from Part IV - The Erosion of the Epistemological Constitution of Modern Democracy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2025
The chapter explores the contemporary erosion of trust in human vision and its profound implications for the epistemological foundations of modern democracy. Ezrahi identifies the current skepticism surrounding the reliability of visual perceptions, asserting that this skepticism undermines the essential fictions and rituals sustaining claims of visibility and transparency in democratic systems. The notion of “visual commonsense” is introduced, referring to the façade concealing the complexities of vision as a source of knowledge and information about the physical and social worlds. He also asserts the active role of the human eye, brain, and sociocultural context in shaping perceptions. Ezrahi contrasts Einstein's dismissal of commonsense with the significance of commonsense facts in democratic political discourse. The argument is that there is a significant gap between the current epistemic condition and that of liberal democracies’ heyday. Ezrahi argues that technological innovations, instead of standardized reality, deepen cultural, religious, ideological, and gender diversities in visual perspectives. In conclusion, the chapter suggests that, in the midst of visual disarray, the human eye possesses the power to both disorient and guide, reflecting the complex interplay between perception, imagination, and the changing landscape of modern democracy.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.