Justin Cruickshank is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Birmingham. He is the author of Realism and Sociology (2002) and editor of Critical Realism: The Difference it Makes (2003).Raphael Sassower is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He is the author or co-author of twenty books, including Compromising the Ideals of Science (2015), The Price of Public Intellectuals (2014), Religion and Sports in American Culture (2014), and Digital Exposure: Postmodern Postcapitalism (2013).

“This is a superb book. It is both a philosophical examination of the idea of plural epistemological communities and a practical exemplification of the virtue of understanding democracy as an open conversation. Written in the context of a rise in populism, it shows that a hopeful and temperate approach to issues that divide our political communities is possible.”

• Acknowledgements / Introduction / PART 1: LINKING PHILOSOPHY AND POLITICS /1.Anti-Authority: Comparing Popper and Rorty on the Dialogic Development of Beliefs and Practices Justin Cruickshank / 2. A Bridge over Turbulent Waters Raphael Sassower / 3.Context and Contestation Justin Cruickshank / 4. Problem-Solving: Critical Contingencies Raphael Sassower / 5. There Are No Dangerous Ideas Joseph Agassi / PART 2: SCIENCE, PROBLEM-SOLVING AND SOCIOLOGY / 6. Science, Democracy and the Sociology of PowerIsaac Ariail Reed / 7. Criticism versus Dogmatism Justin Cruickshank / 8.The Problem of Demarcation Isn’t Going Away Raphael Sassower and Seif Jensen / PART 3: DEMOCRACY, EDUCATION AND THE ROLE OFINTELLECTUALS IN PUBLIC LIFE/ 9.Democracy, Criticism and the Problems Facing Dialogue Justin Cruickshank / 10.Beyond Lamentations: Overcoming Neoliberalism? Raphael Sassower / 11.The Politics of Definitions and Neoliberal Interventionism Justin Cruickshank and Ioana Cerasella Chis / 12.Appealing to Academics to Become Public Intellectuals Raphael Sassower / 13.The Cost of Public Intellectuals Ioana Cerasella Chis and Justin Cruickshank / 14. Radical Public IntellectualsRaphael Sassower /PART 4: FROM PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS TO POLITICALECONOMY AND TECHNOLOGY /15.Public Intellectuals and the Political Economy of FoodJustin Cruickshank and Ioana Cerasella Chis / 16. Desiderata of the Future of Political Economy Raphael Sassower /17.The Neoliberal Political Economy of Science andHigher Education Justin Cruickshank / 18.The Problem of TechnocapitalismIoana Cerasella Chis and Justin Cruickshank PART 5: DEMOCRACY, DIALOGUE, EXPERTSAND ELITES / 19.Envisioning Peaceful Democratic DialoguesRaphael Sassower / 20.Democracy, Experts and Elites: The Case of BrexitJustin Cruickshank with Ioana Cerasella Chis/Conclusion/Bibliography/ Index/About the Authors