What is a deliberative system? A tale of two ontologies

European Journal of Political Theory 22 (3):445-464 (2023)
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Abstract

Deliberative systems theorists have not explained what a deliberative system is. There are two problems here for deliberative systems theory: an empirical problem of boundaries (how to delineate the content of a deliberative system) and a normative problem of evaluation (how to evaluate the deliberation within a deliberative system). We argue that an adequate response to these problems requires a clear ontology. The existing literature suggests two coherent but mutually exclusive ontologies. A functionalist ontology postulates self-sustaining deliberative systems with their own functional goals and logics independent of human intentionality. In contrast, an interpretive ontology conceives of deliberative systems as the products of the beliefs and actions of the actors in the relevant practices—deliberative systems derive from human intentionality. We conclude by showing how these conflicting ontologies lead to different empirical and normative agendas.

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Truth and Method.H. G. Gadamer - 1975 - Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 36 (4):487-490.
Why Deliberative Democracy?Amy Gutmann & Dennis F. Thompson - 2004 - Princeton University Press.
The Construction of Social Reality.John Searle - 1995 - Philosophy 71 (276):313-315.
Activist Challenges to Deliberative Democracy.Iris Marion Young - 2001 - Political Theory 29 (5):670-690.
Survey Article: Deliberation, Democracy, and the Systemic Turn.David Owen & Graham Smith - 2015 - Journal of Political Philosophy 23 (2):213-234.

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