Enhancement and Civic Virtue

Opponents of biomedical enhancement frequently adopt what Allen Buchanan has called the “Personal Goods Assumption.” On this assumption, the benefits of biomedical enhancement will accrue primarily to those individuals who undergo enhancements, not to wider society. Buchanan has argued that biomedical enhancements might in fact have substantial social benefits by increasing productivity. We outline another way in which enhancements might benefit wider society: by augmenting civic virtue and thus improving the functioning of our political communities. We thus directly confront critics of biomedical enhancement who argue that it will lead to a loss of social cohesion and a breakdown in political lif

[How] Can Pluralist Approaches to Computational Cognitive Modeling of Human Needs and Values Save our Democracies?

In our increasingly digital societies, many companies have business models that perceive users’ (or customers’) personal data as a siloed resource, owned and controlled by the data controller rather than the data subjects. Collecting and processing such a massive amount of personal data could have many negative technical, social and economic consequences, including invading people’s privacy and autonomy. As a result, regulations such as the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have tried to take steps towards a better implementation of the right to digital privacy. This paper proposes that such legal acts should be accompanied by the development of complementary technical solutions such as Cognitive Personal Assistant Systems to support people to effectively manage their personal data processing on the Internet. Considering the importance and sensitivity of personal data processing, such assistant systems should not only consider their owner’s needs and values, but also be transparent, accountable and controllable. Pluralist approaches in computational cognitive modelling of human needs and values which are not bound to traditional paradigmatic borders such as cognitivism, connectionism, or enactivism, we argue, can create a balance between practicality and usefulness, on the one hand, and transparency, accountability, and controllability, on the other, while supporting and empowering humans in the digital world. Considering the threat to digital privacy as significant to contemporary democracies, the future implementation of such pluralist models could contribute to power-balance, fairness and inclusion in our societies

E-Democracy and Knowledge. A Multicriteria Framework for the New Democratic Era

This paper analyses a new framework for decision-making in e-democracies that exploits the power of Internet based public knowledge, which is called briefly e-cognocracy. This is not a procedure to improve technical aspects using the Internet (e.g. e-voting); it is rather a procedure to add a new quality to the democratic system by using the network. This proposed system of e-cognocracy would allow those who are interested to solve highly complex problems by participatory decision-making. Furthermore, we suggest the multicriteria framework for the modelling and resolution of such complex problems. Similarly, using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach, we propose decisional (analytic and informatic) tools for searching the knowledge - relevant for the decision-making process. This knowledge of patterns of behaviour, trends, opportunities, decisions and stylised facts will be the starting point of a consensus-reaching process, which is aimed to effectively solve problems of high complexity of the Internet society.E-democracy, Knowledge society, E-cognocracy, Multicriteria, AHP criterion, Consensus

Wspieranie pedagogiki demokratycznej? Budżet partycypacyjny w Lizbonie

Social participation is a tool to strengthen peoples’ autonomy and ability to decide upon public issues. It is also an educational and learning tool. In recent times, new forms of social participation have emerged such as the participatory budgets. These foster democratic participation and contribute to more transparent and efficient ways of governing. The participatory budget of Lisbon is an interesting example of municipal social organisation and participation involving learning. The main research question of this article is as follows: how is the participatory budget of Lisbon fostering social learning? Data collected by the use of semi-directed interviews and documental analysis showed that social learning occurred through peoples’ commitment and involvement in local public political issues. However it did not boost the development of an effective democratic participatory experienceU czestnictwo społeczne jest narzędziem wzmacniającym autonomię i zdolność decydowania o kwestiach publicznych. Jest to także narzędzie uczenia innych i uczenia się. W ostatnim czasie pojawiły się nowe formy partycypacji społecznej, takie jak budżety partycypacyjne. Wspierają one demokratyczny udział i przyczyniają się do bardziej przejrzystych i skutecznych sposobów rządzenia. Udział w budżecie w Lizbonie jest interesującym przykładem miejskiej organizacji społecznej i uczestnictwa w takiej edukacji. Główne pytanie badawcze tego artykułu przedstawia się następująco: jak budżet partycypacyjny w Lizbonie wspiera społeczne uczenie się? Dane zebrane przy użyciu częściowo ustrukturyzowanych wywiadów i analizy dokumentacji wykazały, że społeczne uczenie się pojawiło się dzięki zaangażowaniu ludzi w lokalne kwestie polityczne. Nie zwiększyło jednak znacząco doświadczenia w zakresie skuteczności demokratycznego uczestnictwa

Must Realists Be Pessimists About Democracy? Responding to Epistemic and Oligarchic Challenges

In this paper we show how a realistic normative democratic theory can work within the constraints set by the most pessimistic empirical results about voting behaviour and elite capture of the policy process. After setting out the empirical evidence and discussing some extant responses by political theorists, we argue that the evidence produces a two-pronged challenge for democracy: an epistemic challenge concerning the quality and focus of decision-making and an oligarchic challenge concerning power concentration. To address the challenges we then put forward three main normative claims, each of which is compatible with the evidence. We start with a critique of the epistocratic position commonly thought to be supported by the evidence. We then introduce a qualified critique of referenda and other forms of plebiscite, and an outline of a tribune-based system of popular control over oligarchic influence on the policy process. Our discussion points towards a renewal of democracy in a plebeian but not plebiscitarian direction: Attention to the relative power of social classes matters more than formal dispersal of power through voting. We close with some methodological reflections about the compatibility between our normative claims and the realist program in political philosophy

Improving democratic governance through institutional design: civic participation and democratic ownership in Europe

In this article we provide a conceptual and argumentative framework for studying how institutional design can enhance civic participation and ultimately increase citizens’ sense of democratic ownership of governmental processes. First, we set out the socio-political context for enhancing the democratic governance of regulatory policies in Europe, and highlight the way in which civic participation and democratic ownership is given equal weight to economic competitiveness. We then discuss the potential for institutionalised participatory governance to develop and their prospects for improving effective and democratic governance in the multi-layered European polity. The article concludes by outlining a research agenda for the field and identifying the priorities for scholars working in interaction with civil society and governments

Democracy and Inquiry in the Post-Truth Era: A pragmatist Solution

Post-truth has become a commonplace strategy. No longer are objective facts viewed as having evidentiary value; scientific knowledge is on a par with emotions or personal beliefs. We intend to show that in the context of post-truth, those proffering and receiving an assertion do not care about the truth-value of the assertion or about the best way to gather evidence concerning it. Such attitudes raise several questions about how relativism can be a corrupting influence in contemporary democracies. We will analyse Steve Fuller’s use of the term «post-truth» – especially, the political connotations about epistemic democracy that he highlights. Instead, we offer a pragmatist defence of the truth and an alternative meaning of epistemic democracy

Institutional theories and public institutions: Traditions and appropriateness

Public institutions are organized configurations which are prone to institutionalization processes. They reflect as well as produce and diffuse valuues, norms, cognitions, meanings and identities about life and evolution of society, polity or economy. The text covers a set of theories which share a strong Verstehen perspective: historical institutionalism, sociological institutionalism, new institutionalism, and local order institutionalism. It presents their main hypotheses, their analytical methods, and most relevant findings. The empirical facets of such theories question the relevance or normative theories wich prescribe so-called rational or scientific solutions deducted from very abstracts axiomsinstitutionalism; path dependence; new institutionalism; change; norms