Epistemic Proceduralism

Abstract

Epistemic proceduralism (EP) offers a defense of democracy that combines elements of both epistemic and procedural arguments. In David Estlund’s canonical formulation, it holds that “democratic laws are legitimate and authoritative because they are produced by a procedure with a tendency to make correct decisions”. In a broader context, EP has been perhaps the most prominent view amidst a wider resurgence of epistemic arguments for democracy, and a wider interest in democracy’s epistemic features. Both procedural and epistemic arguments seem to have a natural role to play in justifying democracy. And yet both arguments also seem to confront important objections when taken on their own. The procedural fairness of democracy is reflected, at the most fundamental level, in the basic principle of “one citizen, one vote,” along with the standard package of protections for civil liberties that goes along with the voting franchise.