Civic Studies » deliberation

the case for viewpoint diversity

Peter — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 17:37:19 +0000

Here is a quick interview of me for Tufts’ Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education. I think the question was something like this: “Why is it important to include diverse points of view?” Even though I appear to be looking heavenward for answers, I stand by my claim that ethical reasoning is comparative; and […] Continue reading →

important findings about the persuasive power of facts

Peter — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 19:51:19 +0000

There is a huge body of research that suggests that people are not very susceptible to good arguments. Apparently, we believe things for unexamined reasons, cherry-pick evidence to support our intuitive beliefs, and minimize the significance of inconvenient evidence. These findings contribute to a general skepticism about people’s capacity for democracy, and I fear that […] Continue reading →

listeners, not speakers, are the main reasoners

Peter — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 16:57:37 +0000

Robert Brandom offers an influential and respected account of reasoning, which I find intuitive (see Brandom 2000 and other works). At the same time, a large body of psychological research suggests that reasoning–as he defines it–is rare. That could be a valid conclusion. Starting with Socrates, philosophers who have proposed various accounts of reason have […]

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looking for deliberative moments

Peter — Thu, 30 May 2024 16:07:50 +0000

It’s not so unusual to enter a discussion without having a firm view of what should be done (perhaps without even having focused on the agenda), to listen and speak for a while, and finally to reach a collective decision that wasn’t predictable in advance. Before the discussion begins, some of the participants may know […]

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The Vuslat Foundation and Generous Listening

Peter — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 18:48:43 +0000

The Vuslat Foundation has opened a public website as generouslistening.org. At the Tisch College of Civic Life, we are one of their partners, as you can tell from the description of a conference that we co-organized and held at Tufts last year (a symposium on “Generous Listening in Organizations“); a blog post by my colleague […] Continue reading →

lessons from the Virginia social studies controversy

Peter — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 16:05:18 +0000

In Politico, James Traub offers a deeply reported account of the recent conflict over standards in Virginia, entitled “Virginia Went to War Over History and Students Actually Came Out on Top.” Standards are official guidelines about what must be taught in public schools. They may influence enforceable policies, such as which textbooks are purchased and […] Continue reading →

using federal spending to strengthen democracy

Peter — Thu, 15 Dec 2022 18:09:19 +0000

The federal government is authorized to spend an additional $2 trillion over the next 10 years through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. I support many of the priorities in these laws. But government spending should be democratic–at several levels. Operating in a democratic way is consistent with […] Continue reading →

assigning students to write cases

Peter — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 17:13:11 +0000

I think of a “teaching case” as a true story that culminates in a difficult decision that has confronted an individual or group. The decision is typically difficult because of conflicting values, incomplete information, and unpredictable outcomes. A teaching case is useful as a prompt for discussion and to teach the disposition of acting wisely […] Continue reading →

civic leverage

Peter — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 20:08:12 +0000

The illustration with this post illustrates an idea from my book What Should We Do? A Theory of Civic Life, but it is not included in the book (because I just thought of it.) The circle labeled “institutional design” refers to a process of establishing rules, norms, membership criteria, etc. for any group. Unless an […] Continue reading →

dialogue and de-radicalization

Peter — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 15:38:26 +0000

Some people argue that the deep problem with US democracy is polarization. I have some doubts about that thesis.* However, let’s assume it contains at least some truth. One possible remedy is direct: recruit people from opposite sides of our political divide to engage in dialogue so that they develop empathy and perhaps discover some […] Continue reading →