Abstract

Talisse proposes a reconstruction of a pragmatist view of democracy based on Peirce's scientific method. I argue that on the one hand, Talisse's “Peircean” account of democracy is not truly Peircean because it ignores his metaphysics; on the other hand, that his account minimizes Peirce's possible contribution by focusing too narrowly on his epistemology. I show how Talisse's account is open to the same kind of objections he makes to Dewey's theory, and how Peirce's remarks on ethics can contribute towards a more compelling pragmatist democratic theory than Talisse allows