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“Passionate Citizenship: Reconsidering What it Means to be Emotional and Rational in Today's Democracy” Timothy J. Shaffer American Democracy Project “Agents and Architects of Democracy” June 18, 2010
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Leaving Emotions at the Door How are professionals, government officials, and citizens “supposed” to act in deliberative forums and in decision-making contexts? Normative practices and expectations - Deep historical roots (e.g. Madison & Hamilton) - Technocratic approaches, expert knowledge - Rational decision-making - Data and evidence rather than emotion Traditional Paradigm (e.g. Rawls & Habermas): Reason is celebrated and elevated above passions and emotions. It is often viewed as a corrective substitute. Emotions and passions are problems to be isolated and overcome, rather than to be seen as potential resources.
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(Should We Be) Leaving Emotions at the Door? What might we gain from rethinking the expectations of professionals, government officials, and citizens engaging in democratic practices in communities? Emerging Paradigm: Problematize the relationship between “reason” and “emotion” and challenging the rigid distinction traditionally expressed, especially when issues of knowledge are involved.
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(Should We Be) Leaving Emotions at the Door? Recent scholarship—both theoretical and empirical—suggests a need to reconsider how we think of reason and emotion, especially in (deliberative) democratic practices. - Neurobiology (e.g. Damasio & Marcus) - Political science/theory (e.g. Hall, Krause, Morrell, Sanders, & Young) - Philosophy (e.g. Nussbaum & Solomon)
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Building on Recent Scholarship and Departing From It Building on recent scholarship for another context - Community-based wildlife management - Public deliberation/citizen task force Departing From It - Narrative profiles - Community-based collaborative learning session
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What’s The Take Away? -Challenge conventions that knowledge comes solely from expertise. - Value emotional knowledge, especially from citizens. -Recognize emotions and passions for professionals. - Reconsider and reconceptualize what “rationality” is.
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