The Idea of Public Reason Revisited

Abstract

The idea of public reason belongs to a conception of a well ordered constitutional democratic society. This chapter provides several examples of political principles and values to illustrate the content of public reason, and particularly the various ways in which the criterion of reciprocity is both applicable and subject to violation. Central to the idea of public reason is that it neither criticizes nor attacks any comprehensive doctrine, religious or nonreligious, except insofar as that doctrine is incompatible with the essentials of public reason and a democratic polity. The conflicts between democracy and reasonable religious doctrines and among reasonable religious doctrines themselves are greatly mitigated and contained within the bounds of reasonable principles of justice in a constitutional democratic society. The chapter considers the wide view of public political culture and a range of questions about a single institution, the family. It discusses various questions and doubts about the idea of public reason.