Roots of Democracy Workshop

Dear Curious Souls,
      A workshop on Democracy has been on the Curious Soul wish-list for some time, and it is finally here! As we struggle with the perennial crises of democracy, we are thrown back again and again onto some of the most difficult questions of political philosophy: What do we really mean by freedom and equality? How can we better recognize and remedy confused and degraded versions of these concepts? What are the benefits and dangers of "rule by the people"? How can we protect against the dangers? How exactly does "consent" work in our experiment of communal self-rule? Who counts as a citizen and how should they participate in communal self-rule? What does it mean to operate under a "general will"? What is the limit of political authority, and how much individual liberty should be preserved? What role does dialogue play in the democratic process, and what does it mean to engage in functioning discussion and deliberation together?
     We'll pursue these questions and others with help from some of the most influential philosophers in the history of democratic thinking: Plato, Aristotle, Locke, Rousseau, and Mill. Our discussions about these questions will act as a springboard for considering whether the groups in which we each participate (big and small) are in need of becoming more democratic, in what ways they could become so, and how we might do something to help.

Come with us to:
Examine democratic ideals and the threats they face
Consider current crises in democracy from a historical-philosophical perspective
Experiment with ways of improving democratic processes, big and small

Three Saturdays: March 30, April 6, 13, 2019 1:00-3:30
Learn more on our Roots of Democracy workshop page.