engleski

John Stuart Mill and the Epistemic Justification of Democracy

The thesis focuses on the epistemic (cognitive) character of democratic institutional practices and the protection of basic liberties in Mill's political thought, using it as a basis for the interpretation of institutional political proposals and moral standards within his theory. Mill addresses various issues and offers proposals that often seem to be motivated by different reasons and lead to diverse, sometimes even incompatible, results. I hold that identifying the epistemic criteria within Mill's proposals can serve as a basis for unifying his political thought. Furthermore, it can help us resolve the tension between political and epistemic values present in contemporary discussions. The thesis analyses several underinvestigated ideas in Mill's political thought. It characterizes Mill as an epistemic democrat and sets his theory in the broader explanatory framework related to the justification of collective decision-making procedures. My work follows Mill's sophisticated argumentation from its roots in utilitarian moral theory to its implications in liberal democracy.

Mill, Epistemic Democracy, Instrumentalism, Deliberation, Plural voting proposal

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