Four Historical
Perspectives on
Deliberation
What is the best guarantee that deliberation
will have a good outcome?
• Aristotle: A Wise Leader
• James Madison: A Well-Built System
• Walter Lippmann: Expert Knowledge
• John Dewey: Active and Informed Citizens
Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
• Aristotle was an influential teacher and
philosopher who living Greece in the 4th
century BCE.
• In his own time, he was the tutor of
Alexander the Great, who unified much of the
Mediterranean world under his rule.
• He wrote on a wide variety of subjects:
politics, biology, physics, ethics, and rhetoric.
His works were foundational to the
curriculum of medieval European universities,
and some exert a continuing influence.
Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
• Aristotle’s book on rhetoric contains a
whole section on deliberation, which was
one of the three genres of rhetoric he
recognized.
• The topics of deliberation Aristotle
discusses are remarkably similar to those
discussed by legislatures today: finances,
war and peace, trade, and laws.
• Aristotle observed that the ultimate goal
of deliberation is happiness.
Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
• Ultimately, Aristotle believed that deliberation is most likely to be
successful when it is presided over by a wise leader, someone with
the quality that he called phronesis.
James Madison (1751-1836)
• One of the primary architects of the
Constitution of the United States of
America, Madison thought the a
good political system was a more
valuable thing than an individual
political leader.
• He argued that checks and balances
should be built into the political
system to prevent individuals from
abusing power.
James Madison (1751-1836)
• In Federalist 10, Madison expresses optimism that the probable
multiplicity of small factions under the new constitution will prevent
any one faction from taking over.
• In Federalist 51, he argues for the necessity of checks and balances:
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels
were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on
government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to
be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you
must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the
next place oblige it to control itself.”
Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)
• Walter Lippmann was an
influential American
journalist and political
commentator.
• He believed that experts
should play a vital role in
helping to form public
opinion.
• He called this process
“manufacturing consent.”
Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)
• Lippmann 1922 book, Public Opinion begins
with an anecdote about a misunderstand
concerning the US Navy that lead to some
outlandish speeches being given on the floor
of the US Senate.
• Lippmann argues that policy makers and the
public alike are prone be more influenced by
the “pictures in their heads” than by actual
reality.
• Lippmann called the “pictures in our heads”
“stereotypes.”
Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)
Lippmann concluded that experts were needed to correct the
stereotypes that too often guided policy makers and the public: “I
argue that representative government, either in what is ordinarily
called politics, or in industry, cannot be worked successfully, no matter
what the basis of election, unless there is an independent, expert
organization for making the unseen facts intelligible to those who have
to make the decisions.”
John Dewey (1859-1952)
• John Dewey was an American
philosopher, one of the foremost
proponents of a philosophical
tradition called pragmatism.
• Although he wrote on many topics,
his work on education remains
especially influential.
• He argued for the importance of
experience, as opposed to abstract
knowledge, in the educational
process.
John Dewey (1859-1952)
In his 1939 speech, “Creative Democracy,” Dewey argues that
democratic institutions alone do not guarantee a functioning
democracy. He puts his faith not in an organization of experts, but in
the citizenry itself: “Democracy is a way of personal life controlled not
merely by faith in human nature in general but by faith in the capacity
of human beings for intelligent judgment and action if proper
conditions are furnished.”
What Do You Think?
• Aristotle: A Wise Leader
• James Madison: A Well-Built System
• Walter Lippmann: Expert Knowledge
• John Dewey: Active and Informed Citizens