D E M O C R A C Y
&
SELF-INTEREST

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY FULLERTON

PHILOSOPHICAL SYMPOSIUM

MARCH 19-21, 1998

The Philosophical Symposium of 1998 covered the subject of Democracy and Self-Interest. It addressed several related theoretical and normative questions familiar to both those in political philosophy and political science:

• Is democracy merely an arena for playing out the conflicts between self-interested individuals?
• Do voters merely vote their preferences?
• Do politicians formulate public policy simply on the basis of their desire to get re-elected?
• Is it incoherent to speak of common or public good?

In the last three decades, philosophers have argued strenuously that democratic deliberation can transform the interests of individuals and that such discourse is necessary if democracy is to be any more than a form of utilitarian calculus reflecting only numbers. The Symposium will explore what role self-interest has and should have in a democratic state.

During the '98 Symposium, each speaker shed a distinct light on the complex relationship between self-interest on the one hand and well functioning democratic communities on the other. For example, Dr. David Gauthier contended that self-interest and democratic participation are not antithetical, while Dr. Barry Schwartz argued that self-interest undermines the very fabric of democratic communities. Dr. David Brink discussed the inter-related roles of self-love, friendship, and democratic politics employing Ancient Greek Philosophy (Socrates, Plato and Aristotle) as an impetus, and both Dr. Thomas Christiano and Dr. David Schweickart discussed the role of capitalism and democracy. Dr. Sharon Lloyd talked on the subject of the morality of economic incentives in a democratic society, and Michelle Grisat (a CSUF Alum) delivered a paper on Radical Democracy. All of the speakers discussed issues of great concern. Given that we live in a democratic society, shouldn't we be concerned about the moral requirements of democratic citizenship? Are citizens required to put their own interests on the back burner so to speak in order to pursue the common good?

California State University, Fullerton

Twenty-Eighth Annual Philosophy Symposium

DEMOCRACY & SELF-INTEREST

held on March 19-21, 1998
Titan Student Union: Portola Pavilion B

Thursday, 19 March

9:30 Welcome

10:00 "WHOSE SELF-INTEREST: REFLECTIONS ON DEMOCRACY AND CAPITALISM"

David Schweickart, Loyola University, Chicago
Response by Panel of Philosophy and Political Science students

Dr. David Schweickart (Ph.D. in Philosophy: Ohio State; Ph.D. in Mathematics: University of Virginia) is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. His has published extensively in the areas of social and political philosophy and feminist philosophy, including his 1993 book Against Capitalism published by Cambridge University Press.

1:00 "Incentives, Self Interest, and Justice in a Liberal Democracy: A Rawlsian Reply to G. A. Cohen"

Sharon Lloyd, University of Southern California
Response by Panel of Philosophy and Political Science Students

Dr. Sharon Lloyd (Ph.D, Harvard) is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California. She has published extensively in both Political Philosophy and the History of Political Philosophy. For example, her book Ideals as Interests in Hobbe's Leviathan was published by Cambridge University Press in 1992.

3:30 "Democracy and the Independent Power of Private Property"

Thomas Christiano, University of Arizona

Dr. Thomas Christiano (Ph.D., Illinois at Chicago) is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Arizona. Dr. Christiano is one of the leading theorists about the nature and value of democratic participation. He has recently published The Rule of the Many (Westview, 1996), in addition to an impressive list of refereed journal articles. In addition, Dr. Christiano has been a fellow of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities summer research stipend.

Friday, 20 March

10:00 "Eudaimonism, Love and Friendship, and Democratic Community"

David Brink, University of California, San Diego
Response by Philosophy Department Student Panel

Dr. David Brink (Ph.D. Cornell University) is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Brink has published Moral Realism and the Foundation of Ethics (Cambridge, 1989) and many articles on the history of philosophy, ethics and political theory. Dr. Brink's presentation will tie contemporary political concerns about political associations to an ancient debate about the nature of self interest and political friendship.

1:00 "Why and How the Pursuit of Self-Interest Undermines Democracy"

Barry Schwartz, Swarthmore College
Response by Panel of Liberal Studies and Philosophy Students

Dr. Barry Schwartz is Associate Provost and Professor of Psychology at Swarthmore College (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania). Dr. Schwartz is the author of four books, over seventy articles and countless presentations. His book The Battle For Human Nature (1985) is considered by many to be one of the most interesting attacks on the application of social science to the understanding of human behavior that has been written in the past twenty years. The text is required in several courses by members of the philosophy faculty. In addition to his scholarly work, Dr. Schwartz has written opinion pieces for several newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Saturday, 21 March

10:00 "A Society of Individuals"

David Gauthier, University of Pittsburgh

DAVID GAUTHIER (D Phil, Oxford, 1961) is Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy. He was chair of the department from 1983 to 1987. Before coming to Pittsburgh in 1980, he was professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. He has held visiting appointments at Princeton University, the University of California at Los Angeles, and the University of California at Irvine. His most recent books are Morals by Agreement (1986) and a collection of essays, Moral Dealing: Contract, Ethics, and Reason (1990). Earlier writings include The Logic of Leviathan (1969). His current research focuses on practical rationality, contractarian moral theory, and the emergence of modern social thought, especially in Hobbes and Rousseau. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

1:00 "Radical Democracy in a Performative Mode: Judith Butler's Alternative to Identity Politics"

Michelle Grisat, University of California, Irvine (CSUF Alumni)
Response by CSUF Alumni Panel

Michelle Grisat (M.A. in Philosophy: University of California, Irvine) is a student in the Department of Philosophy and the Graduate Feminist Emphasis at the University of California, Irvine. She is currently writing a dissertation on Judith Butler's theory of linguistic performativity in relation to the politics of gender and sexuality.

3:00 Closing Commentary

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