Empathy and political reasoning: how empathy promotes reflection and strengthens democracy
Empathy and political reasoning: how empathy promotes reflection and strengthens democracy
How do individuals make up their mind about politics? This question has sparked a vigorous debate in the study of political behavior for the last few decades. Some scholars contend that citizens can and should engage in political reflection, while others highlight biases in human political reasoning that make reflection impossible. This Element is about the conditions under which citizens can be motivated to transcend their egocentric biases and engage in reflection. Rather than asking whether citizens are capable of reflection, it shifts focus to a more productive question: how to motivate reflection. Firstly, it argues that (situational) empathy for the other side can inspire citizens to think reflectively about politics. Secondly, the Element proposes that deliberative institutions have the potential to evoke empathy for the other side in individuals. Thirdly, it draws on experimental and qualitative data from Belgium, Chile, Ireland, and the UK to test the theoretical expectations.
empathy, deliberative democracy, deliberation, political opinion formation, political communication, political behaviour, emotions in politics, emotions, universal basic income, democratic theory, reflection, political reasoning, democracy
Cambridge University Press
Muradova, Lala
5f2595b4-c347-4e45-bae5-bb0f5b397fa4
4 March 2025
Muradova, Lala
5f2595b4-c347-4e45-bae5-bb0f5b397fa4
Muradova, Lala
(2025)
Empathy and political reasoning: how empathy promotes reflection and strengthens democracy
(Elements in Political Psychology),
Cambridge University Press
Abstract
How do individuals make up their mind about politics? This question has sparked a vigorous debate in the study of political behavior for the last few decades. Some scholars contend that citizens can and should engage in political reflection, while others highlight biases in human political reasoning that make reflection impossible. This Element is about the conditions under which citizens can be motivated to transcend their egocentric biases and engage in reflection. Rather than asking whether citizens are capable of reflection, it shifts focus to a more productive question: how to motivate reflection. Firstly, it argues that (situational) empathy for the other side can inspire citizens to think reflectively about politics. Secondly, the Element proposes that deliberative institutions have the potential to evoke empathy for the other side in individuals. Thirdly, it draws on experimental and qualitative data from Belgium, Chile, Ireland, and the UK to test the theoretical expectations.
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Published date: 4 March 2025
Keywords:
empathy, deliberative democracy, deliberation, political opinion formation, political communication, political behaviour, emotions in politics, emotions, universal basic income, democratic theory, reflection, political reasoning, democracy
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Local EPrints ID: 502518
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/502518
PURE UUID: c51e106d-d4ac-4558-84fc-3e3dbf5f4183
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Date deposited: 27 Jun 2025 16:48
Last modified: 10 Sep 2025 13:08
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Author:
Lala Muradova
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