Roberto Frega
Biographic Data
| ID | 288896 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Roberto Frega |
| GIVEN NAMES | Roberto |
| FAMILY NAME | Frega |
| SIGNATURE | FREGA R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6556-4275 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 43 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 87 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 42 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Political elites and the democratic duty to trust the people
Firms as coalitions of democratic cultures: Towards an organizational theory of workplace democracy
The theory of the firm initially developed by Ronald Coase has made explicit the political nature of firms by putting hierarchy at the heart of the economic process. Theories of workplace democracy articulate this intuition in the normative terms of the conditions under which this political power can be legitimate. This paper presents an organizational theory of workplace democracy, and contends that the democratization of firms requires that we …
Solidarity as Social Involvement
This paper reclaims the concept of solidarity for democratic theory. It does this by proposing a theory of solidarity as social involvement that is construed through the integration of three better known conceptions of solidarity that have played an influential role in the political thought of the last two centuries. The paper begins by explaining why solidarity should receive more sustained attention from political theorists with an interest in …
Reply to Comments (Contemporary Pragmatism, 2021)
These are the replies to critics on my book Pragmatism and the wide view of democracy
The fourth stage of social democracy
Democratic Patterns of Interaction as a Norm for the Workplace
International audience
Preface to the Special Issue on Workplace Democracy
International audience
Against Analogy
This article asks whether the analogy between state and firm is a promising strategy for promoting workplace democracy and provides a negative answer, explaining why analogical arguments are not a good strategy for justifying workplace democracy. The article contends that the state-firm analogy is misguided for at least three reasons: (1) it is structurally inconclusive, (2) it is based on a category mistake, and (3) it leads us away from the cen…
Replies to critics, European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophies
First of all, I warmly thank Matteo Santarelli for having put the symposia together, and Matthew Festenstein, Torjus Midtgarden, and Ed Quish for having accepted his invitation. Once a book is published one has the tendency to let it behind and jump to a new project. Yet this is the time when critical distance finally comes, and one sees better the blind spots and limitations of one’s own project. To that extent, engaging with alerted and critica…
Les dimensions de la confiance
La démocratie repose sur la confiance. En particulier, en contexte de crise sanitaire, sur la confiance des élites politiques dans la volonté et la capacité des citoyens de suivre les règles de la vie sociale. Le confinement trahit ainsi un manque de confiance démocratique
Pragmatism and the Wide View of Democracy
Reflexive cooperation between fraternity and social involvement
This article explores Axel Honneth’s long-standing philosophical interest for solidarity in the larger context of contemporary theories of democracy. It identifies three models to which Honneth resorts to conceptualize solidarity, and which he tries to reconcile: abstract solidarity, fraternal coexistence and reflexive cooperation. The article examines these three models in turn, retracing them back to different works and moments of Honneth’s car…
The normativity of democracy
The aim of this paper is to advance our understanding of the normative grammar of the concept of democracy by distinguishing two levels at which a political concept may play a normative function, and proceeds by analysing the concept of democracy at these two levels. It distinguishes in particular between normativity as ‘norm-compliance’ and normativity as ‘paradigmatic’ and contends that the concept of democracy has a normative content that exte…
Workplace democracy-The recent debate
The article reviews the recent debate about workplace democracy. It first presents and critically discusses arguments in favor of democratizing the firm that are based on the analogy with states, meaningful work, the avoidance of unjustified hierarchies, and beneficial effects on political democracy. The second part presents and critically discusses arguments against workplace democracy that are based on considerations of efficiency, the difficul…
Democracy and the limits of political realism
