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Deliberating Bodies

Democracy, Identification, and Embodiment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Amanda Machin
Amanda Machin*
Affiliation:
Zeppelin University
*
amanda.machin@zu.de
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Abstract

The significance of embodiment has long been overlooked in theories of deliberative democracy. Deliberation is characterized by inclusive and rational discussion that functions in an allegedly neutral and abstract space. This article draws attention to the bodies between which political interaction always occurs. Bodies have important yet unpredictable effects for political interaction and can extend or disorder the careful conscious conversation invoked by deliberative democrats. Identities are reproduced by bodies, and bodies may conform to or transform their identifications. Using Merleau-Ponty's notion of habitual knowledge, the article argues that bodies provide limitations, capacities, and opportunities for democratic politics. At the same time, bodies and their identifications are themselves transformed through deliberation and other types of political experience.

Keywords

bodiesdeliberative democracyembodimentidentificationMaurice Merleau-Ponty

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Type
Articles
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Democratic Theory , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , June 2015, pp. 42 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © Democratic Theory 2015

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