The article discusses important elements of a democratic ethics in connection with Dewey's philosophy: the idea of perspectival creativity, Dewey’s ‘argument for democracy’, and an account of democratic virtues. I assume that ethics and democracy should be radically connected. The quality of a democracy depends on living and promoting democratic virtues on different levels of social life. Against this background I argue that Dewey’s democratic virtue theory complements the Deweyan argument for democracy as reconstructed by Hilary Putnam (1992). First, I will introduce Dewey’s perspectival view of creativity which is foreshadowed in his article “Construction and Criticism” and interpret it in the context of Dewey’s normative criteria for democracy (II). Second, this view of creativity and the motive of the recognition of individuality is linked to Putnam’s (1992) argument (III). Third, an account of democratic virtues after Dewey will be outlined that complements the ‘Deweyan argument for democracy’ (IV).
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Event Title
Living Democracy? Die Zukunft der Demokratie. Erste Tagung des German Pragmatism Network