This article explores the recent resurgence of realism in the political sciences, questioning its relevance for democratic theory. Starting from a critical review of recent works in the field, the article calls into question the relevance of empirical investigations of political reality for normative theorizing, and contends that some of the normative conclusions advanced in this literature are not warranted. More precisely, the article questions…
The Social Ontology of Democracy
This paper offers an account of the social foundations of a theory of democracy. It purports to show that a social ontology of democracy is the necessary counterpart of a political theory of democracy. It notably contends that decisions concerning basic social ontological assumptions are relevant not only for empirical research, but bear a significant impact also on normative theorizing. The paper then explains why interactionist rather than subs…
A Tale of Two Social Philosophies
Although less known than his theory of democracy, John Dewey's social philosophy provides an articulate and original perspective on political life based on pragmatist intuitions. Dewey's struggle with social philosophy spanned more than four decades of his intellectual life. This article provides an overview of the main themes that characterize it and shows that two distinct projects animate Dewey's social philosophy. One is closer to the British…
Pragmatism and democracy in a global world
This article discusses the advantages of a pragmatist theory of global democracy for understanding the political relevance of new phenomena such as the emergence of forms of private authority and transnational movements in tackling with global issues. The article shows in particular that the pragmatist notion of ‘publics’ offers promising insights and proves particularly promising for completing the transition from methodological nationalism to m…
John Dewey's Social and Political Philosophy in the China Lectures: Introduction
This short introduction provides a general framework for the papers included in this sections. It contextualizes them in the debate sparked by the recent publication of John Dewey’s manuscript written in preparation of the series of Lectures in Social and Political Philosophy he gave in China in 1919–1920. While the original manuscript has long been considered lost, it has been discovered recently in Hu Shi (Hu Shih) Archives in Beijing and publi…
The wide view of democracy
This article compares the theories of democracy of John Dewey and Claude Lefort, identifying some common themes in their otherwise radically different philosophical outlooks. In so doing, it attempts to analyze the philosophical implications of a 'democracy first' approach to politics. It then explains in what sense Dewey's idea of 'democracy as a way of life' and Claude Lefort's conception of 'democracy as a form of society' provide the cornerst…
Qu’est-ce qu’une pratique
L’expression « histoire pragmatique » peut s’entendre de plusieurs manières, selon la signification que l’on assigne au terme « pragmatique ». Une des possibilités consiste à entendre le terme « pragmatique » comme se référant à la pratique, ou aux pratiques. L’histoire pragmatique serait en ce sens une « histoire de pratiques », une manière d’aborder le passé comme étant essentiellement qualifié par le déploiement de « pratiques », dont elle se …
Les droits religieux sont-ils compatibles avec le pluralisme démocratique: Une réponse pragmatiste aux limites de la raison publique
« We doubt in order that we may find out, not because some inaccessible supernatural lurks behind whatever we can know. » (Dewey, 2007, p. 57) La question du pluralisme démocratique et de la place des droits religieux agite depuis longtemps les démocraties occidentales. Si en France les choses paraissent être, du moins en principe, réglées par le principe républicain de la laïcité, il n’en va pas de même dans d’autres pays, par exemple dans l’Esp…
Quel âge post-séculier: Religions, démocraties, sciences
Que signifient les discours actuels en faveur du « post-séculier » ? Et pourquoi faudrait-il en finir avec l'âge séculier ? Qui l'exige ou le demande ? Quels sont les événements qui le requièrent ? Ces dernières années, un débat sur la place de la religion dans les démocraties libérales s'est engagé dans le monde intellectuel. Si certains ont parlé d'un âge séculier et d'autres d'une « société post-séculière », c'est parfois la dynamique même de …
John Dewey’s Social Philosophy: A Restatement
This paper provides a fresh examination of John Dewey’s social philosophy in the light of new evidence made available by the recent discovery of the original manuscript Dewey wrote in preparation of the Lectures on Social and Political Philosophy delivered in China and published here for the first time. The paper reconstructs Dewey’s ambivalent relationship with social philosophy throughout his long career and focuses upon his attempt between 191…
