Experiments in Living Together: How Democracy Drives Social Progress

Over the past 70 years, the United States has undergone major moral shifts surrounding gender, sexual orientation, and race. Although these changes have been incomplete and imperfect, they nonetheless represent stunning improvements in the human condition which have been supported by democracy. While on its face democratic governance embodies the promise of protest, free expression, and social change, the recent surge of populism has provoked some cynicism about democracy and the potential ignorance and irrationality of democratic citizens. This debate raises questions around the role of democracy in social progress, democracy's definitive principles and ideals, and the tension between democracy's characteristic aspirations and the disappointing realities of real-world politics.

In Experiments in Living Together (Oxford University Press, 2024) Michael Fuerstein addresses these questions, presenting a fresh philosophical account of social progress that focuses on democracy and delivering an innovative rebuttal to skeptics inspired by the recent populist wave. Following in the tradition of John Dewey, he argues that democracy enables progress through "experiments in living": innovations in social practice that transform social emotions and identities and cultivate moral learning.

Drawing on research in social psychology and several detailed historical case studies — same-sex marriage, women's integration into the workforce, and school desegregation — Fuerstein illuminates the critical role of novel experience in building community: linkages of emotion and identity across a democratic public, which enable diverse citizens to flourish together. Challenging technocratic views that imply that democracy is undermined by citizens' ignorance and incompetence, Fuerstein suggests that the remedy for democracy's contemporary malaise must target failures of community more than failures of knowledge or skill, a change which will require a new round of experimental innovations in social life.

Join us for a discussion of the book featuring Michael Fuerstein, Susan Dieleman and Alex Madva.

About the Speakers:

— Michael Fuerstein is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Saint Olaf College. His research centers on democratic theory, social epistemology, and pragmatism, and has been published widely in scholarly venues such as The Journal of Political Philosophy, Social Theory and Practice, and a variety of anthologies with Oxford University Press. Most recently, he has developed an interest in the moral and social dimensions of business, and is an inaugural member of the Society for Progress. He is the author of the recently published book Experiments in Living Together: How Democracy Drives Social Progress.

— Susan Dieleman is Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. Her research is located in the areas of pragmatism (Richard Rorty), feminist philosophy (epistemic injustice), and political philosophy (deliberative democracy). She is co-editor of The Ethics of Richard Rorty: Moral Communities, Self-Transformation, and Imagination (Routledge, 2022) and Pragmatism and Justice (Oxford University Press, 2017) and co-author of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Richard Rorty.

— Alex Madva is Professor of Philosophy at Cal Poly Pomona, Director of the California Center for Ethics & Policy, and Co-Director of the Digital Humanities Consortium. His teaching and research explore the intersections between the cognitive and social sciences and topics in philosophy of race and feminism, applied ethics, and social and political philosophy. He is co-author of the forthcoming book from MIT Press Somebody Should Do Something on a novel and scientific approach to creating transformative social change and the ways that each of us can help make a real difference.

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This is an online conversation and audience Q&A presented by the US-based Public Philosophy Network. It is open to the public and held on Zoom.

About the Public Philosophy Network (https://www.publicphilosophynetwork.net/):

The Public Philosophy Network promotes philosophy that engages issues of public concern and works collaboratively with civic and professional communities.

Our mission is:

• to support philosophers who use their concepts and skills to serve communities outside of academia and to make positive changes in society
• to reflect on how philosophy is transformed by various types of public engagement
• to support institutional changes supportive of publicly engaged work