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Jeffrey Stout. Democracy and Tradition . Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2004. Pp. xv + 348. ISBN 0-691-10293-7

Jeffrey Stout. Democracy and Tradition . Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2004. Pp.... Contemporary Pragmatism Vol. 1, No. 1 (June 2004), 171-187 Editions Rodopi © 2004 Jeffrey Stout readily concedes "democracy is a tradition," which in its North American version possesses the virtues of "piety, hope, and love or generosity." "Pragmatism" expresses this tradition. Thus, Stout states, "pragmatism is democratic traditionalism" (13). The significance of these claims should not be lost on the reader. Stout does not conceive of pragmatism and democracy as ahistorical endeavors. They are a common tradition with standards of excellence, practices and virtues all of which are historically mediated. Armed with this claim, Stout makes an intriguing assault on two different philosophical and theological camps and in so doing brings them into conversation with each other. Against philosophers such as Rawls who see in democracy a tradition-neutral proceduralism that prohibits religious traditions from usurping the necessarily neutral public square, Stout sides with liberalism's theological and philosophical critics such as Milbank, MacIntyre, and Hauerwas. But against MacIntyre, Hauerwas, and Milbank, who find the liberal democratic tradition of rights to "eclipse" a tradition of virtues culminating in nihilism, Stout sides with a tradition of pragmatism. He refuses to concede MacIntyre and Hauerwas's analysis of liberalism as necessarily eclipsing virtue. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Contemporary Pragmatism Brill

Jeffrey Stout. Democracy and Tradition . Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2004. Pp. xv + 348. ISBN 0-691-10293-7

Long, D. Stephen
Contemporary Pragmatism , Volume 1 (1): 171 – Apr 21, 2004
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Copyright 2004 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1572-3429
eISSN
1875-8185
DOI
10.1163/18758185-90000135
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Contemporary Pragmatism Vol. 1, No. 1 (June 2004), 171-187 Editions Rodopi © 2004 Jeffrey Stout readily concedes "democracy is a tradition," which in its North American version possesses the virtues of "piety, hope, and love or generosity." "Pragmatism" expresses this tradition. Thus, Stout states, "pragmatism is democratic traditionalism" (13). The significance of these claims should not be lost on the reader. Stout does not conceive of pragmatism and democracy as ahistorical endeavors. They are a common tradition with standards of excellence, practices and virtues all of which are historically mediated. Armed with this claim, Stout makes an intriguing assault on two different philosophical and theological camps and in so doing brings them into conversation with each other. Against philosophers such as Rawls who see in democracy a tradition-neutral proceduralism that prohibits religious traditions from usurping the necessarily neutral public square, Stout sides with liberalism's theological and philosophical critics such as Milbank, MacIntyre, and Hauerwas. But against MacIntyre, Hauerwas, and Milbank, who find the liberal democratic tradition of rights to "eclipse" a tradition of virtues culminating in nihilism, Stout sides with a tradition of pragmatism. He refuses to concede MacIntyre and Hauerwas's analysis of liberalism as necessarily eclipsing virtue.

Journal

Contemporary Pragmatism – Brill

Published: Apr 21, 2004

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