The Normative Structure of the Ordinary
This paper aims to develop a new understanding of normativity based upon the priority of the ordinary. By relying upon diverse sociological and philosophical traditions, the paper seeks to emphasize the ordinary tacit assumptions which provide the basic structure of our experience of the world and its normative features. The general argument is that, whereas sociological traditions of social interactionism shed new light upon the “empirical fact …
Workplace democracy-The recent debate
The article reviews the recent debate about workplace democracy. It first presents and critically discusses arguments in favor of democratizing the firm that are based on the analogy with states, meaningful work, the avoidance of unjustified hierarchies, and beneficial effects on political democracy. The second part presents and critically discusses arguments against workplace democracy that are based on considerations of efficiency, the difficul…
Introduction du Dossier ' Pragmatisme et sciences sociales: Explorations, Enquêtes, Expérimentations
Ce Dossier de SociologieS a pour finalité de donner un aperçu de la pluralité des réceptions du pragmatisme en sciences sociales dans le monde francophone . Elle s’inscrit dans la continuité d’un séminaire qui s’est tenu pendant l’année 2012-2013 à l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS-Paris), coorganisé par Alexandra Bidet, Daniel Cefaï, Antoine Hennion, Roberto Frega, Joan Stavo-Debauge et Cédric Terzi . Ce séminaire s’est pours…
The Social Ontology of Democracy
This paper offers an account of the social foundations of a theory of democracy. It purports to show that a social ontology of democracy is the necessary counterpart of a political theory of democracy. It notably contends that decisions concerning basic social ontological assumptions are relevant not only for empirical research, but bear a significant impact also on normative theorizing. The paper then explains why interactionist rather than subs…
L'épistémologie des dominés
Democracy and the limits of political realism
This article explores the recent resurgence of realism in the political sciences, questioning its relevance for democratic theory. Starting from a critical review of recent works in the field, the article calls into question the relevance of empirical investigations of political reality for normative theorizing, and contends that some of the normative conclusions advanced in this literature are not warranted. More precisely, the article questions…
Equal Accessibility to All: Habermas, Pragmatism, and the Place of Religious Beliefs in a Post‐Secular Society
The normativity of democracy
The aim of this paper is to advance our understanding of the normative grammar of the concept of democracy by distinguishing two levels at which a political concept may play a normative function, and proceeds by analysing the concept of democracy at these two levels. It distinguishes in particular between normativity as ‘norm-compliance’ and normativity as ‘paradigmatic’ and contends that the concept of democracy has a normative content that exte…
The fourth stage of social democracy
Against Analogy
This article asks whether the analogy between state and firm is a promising strategy for promoting workplace democracy and provides a negative answer, explaining why analogical arguments are not a good strategy for justifying workplace democracy. The article contends that the state-firm analogy is misguided for at least three reasons: (1) it is structurally inconclusive, (2) it is based on a category mistake, and (3) it leads us away from the cen…
The Normative Structure of the Ordinary
This paper aims to develop a new understanding of normativity based upon the priority of the ordinary. By relying upon diverse sociological and philosophical traditions, the paper seeks to emphasize the ordinary tacit assumptions which provide the basic structure of our experience of the world and its normative features. The general argument is that, whereas sociological traditions of social interactionism shed new light upon the “empirical fact …
Between Pragmatism and Critical Theory: Social Philosophy Today
Firms as coalitions of democratic cultures: Towards an organizational theory of workplace democracy
The theory of the firm initially developed by Ronald Coase has made explicit the political nature of firms by putting hierarchy at the heart of the economic process. Theories of workplace democracy articulate this intuition in the normative terms of the conditions under which this political power can be legitimate. This paper presents an organizational theory of workplace democracy, and contends that the democratization of firms requires that we …
