The spectator theory of knowledge denies the public a creative role

Evidence

We associate knowledge with vision to emphasize that we are spectators rather than participants in the language game through which knowledge is made or produced. We associate politics with vision and the spectator in order to deny the public any political role other than to ratify a political world already represented—a depoliticized world in which all the critical choices have been made by the experts. He would insist that we are not, however, observers or spectators of a given world but participants in its actual making. — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 374

Categorization

• DEFINE: Names and explains Dewey’s critique of the ‘spectator theory of knowledge.’
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 374
• XREF: connects to: Public opinion forms only through discussion, not correct representations — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 372; Knowledge requires mental reflection on existence rather than passive sensory impressions — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 693; Silence in art functions as medium for listener’s own creative imagination — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels: The Quest for Absolute…, 242 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• New social knowledge alters the social world rather than merely describing it #expands (0.85) — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 363
• The truth of ideas is independent of their social origins #contradicts (0.80) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 210
• Knowledge requires mental reflection on existence rather than passive sensory impressions #expands (0.75) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 693
• Communication constitutes reality rather than merely representing it #corroborates (0.65) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 382
• Silence in art functions as medium for listener’s own creative imagination #exemplifies (0.60) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 242
• Plato argues that real knowledge derives from concepts rather than sensory perception #exemplifies (0.50) — Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, 674