The relationship between truth and democracy has always been a troubled one: On the one hand, democracy seems to ignore what is true, since democracy is the rule not of truth but of majority. On the other hand, democracy is often seen as a “truth machine”, for it requires deliberation before decision. Both sides still affirm truth as unproblematic, but if we start with democracy instead, too much truth seems equally threatening: for then the rule of the demos turns into the rule of experts, technocracy – or in the rule of truth itself, captured in the image of the philosopher king. And yet, democracy seems bound to the power of truth. So these (and further) dimensions of the problematic relation between truth and democracy will be at the heart of the seminar.
Preparatory Reading
Agamben, Giorgio et al. (2012): Demokratie? Eine Debatte. Berlin: Suhrkamp.
Badiou, Alain, Jacques Rancière, Rado Riha und Jelica Šumič (1997): Politik der Wahrheit. Hrsg. von Rado Riha. Wien: Turia + Kant.
Elkins, Jeremy und Andrew Norris (Hrsg.) (2012): Truth and Democracy. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Hagner, Michael (Hrsg.) (2012): Wissenschaft und Demokratie. Berlin: Suhrkamp.