The wide view of democracy
This article compares the theories of democracy of John Dewey and Claude Lefort, identifying some common themes in their otherwise radically different philosophical outlooks. In so doing, it attempts to analyze the philosophical implications of a 'democracy first' approach to politics. It then explains in what sense Dewey's idea of 'democracy as a way of life' and Claude Lefort's conception of 'democracy as a form of society' provide the cornerst…
John Dewey’s Social Philosophy: A Restatement
This paper provides a fresh examination of John Dewey’s social philosophy in the light of new evidence made available by the recent discovery of the original manuscript Dewey wrote in preparation of the Lectures on Social and Political Philosophy delivered in China and published here for the first time. The paper reconstructs Dewey’s ambivalent relationship with social philosophy throughout his long career and focuses upon his attempt between 191…
Les pratiques normatives: Repenser la normativité entre philosophie et sciences sociales
Cet article présente une théorie pragmatiste de la normativité qui se situe au carrefour entre philosophie et sciences sociales. Cette théorie s’appuie sur la notion de pratique et se propose d’intégrer une visée de validité et d’objectivité avec un souci pour les formes empiriques au travers desquelles les ordres normatifs sont maintenus et transformés dans des contextes déterminés socio-historiquement. L’article montre pourquoi une approche pra…
Interview with Richard J. Bernstein
Can you recollect what the situation was concerning the study of pragmatism when
Thomas Kuhn et l'oubli de la pratique
Cet article examine l'œuvre de Thomas Kuhn au prisme du rôle que joue la notion de pratique dans le développement de sa théorie de la rationalité scientifique. Je commence par exposer les enjeux épistémologiques de la théorie de l'incommensurabilité. Je montre ensuite comment l'intuition originale d'une conception pratique et sociale de l'incommensurabilité en vient à être remplacée par une interprétation linguistique plus conventionnelle. Dans l…
Pragmatism and the Social Sciences: A Century of Influences and Interactions, vol. 1
The history of the influences and interactions between pragmatism and the social sciences is as rich as it has been neglected as a field of research. This volume – the first of a series of two – tries to explore both historically and theoretically some of these multiple relationships, building upon the assumption that pragmatism has been one of the philosophical traditions that have taken most seriously the study of the social. In fact, since its…
Colin Koopman, Pragmatism as transition. Historicity and Hope in James, Dewey, and Rorty: Columbia University Press, New York, 2009
Koopman's book revolves around the notion of transition, which he proposes is one of the central ideas of the pragmatist tradition but one which had not previously been fully articulated yet nevertheless shapes the pragmatist attitude in philosophy. Transition, according to Koopman, denotes "those temporal structures and historical shapes in virtue of which we get from here to there" (2). One of the consequences of transitionalism is the understa…
Colin Koopman, Pragmatism as transition. Historicity and Hope in James, Dewey, and Rorty: Columbia University Press, New York, 2009
Koopman's book revolves around the notion of transition, which he proposes is one of the central ideas of the pragmatist tradition but one which had not previously been fully articulated yet nevertheless shapes the pragmatist attitude in philosophy. Transition, according to Koopman, denotes "those temporal structures and historical shapes in virtue of which we get from here to there" (2). One of the consequences of transitionalism is the understa…
Pragmatism, Transcendentalism, and Perfectionism: Introduction to the Symposia
The relation between Pragmatism, Transcendentalism, and Perfectionism is both obvious and difficult, and this is what prompted us to edit the present issue of the Journal. The relation is obvious, because the history of American Philosophy is deeply textured by this relation, and the transition from Transcendentalism to Pragmatism has been historically attested. Difficult, because these traditions seem to deny one another. Pragmatist philosophers…
Pragmatism and the Social Sciences: A Century of Influences and Interactions, vol. 1
The history of the influences and interactions between pragmatism and the social sciences is as rich as it has been neglected as a field of research. This volume – the first of a series of two – tries to explore both historically and theoretically some of these multiple relationships, building upon the assumption that pragmatism has been one of the philosophical traditions that have taken most seriously the study of the social. In fact, since its…
