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Article published In:
Dialogue and Ethics
Edited by Ronald C. Arnett and François Cooren
[Language and Dialogue 7:1] 2017
► pp. 26–44

Rhetoric, ethics, and the principle of charity

Pragmatist clues to the democratic riddle

| University of Texas at Austin (USA)

This article examines the challenge of partisanship to the free and open communication entailed by rich notions of democracy. Exploring the vexing riddle of how democratic citizens can balance openness and assertiveness in their dialogic interactions, I turn to the American pragmatist tradition for two important starting points. Drawing from William James and John Dewey, I highlight how the pragmatist tradition provides a nuanced reading of charity, both towards individuals and to situations. Charity is a choice of disposition, and it has vital implications for pragmatist rhetoric’s drive to instantiate a deep sense of democratic communication.

Keywords: democracy, dialogic ethics, pragmatism, pragmatist rhetoric, John Dewey, William James, principle of charity
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The democratic riddle
  • 3.The Jamesian clue to individual charity
  • 4.The Deweyan clue to situation charity
  • 5.Toward a democratic future
  • References
Published online: 29 June 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ld.7.1.03str
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