Philosophy, Politics, Democracy: Selected Essays

The essays collected here are about an ideal of democracy. It is the

demanding ideal that we, as equals and on a footing of mutual re-

spect, should guide the conduct of our common affairs through the use

of our shared reason.

Although focused on democracy, these essays are animated by a more

general conception of the relationship between philosophical reflection

and social-political life. I begin this Introduction with some comments

about that conception. I then make some semi-autobiographical remarks

about the intellectual background that led me to the animating concep-

tion of democracy. Next, I describe the substance of the essays, how they

are connected, and their lines of evolution. I conclude with some brief

comments on whether the essays express an objectionably Panglossian

outlook.