Richard Bernstein and the Challenges of a Broadened Pragmatism
Richard Bernstein is among the pragmatist philosophers that have most significantly contributed to the advancement of a philosophical conversation between the American and the European traditions. His work has greatly helped the task of dismantling the boundaries that in the last decades had been erected between philosophical traditions. It is therefore with the greatest pleasure that The European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy ina…
Le perfectionnisme à l’épreuve du pragmatisme
In this paper, I first lay out a definition of perfectionism drawing mainly upon the works of Cora Diamond and Stanley Cavell. Secondly, I introduce the notion of “expressive rationality” and show how it contributes to expanding the scope of pragmatism beyond its original boundaries. I then proceed to examine pragmatism and perfectionism as competing alternative accounts of moral experience, through a discussion of Coetzee’s novel The Lives of An…
Practice, Judgment, and the Challenge of Moral and Political Disagreement: A Pragmatist Account
Practice, Judgment, and the Challenge of Moral and Political Disagreement: A Pragmatist Account offers an account of moral and political disagreement, explaining its nature and showing how we should deal with it. In so doing it strikes a middle path between troublesome dualisms such as those of realism and relativism, rationality and imagination, power and justification. To do so, the book draws on the resources of the pragmatist tradition, claim…
Practice, judgment, and the challenge of moral and political disagreement: A Pragmatist Account
Mitchell Aboulafia, Transcendence. On self-determination and Cosmopolitanism: Stanford University Press, Standford, 2010
Mitchell Aboulafia’s new book pursues previous inquiries carried forth by the author on the notion of Cosmopolitanism. Whereas so far Aboulafia had mostly developed this notion with reference to Mead, in this book he weaves together the different strands of a Euro-American philosophical conception of cosmopolitanism, taken to be the core of a moral, social, and political vision centered around the modern ideas of autonomy and of individual and co…
Equal Accessibility to All: Habermas, Pragmatism, and the Place of Religious Beliefs in a Post‐Secular Society
José Medina, The Epistemology of Resistance: Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2012, 352 pages
The new book from Jos Medina offers an inspiring exploration of how the recent discussions of "epistemic ignorance" can be put to work to unveil and denounce new forms of oppression. Jos Medina accomplish this task by combining four different tradition: American pragmatism, Wittgenstein, Foucault, and feminist and race studies. This original blend of different traditions gives the book its distinctive flavor and accounts for its originality
Thomas Kuhn et l'oubli de la pratique
Cet article examine l'œuvre de Thomas Kuhn au prisme du rôle que joue la notion de pratique dans le développement de sa théorie de la rationalité scientifique. Je commence par exposer les enjeux épistémologiques de la théorie de l'incommensurabilité. Je montre ensuite comment l'intuition originale d'une conception pratique et sociale de l'incommensurabilité en vient à être remplacée par une interprétation linguistique plus conventionnelle. Dans l…
L'épistémologie des dominés
The Normative Creature: Toward a Practice-Based Account of Normativity
In this paper I offer a first account of a practice-based conception of normativity for the political domain. This standpoint is used to relocate the most sophisticated normative practices of justification and critique within an experience-based framework, that of the human being as a “normative creature.” I begin by discussing the two major paradigms in political theory, showing that their neglect of this broad framework of normativity is a seri…
Interview with Richard J. Bernstein
Can you recollect what the situation was concerning the study of pragmatism when
Between Pragmatism and Critical Theory: Social Philosophy Today
Le commandement: Une Histoire De Pratiques
L'article propose une lecture critique de l'ouvrage récent d'Yves Cohen, Le siècle des chefs, et l'inscrit dans le courant plus vaste du mouvement de l'histoire pragmatique, dont Y. Cohen est un représentant éminent. Après avoir présenté les jalons majeurs de l'œuvre,l'article examine la thèse centrale de l'ouvrage, à savoir que le commandement constitueraitun phénomène propre au XXe siècle. Il montre ensuite en quoi l'approche par les pratiques …
