French Politics: the Virtues of Majoritarian Democracy

Biology, Politics and Democracy

1 Reconstructing the Virtues : the Ethos of Deliberative Democracy

Virtues, or habituated excellences of character, have been understood as having important roles in political regimes since the very beginnings of Western political thought. Across remarkable variation in theorists’ contexts and perspectives, the virtues are considered central to the flourishing of regimes beyond otherwise abstract norms and formal institutions. In Greek thought, for example, et...

On the Place of Virtues in a Pluralistic Democracy

If a community recognizes a set of moral values and commitments as compelling, as virtues, these become the foundations of moral discourse in that community. Other statements, new moral claims, and so on-as long as they are not absorbed into the set of shared virtues-have no or little standing. And, while there are frequently differences in interpreting the exact meanings and implications of pr...

Herodotus, Politics and Athenian Democracy

As is widely accepted by scholars, much of the Western philosophies have roots in ancient Greece. Among the most influential ancient Greek figures is the “Father of History,” Herodotus of Halicarnassus, who chronicled the history of the Persian Wars. Herodotus used the Histories as a medium for discussing the political trends of his time, specifically those in Athens. Herodotus shared his views...

green politics and deliberative democracy

As part of the self-reflective movement in which green politics has been engaged for the last decade, the construction of green democracy has been submitted to increasing scrutiny. Relationship between democracy and environmentalism has traditionally been problematic, but once green committment to democracy has proven to be firm enough, the search for that model of democracy more suitable for t...