Philosophy of the Social Sciences 36 (4):395-422 (2006)
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Abstract |
Bruno Latour has been attempting to transform his sociological account of science into an ambitious theory of democracy. In a key early moment in this project, Latour alleges that Plato’s Gorgias introduces an impossibly ratio-nalistic and deeply anti-democratic philosophy which continues to this day to distort our understandings of science and democracy. Latour reckons that if he can successfully refute the Gorgias , then he will have opened up a space in which to authorize his own theory of democracy. I argue that Latour’s refutation of the Gorgias is a failure. Hence, his political theory is, by his own standards, horribly underdetermined. I present another reading of the Gorgias , and consider the dialogue’s possible relevance for current theories of deliberative democracy. Key Words: Latour • Gorgias • Socrates • rhetoric • elenchus • deliberative democracy.
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Keywords | Bruno Latour Science Democracy Socrates Gorgias |
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DOI | 10.1177/0048393106293377 |
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References found in this work BETA
Politics of Nature: How to Bring the Sciences Into Democracy.Bruno Latour - 2004 - Harvard University Press.
Toward a Rational Society: Student Protest, Science and Politics.Jürgen Habermas & Jeremy J. Shapiro - 1971 - Science and Society 35 (3):373-375.
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Citations of this work BETA
Philosophy, Kairosophy and the Lesson of Time.Marianna Papastephanou - 2014 - Educational Philosophy and Theory 46 (7):1-17.
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