Stanley Cavell's democratic perfectionism: community, individuality, and post-truth politics
Stanley Cavell's democratic perfectionism: community, individuality, and post-truth politics
Post-truth politics is both a result of a democratic culture in which each person is encouraged to voice their opinion, and a threat to the continuation of democracy as partisans seek to deny political standing to those with incommensurate world views. Are there resources within political theory for overcoming this tension? This book argues that Stanley Cavell's philosophy provides a conceptual framework for responding to post-truth politics. Jonathan Havercroft develops an original interpretation of Stanley Cavell as a theorist of democratic perfectionism. By placing Cavell's writings in conversation with political theorists on debates about the social contract, interpretive methods, democratic theory and political aesthetics, Stanley Cavell's Democratic Perfectionism cultivates modes of responsiveness that strengthen our democratic culture and help us resist the contemporary crisis of democratic backsliding. Each chapter diagnoses a sceptical crisis in contemporary politics and a mode of responsiveness in Cavell's thought that can respond to that crisis.
Cambridge University Press
Havercroft, Jonathan
929f9452-daf9-4859-9f59-88348846949a
August 2023
Havercroft, Jonathan
929f9452-daf9-4859-9f59-88348846949a
Havercroft, Jonathan
(2023)
Stanley Cavell's democratic perfectionism: community, individuality, and post-truth politics
,
Cambridge University Press
Abstract
Post-truth politics is both a result of a democratic culture in which each person is encouraged to voice their opinion, and a threat to the continuation of democracy as partisans seek to deny political standing to those with incommensurate world views. Are there resources within political theory for overcoming this tension? This book argues that Stanley Cavell's philosophy provides a conceptual framework for responding to post-truth politics. Jonathan Havercroft develops an original interpretation of Stanley Cavell as a theorist of democratic perfectionism. By placing Cavell's writings in conversation with political theorists on debates about the social contract, interpretive methods, democratic theory and political aesthetics, Stanley Cavell's Democratic Perfectionism cultivates modes of responsiveness that strengthen our democratic culture and help us resist the contemporary crisis of democratic backsliding. Each chapter diagnoses a sceptical crisis in contemporary politics and a mode of responsiveness in Cavell's thought that can respond to that crisis.
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Published date: August 2023
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Local EPrints ID: 481219
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/481219
PURE UUID: 1aa9a103-9344-42cf-a3d7-2d3415f8bf8f
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Date deposited: 18 Aug 2023 16:56
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:26
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