User Review  - LeeCheek - LibraryThing

Writing within the political tradition of contemporary liberalism, but offering insights of enduring importance on the value of empathy to democratic thought, Morrell (Univ. of Connecticut) attempts ... Read full review

Contents

1 The Democratic Promise
1
2 The Deliberative Turn in Democrative Theory
18
3 The Elusive Concept of Empathy
39
4 Empathy in Deliberative Theory
67
5 Empathys Importance The Empirical Evidence
101
6 Deliberative Democracy and its Critics
129
7 Empathy and Democracy
158
References
197
Index
211
Back Cover
223
Copyright

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Empathy and Democracy: Feeling, Thinking, and Deliberation
Michael E. Morrell
Limited preview - 2010

Common terms and phrases

a¤ect and cognition a¤ective intelligence agonistic allow another’s argues arguments attitudes attribution bias attributions Batson behavior Benhabib Bohman citizens claims collective decision-making collective decisions concept conXict critics Davis’s deliberative democracy deliberative opinion poll deliberative process deliberative theory democratic decisions democratic legitimacy deWned deWnition di¤erent disagreement discourse ethics discussion Dryzek e¤ects Einfühlung emotional empa empathic concern empathic process engage equal consideration feelings focus give Gutmann and Thompson Habermas Habermas’s ideal role taking important inXuence issues judgment Jürgen Habermas justice justice as fairness legitimate Manin Mansbridge model of empathy moral norms Mou¤e mutual respect o¤er object occur original position other’s outcomes participants passion people’s perspective taking predispositions principle process model process of empathy public reason public sphere rational Rawls Rawls’s reactive a¤ective reciprocity recognize rely requires reXective rhetoric role of a¤ect signiWcant social speciWc sympathy target theorists theory of deliberative tion tive understanding validity veil of ignorance Wnal Wndings Wrst

About the author (2010)

Michael E. Morrell is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Connecticut.

Bibliographic information

QR code for Empathy and Democracy
TitleEmpathy and Democracy: Feeling, Thinking, and Deliberation
AuthorMichael E. Morrell
Editionillustrated
PublisherPenn State Press, 2010
ISBN0271036591, 9780271036595
Length221 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Philosophy / Political
Political Science / American Government / General
Political Science / History & Theory
Political Science / Political Ideologies / Democracy
  
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