Truth and Democracy by Elkins Jeremy; Norris Andrew;

Author:Elkins, Jeremy; Norris, Andrew;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

Conclusion

There is nothing to prevent us from pursuing commitments to both democracy and the love of truth. The endorsement of democratic forms of political authority entails no particular understanding of truth. And, pace Plato, the love of truth entails no particular understanding of political authority. But if we want to continue to pursue both of these commitments, we need to get used to the discomfort that doing so is bound to create for us.

“Democracy,” as Michael Walzer elegantly puts it, “has no claims in the philosophical realm, and philosophers have no special rights in the political community.” In the democratic world, “truth is indeed another opinion, and the philosopher is only another opinion-maker.”39 And in the world of truth-seekers, popular opinion is just another claim to be examined and, if necessary, discarded, by the lover of truth. Trying to live in both of these worlds is bound to make us uncomfortable at times. But it is far better to learn how to live with this discomfort than to devalue both worlds by vain attempts to bring them into harmony with each other.

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