This chapter explores the concept of democratic political causality in different political regimes. It distinguishes between top-down hierarchical causality in religious, traditional, and authoritarian regimes and the bottom-up and horizontal causality found in democracies. Democracy rejects the vertical hierarchical causality since it attributes political actions to human agency rather than transcendental or superhuman forces. Real-world examples, such as the messianic movement in Israel, highlight the tensions when divine attributions clash with democratic ideals. The chapter thoroughly examines the influence of Thomas Hobbes and his social contract theory on modern political thought, particularly his emphasis on bottom-up causality in the formation of the state. Furthermore, the chapter examines the challenges faced by democratic causality, including issues of trust in power holders, understanding others’ motives, and the emergence of conspiracy theories. It discusses self-regulation as an alternative to voluntary political interaction and the tension between individualism and collective action in democratic governance. Finally, the chapter highlights that despite the obstacles and complexities, democratic causality remains a fundamental measure of legitimate political action and authority. It introduces the concept of the “public fact” as a critical element in the epistemological framework of modern democracy.

This chapter explores the relationship between facts, politics, and our understanding of reality. It distinguishes scientific facts, based on theories, from political facts, which rely on commonsense. The chapter emphasizes the need for political facts to be made public to gain legitimacy. Scientific facts have had a significant impact on shaping political and social facts, particularly considering the division between Nature/Culture. The perception of Nature as a solid object and as a system of reliable, repetitious regularities became an ideal for the political and moral universe, as can be seen in Kant’s use of the nature analogy to reinforce his categorical imperative. Public facts act as both the currency and the counters of democratic citizens, enabling power decentralization and resistance against its abuses. The chapter also refers to how Thomas Kuhn’s Theory of Scientific Revolutions has challenged the autonomy of Nature and science, affecting the status of facts in natural and social sciences as well as in politics. The chapter concludes by noting that trust in objective facts as the foundation of modern commonsense has been weakened, highlighting the evolving nature of facts and their significance in contemporary democratic societies.

This chapter explores the erosion of trust in public facts and the crisis within commonsense conceptions of reality. It traces the evolution of scientific practices, emphasizing the role of early experimental scientists like Robert Boyle in grounding them. Ezrahi argues that the contemporary breakdown of epistemological norms, which previously upheld facts as sociopolitical currency, inevitably undermines the foundations of contemporary democracy. The citizens' diminished confidence in understanding why political actors behave in specific ways, coupled with the disparities between motives and visible effects, fosters the proliferation of conspiracy theories. The current breakdown of epistemological norms manifests itself in the “post truth” era and the ascent of “alternative facts.” Ezrahi scrutinizes the challenges of discerning facts from opinions in journalism and underscores the perils of exposure to fake news. The chapter investigates the erosion of a shared commonsense perception of reality through the lens of the Brexit campaign and the Trump presidency. Ezrahi highlights that the blurring of the cosmological dichotomy between Nature and humans has made it increasingly challenging for the public to differentiate between facts and fiction. Finally, he advocates for an awareness of the public’s role in defining political causes and facts.