Representative democracy and conflict in J. S. Mill

• Grant number: 15/22251-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2016
• End date: September 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - History of Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Alberto Ribeiro Gonçalves de Barros
• Grantee: Gustavo Hessmann Dalaqua
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 16/06062-6 - Representative democracy and conflict in J. S. Mill, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The aim of this project is to research the relationship between representative democracy and conflict in J. S. Mill's political philosophy. Among academics, this relationship has been interpreted in very different ways. Some scholars claim that Mill's idea of democracy is incompatible with political conflict because, ultimately, it focuses too much on consent. On the other hand, there are scholars who identify in Mill a radical political antagonism that would offer a non-consensual model of liberal democracy. My hypothesis is that neither of these views is exactly accurate: although he highlights the centrality of conflict in political life, Mill believes that democratic deliberation presupposes a minimal consent regarding the formal value of democracy's basic principles, viz. "the principles of individual freedom and political and social equality. These principles should never be eliminated because they are the condition for democracy's stability. Yet it would be incorrect to say that just because he believes such consent is necessary, Mill denies political conflict. The recognition of liberty and equality as democracy's guiding principles indicates the beginning, not the end, of political conflict. Once admitted as democracy's basis, the determination of the precise content and extent of the principles of equality and liberty becomes the major flashpoint of democratic deliberation. Liberty and equality are thus formal principles that are fulfilled and defined through conflicting and ongoing democratic debates. This unprecedented reading of Mill is what the current research shall seek to develop. (AU)

Scientific publications

(7)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DALAQUA, GUSTAVO H.. DEMOCRACY AS COMPROMISE: AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE AGONISTIC VS. EPISTEMIC DIVIDE. Kriterion, v. 60, n. 144, p. 587-607, SEP-DEC 2019. (15/22251-0)

DALAQUA, GUSTAVO HESSMANN. John Stuart Mill's republican feminism. KALAGATOS-REVISTA DE FILOSOFIA, v. 15, n. 2, p. 14-33, MAY-AUG 2018. (15/22251-0)

GUSTAVO HESSMANN DALAQUA. Representation, Epistemic Democracy, and Political Parties in John Stuart Mill and José de Alencar. Brazilian Political Science Review, v. 12, n. 2, 2018-05-21. (15/22251-0)

GUSTAVO HESSMANN DALAQUA. Teatro legislativo e representação democrática: a Câmara na Praça como aliança entre democracia e representação. Revista Brasileira de Ciência Política, n. 28, p. 93-122, 2019-06-03. (15/22251-0)

DALAQUA, GUSTAVO HESSMANN. Conflict, consensus, and liberty in J. S. Mill's representative democracy. BRITISH JOURNAL FOR THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY, v. 26, n. 1, p. 110-130, 2018. (15/22251-0)

DALAQUA, GUSTAVO H.. Democratic freedom as resistance against self-hatred, epistemic injustice, and oppression in Paulo Freire's critical theory. CONSTELLATIONS-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CRITICAL AND DEMOCRATIC THEORY, v. 26, n. 4, p. 13-pg., 2019-12-01. (15/22251-0)

DALAQUA, GUSTAVO H.. DEMOCRACY AS COMPROMISE: AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE AGONISTIC VS. EPISTEMIC DIVIDE. Kriterion, v. 60, n. 144, p. 21-pg., 2019-09-01. (15/22251-0)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

DALAQUA, Gustavo Hessmann. Representative democracy, conflict, and consensus in J. S. Mill. 2019. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD) São Paulo.