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Workshop

Narratives and Deliberation

  • André Bächtiger (Universität Stuttgart)
E1 05 (Leibniz-Saal)

Abstract

First generation deliberative theories (Bächtiger et al. 2018) have frequently put a stress on rational argument as a key goal of deliberation. This has raised criticisms from difference democrats and feminists, arguing that rational argument including logical deduction and general principles excludes specific social groups (especially disadvantaged citizens and cultural minorities; Sanders 1997; Young 2001). Instead, a focus on narratives might be better apt to promote inclusionary goals of democratic deliberation (Polletta and Gardner 2018). Second-generation theories of deliberation have corrected this by including narratives in the conceptual apparatus of desirable deliberative standards. Drawing from empirical research in citizen forums and parliamentary committees (Gerber et al. 2018; Bächtiger et al. 2010), I will show that narratives and rational argument do not constitute opposites but fulfil different and complementary functions in public and political discourse. I will end with a systemic perspective on narratives and deliberation, arguing that “rational argument” in democratic societies is better understand as an “emergent” property at the level of public discourse rather than as an immediate outcome of concrete conversations and debates.

Katharina Matschke

Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences Contact via Mail

Jürgen Jost

Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik in den Naturwissenschaften

Eckehard Olbrich

Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences

Marjan Horvat

IRRIS Institute

Tom Willaert

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Armin Pournaki

Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences