Wiredu and Eze on Good Governance

Lauer, Helen

doi:10.5840/philafricana20121418

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…What fuels this pursuit of consensus and consensual decision‐making in deliberations, according to Wiredu (1999, 2001, 2011), is the ‘will to consensus’—a ‘frame of mind’ or a ‘disposition’ to resolve disagreements into a consensus. Lauer (2020) concurs with Wiredu that the key virtue of traditional African (Akan) politics was the council members' will to consensus. This will to consensus is reflected through compromise and mutual reciprocity that characterize deliberations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Nonetheless, the will to consensus served as a catalyst both in the non‐adversarial manner in which the deliberations were conducted, and in the reciprocal accommodation of the various viewpoints in deciding on what was to be done. As Lauer (2020) explains, ‘elders in counsel holding divergent opinions are expected to maintain the integrity of their views, yet share a will to consent in finding the way forward through compromise sufficient to facilitate a plan’ (p. 170).…”

Section: Wiredu On ‘The Will To Consensus’mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The will to consensus

Kwesi

2024

The Philosophical Forum

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In a democracy, when a group of deliberators have a set of differing (and contrary) views and beliefs about a particular policy or action, p, a recommended course of action is for them to pursue, and ultimately reach, a consensus on p. The pursuit of consensus allows deliberators to ‘reach over the aisle’ in accommodating dissenting views through rational dialogue until a consensual agreement is reached by all the deliberators. What fuels this pursuit of consensus is the ‘will to consensus’—a ‘frame of mind’ or a ‘disposition’ to resolve disagreements into a consensus. In this paper, I will raise some conceptual problems with positing a ‘will to consensus’ that is prior to, and supervenes on, the rational discussion of deliberators. Instead of a ‘will to consensus’, democratic theorists should be content with the minimal claim of a ‘will to dialogue’.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Wiredu On ‘The Will To Consensus’mentioning

confidence: 99%