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Pragmatism, Growth, and Democratic Citizenship

Dempster, Wesley
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1457718237

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Philosophy, Applied.
This dissertation defends an ideal of democratic citizenship inspired by John Dewey’s theory of human flourishing, or “growth.” In its emphasis on the interrelatedness of individual development and social progress, Deweyan growth orients us toward a morally substantive approach to addressing the important question of how diverse citizens can live together well. I argue, however, that Dewey’s understanding of growth as a process by which conflicting interests, beliefs, and values are integrated into a more unified whole—both within the community and within the self—is inadequate to the radical pluralism characteristic of contemporary liberal democratic societies. Given the pragmatist insight into the crucial role of socialization in identity formation, the problem with conceptualizing the ideal self as an integrated unity is that, for many, the complexity and diversity of our social world presents an insuperable obstacle to sustaining a unified (or always unifying) self. Most of us have multiple “selves” forged by the various groups with whom we identify and the often incongruous roles we play in our personal, professional, and/or public lives. Hence I offer a reconstruction of Deweyan growth that accounts for persistent yet positively valued diversity, both within the self and within the community. On the view I urge, which draws on the work of neopragmatist Richard Rorty and Chicana feminist Gloria Anzaldua, divisions within the self and between citizens are not merely problems always to be overcome, but potential resources for creating a stronger, more inclusive democracy.
Don Callen (Committee Chair)
James Campbell (Committee Member)
Albert Dzur (Committee Member)
Kevin Vallier (Committee Member)
Montana Miller (Committee Member)
185 p.
Epistemology; Ethics; Philosophy
ambivalence; Gloria Anzaldua; citizenship; community; democracy; John Dewey; growth; melting-pot; mestiza consciousness; Cheryl Misak; Charles S Peirce; pluralism; plural self; pragmatism; John Rawls; Richard Rorty; Robert Talisse; truth; unification

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Dempster, W. (2016). Pragmatism, Growth, and Democratic Citizenship [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1457718237

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Dempster, Wesley. Pragmatism, Growth, and Democratic Citizenship. 2016. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1457718237.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Dempster, Wesley. "Pragmatism, Growth, and Democratic Citizenship." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1457718237

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1457718237
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© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.