Combining Philosophers

Ideas for Lycophron, Tuckness,A/Wolf,C and Gareth Evans

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7 ideas

24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / a. Nature of democracy

20606	Epistemic theories defend democracy as more likely to produce the right answer [Tuckness/Wolf]
	Full Idea: According to epistemic theories of democracy, democratic outcomes are justified because they are more likely to be true or right than the choice of the individual.
	From: Tuckness,A/Wolf,C (This is Political Philosophy [2017], 5 'Do the people')
	A reaction: Bear in mind Condorcet's proof that this claim is only correct if individuals have a better than 50% chance of being right, which may be so on obvious things, but is implausible for decisions like going to war.

20600	Which areas of public concern should be decided democratically, and which not? [Tuckness/Wolf]
	Full Idea: Are there areas which are excluded from democratic decision making? Or should all issues of public concern be decided through a democratic process?
	From: Tuckness,A/Wolf,C (This is Political Philosophy [2017], 5 'What is')
	A reaction: Crucially, are we discussing direct democracy, or representative democracy? In Britain all major decisions are made by the cabinet. Our representatives appoint leaders, who then appoint the decision makers. Judiciary is non-democratic.

24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 5. Democracy / b. Consultation

20609	If several losing groups would win if they combine, a runoff seems called for [Tuckness/Wolf]
	Full Idea: It is possible that the people who supported several losing candidates might have joined forces and had a majority. For that reason, many countries have a runoff election.
	From: Tuckness,A/Wolf,C (This is Political Philosophy [2017], 5 'Does democracy')
	A reaction: The problem is that there is no rationale as to who stands in an election. If their views are evenly spread, the first result seems OK. If there are five left-wingers and one right-winger, a runoff seems to be produce a more just result.

20605	Rights as interests (unlike rights as autonomy) supports mandatory voting [Tuckness/Wolf]
	Full Idea: If rights concern people's interests, that might support mandatory voting, but if rights rely on protecting autonomy that might oppose it.
	From: Tuckness,A/Wolf,C (This is Political Philosophy [2017], 5 'Interest')
	A reaction: I approach it from the other end, and am inclined to support mandatory voting, which suggests I am more concerned about interests than about autonomy.

20599	How should democratic votes be aggregated? Can some person's votes count for more? [Tuckness/Wolf]
	Full Idea: A major question for democracy is how are the contributions of different people aggregated into a collective decision? Must votes have equal weight and consideration, or is it permissible for different people's votes to count differently?
	From: Tuckness,A/Wolf,C (This is Political Philosophy [2017], 5 'What is')
	A reaction: Mill hoped that wise and knowledgeable people would have a strong influence over the others, but we have recently moved into the post-truth era, where we are swamped by bogus facts. Does that strengthen the case for elite voting?

20601	Discussion before voting should be an essential part of democracy [Tuckness/Wolf]
	Full Idea: According to advocates of deliberative democracy, people should have an opportunity to talk and reason with one another before votes are cast.
	From: Tuckness,A/Wolf,C (This is Political Philosophy [2017], 5 'Who gets')
	A reaction: This is now done on Facebook and Twitter, but no one thinks that is sufficient. We will never again persuade most people to actually meet up and discuss issues.

24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 7. Communitarianism / a. Communitarianism

20613	We have obligations to our family, even though we didn't choose its members [Tuckness/Wolf]
	Full Idea: Many of our most important obligations are things we did not consent to. If you think you have obligations to your family, did you choose to have them as family members?
	From: Tuckness,A/Wolf,C (This is Political Philosophy [2017], 6 'Gratitude')
	A reaction: A question that gets close to the heart of the communitarian ideal, I think. We choose to have children, and we bring them up, but even then we don't choose who our children are.