Tiago Peixoto: Pessimism of the Intellect and Open Government

Tiago Peixoto@participatory

democracyspot.net

Pessimism of the Intellect

Open Government&

Tiago Peixoto

@participatory | democracyspot.net

CeDEM13

� Semantic Extravaganza � Where e-Participation Stands � Where to go to � The Napoleonic Semaphore

overview

Tiago Peixoto


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semantic extravaganza

Tiago Peixoto


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(…) what primary movement or sector is mySociety part of? Or Avaaz? Or Kiva? Or Wikileaks? When I ask myself these questions, no obvious words or names race quickly or clearly to mind. There is a gap – or at best quite a bit of fuzziness – where the labels should go.

This lack of good labels should surprise us because these groups definitely have aims and goals, normally explicit. Also, it is unusual because social and political movements tend to be quite good at developing names and sticking to them.

Tom Steinberg, April 2013

Tiago Peixoto


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Argumentum ad Novitatem(logical fallacy)

Tiago Peixoto


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And this worries me because consistent names help causes to persist over time. If the field of AIDS research had been renamed every 6 months, could it have lasted as it did? Flighty, narrowly used language confuses supporters, prevents focus and is generally the enemy of long term success.

Tom Steinberg, April 2013

Tiago Peixoto


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Tiago Peixoto


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where the field stands

Tiago Peixoto


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some progress,but…

Tiago Peixoto


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techno-deterministic

fragmentedbiased

methodologically immature

under-theorized

Tiago Peixoto


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THE WAY FORWARD

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participation fieldconnect

with the

Tiago Peixoto


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beyondHabermasian

Tiago Peixoto


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institutional design

Tiago Peixoto


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crowdsourcing

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Condorcet Jury Theorem

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different disciplinaryperspectives

Tiago Peixoto


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Tiago Peixoto


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perspectivehistorical

Tiago Peixoto


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Tiago Peixoto


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Someone made a remark about the telegraph which seems to me infinitely correct, and which brings out its full importance, namely that, at bottom, this invention might suffice to make possible the establishment of democracy among a large population. Many respectable men, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, thought that the establishment of democracy was impossible among large populations. How could such a people deliberate? Among the Ancients, all the citizens were assembled in a single place; they communicated their will...

Alexander Vandermonde, 1795. In: Mattelart 2003: 22

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The invention of the telegraph is a new factor that Rousseau did not include in his calculations. It can be used to speak at great distances as fluently and as distinctly as in a room. There is no reason why it would not be possible for all the citizens of France to communicate their will, within a rather short time, in such a way that this communication might be considered instantaneous.

Alexander Vandermonde, 1795. In: Mattelart 2003: 22

Tiago Peixoto


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optimism of the willPessimism of the Intellect

Tiago Peixoto


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THANK YOUTiago Peixoto (@participatory)

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Tiago Peixoto: Pessimism of the Intellect and Open Government

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