Les droits religieux sont-ils compatibles avec le pluralisme démocratique: Une réponse pragmatiste aux limites de la raison publique
« We doubt in order that we may find out, not because some inaccessible supernatural lurks behind whatever we can know. » (Dewey, 2007, p. 57) La question du pluralisme démocratique et de la place des droits religieux agite depuis longtemps les démocraties occidentales. Si en France les choses paraissent être, du moins en principe, réglées par le principe républicain de la laïcité, il n’en va pas de même dans d’autres pays, par exemple dans l’Esp…
Quel âge post-séculier: Religions, démocraties, sciences
Que signifient les discours actuels en faveur du « post-séculier » ? Et pourquoi faudrait-il en finir avec l'âge séculier ? Qui l'exige ou le demande ? Quels sont les événements qui le requièrent ? Ces dernières années, un débat sur la place de la religion dans les démocraties libérales s'est engagé dans le monde intellectuel. Si certains ont parlé d'un âge séculier et d'autres d'une « société post-séculière », c'est parfois la dynamique même de …
John Dewey’s Social Philosophy: A Restatement
This paper provides a fresh examination of John Dewey’s social philosophy in the light of new evidence made available by the recent discovery of the original manuscript Dewey wrote in preparation of the Lectures on Social and Political Philosophy delivered in China and published here for the first time. The paper reconstructs Dewey’s ambivalent relationship with social philosophy throughout his long career and focuses upon his attempt between 191…
The Normative Structure of the Ordinary
This paper aims to develop a new understanding of normativity based upon the priority of the ordinary. By relying upon diverse sociological and philosophical traditions, the paper seeks to emphasize the ordinary tacit assumptions which provide the basic structure of our experience of the world and its normative features. The general argument is that, whereas sociological traditions of social interactionism shed new light upon the “empirical fact …
Les pratiques normatives: Repenser la normativité entre philosophie et sciences sociales
Cet article présente une théorie pragmatiste de la normativité qui se situe au carrefour entre philosophie et sciences sociales. Cette théorie s’appuie sur la notion de pratique et se propose d’intégrer une visée de validité et d’objectivité avec un souci pour les formes empiriques au travers desquelles les ordres normatifs sont maintenus et transformés dans des contextes déterminés socio-historiquement. L’article montre pourquoi une approche pra…
Introduction du Dossier ' Pragmatisme et sciences sociales: Explorations, Enquêtes, Expérimentations
Ce Dossier de SociologieS a pour finalité de donner un aperçu de la pluralité des réceptions du pragmatisme en sciences sociales dans le monde francophone . Elle s’inscrit dans la continuité d’un séminaire qui s’est tenu pendant l’année 2012-2013 à l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS-Paris), coorganisé par Alexandra Bidet, Daniel Cefaï, Antoine Hennion, Roberto Frega, Joan Stavo-Debauge et Cédric Terzi . Ce séminaire s’est pours…
Qu’est-ce qu’une pratique
L’expression « histoire pragmatique » peut s’entendre de plusieurs manières, selon la signification que l’on assigne au terme « pragmatique ». Une des possibilités consiste à entendre le terme « pragmatique » comme se référant à la pratique, ou aux pratiques. L’histoire pragmatique serait en ce sens une « histoire de pratiques », une manière d’aborder le passé comme étant essentiellement qualifié par le déploiement de « pratiques », dont elle se …
A Tale of Two Social Philosophies
Although less known than his theory of democracy, John Dewey's social philosophy provides an articulate and original perspective on political life based on pragmatist intuitions. Dewey's struggle with social philosophy spanned more than four decades of his intellectual life. This article provides an overview of the main themes that characterize it and shows that two distinct projects animate Dewey's social philosophy. One is closer to the British…
Pragmatism and democracy in a global world
This article discusses the advantages of a pragmatist theory of global democracy for understanding the political relevance of new phenomena such as the emergence of forms of private authority and transnational movements in tackling with global issues. The article shows in particular that the pragmatist notion of ‘publics’ offers promising insights and proves particularly promising for completing the transition from methodological nationalism to m…
Philosophy (31 works) · Political science (31 works) · Epistemology (29 works) · Sociology (27 works) · Law (25 works) · Politics (20 works) · Philosophy (19 works) · Pragmatism (18 works) · Democracy (17 works) · Law (15 works)