Power to the People

Avner de-Shalit is a professor of political science and the Max Kampelman Chair of Democracy and Human Rights at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

What is the place of political philosophy in a democratic society? How should political philosophy be taught? Avner de-Shalit’s wise and provocative new book shows how political philosophy does not replace democratic politics but, instead, enhances it. Decrying both ivory tower isolation of contemporary scholars and the Platonic temptation to install philosophers as political kings, de-Shalit offers a vibrant new vision of the mutual dependence of political theory and democratic practice. His book helps us – scholars and citizens alike— to see how political philosophy helps democracy flourish.

• Part 1 Teaching and Democratizing Political PhilosophyChapter 2 From Engagement to Detachment and BackChapter 3 Teaching Political Philosophy and Academic NeutralityChapter 4 Political Philosophy and Empowering the CitizensChapter 5 Public Reflective Equilibrium: Private, Contextual, and PublicPart 6 ImplicationsChapter 7 Herbert Marcuse vs. Deliberative Democracy: Two Models for Teaching Political Philosophy at the UniversityChapter 8 The Relationships Between Political Science, Political Theory, and the History of IdeasChapter 9 Jeremiah's tragedy