The Concept of Representation Revised Edition

by Hanna F. Pitkin (Author)

7 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0520021563

ISBN-10: 9780520021563

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Being concerned with representation, this book is about an idea, a concept, a word. It is primarily a conceptual analysis, not a historical study of the way in which representative government has evolved, nor yet an empirical investigation of the behavior of contemporary representatives or the expectations voters have about them. Yet, although the book is about a word, it is not about mere words, not merely about words. For the social philosopher, for the social scientist, words are not "mere"; they are the tools of his trade and a vital part of his subject matter. Since human beings are not merely political animals but also language-using animals, their behavior is shaped by their ideas. What they do and how they do it depends upon how they see themselves and their world, and this in turn depends upon the concepts through which they see. Learning what "representation" means and learning how to represent are intimately connected. But even beyond this, the social theorist sees the world through a network of concepts. Our words define and delimit our world in important ways, and this is particularly true of the world of human and social things. For a zoologist may capture a rare specimen and simply observe it; but who can capture an instance of representation (or of power, or of interest)? Such things, too, can be observed, but the observation always presupposes at least a rudimentary conception of what representation (or power, or interest) is, what counts as representation, where it leaves off and some other phenomenon begins. Questions about what representation is, or is like, are not fully separable from the question of what "representation" means. This book approaches the former questions by way of the latter.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"A brillant study, characterized by a closely-knit organization of ideas and by a well-written text fairly bristling with challenging insights. It is the most comprehensive--and very likely the best--book yet written on the concept of representation."

--Polity

"A major contribution to the study of representative government. . . . It is the special virtue of her work that so well defined an argument has room for so many issues and so much scholarship."

--Political Science Quarterly

"An outstanding contribution to professional knowledge . . . great enough to be required reading."

--Journal of Politics

"We are very fortunate in having such a thorough and philosophically well-informed treatment of the subject. . . .From now on this book can be expected to be the starting point for philosophical discussions of its subject."

--Philosophical Quarterly

About the Author

Hanna Fenichel Pitkin is a political theorist. She is a Professor Emerita of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Paperback: 330 pages
Publisher: University of California Press; Revised edition (February 1, 1972)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780520021563
ISBN-13: 978-0520021563
ASIN: 0520021568
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.8 x 8.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 7 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #839,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1155 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Elections & Political Process > Elections
- #1377 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Ideologies & Doctrines > Democracy
- #2645 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Political

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Hestal

Good of Bad Thinking

October 29, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The book was useful for what it covered, but it was biased toward James Madison's "scheme of representation." I can make use of the book as a good example of "hook, line, and sinker" bias, in which the author sets out to justify a conclusion but fails. The greatest error, and it is an error, that the book contains is that early on the author said that she did not include the ancient Greek democracies because they did not have a word for "representation." That may be true, but she missed the point. If, as most of us moderns believe and are taught, the Greek governments were real democracies, then it would be very important, perhaps earthshaking, to know why the ancient Greeks, especially the Athenians, did not have a word for "representation." Perhaps the had a very good reason to take another path. But the author blithely went down her instinctive path: our system is the best system and I must justify that belief.
In truth the Greeks did have a word for "representation." We would call them magistrates, and they had other officers who served on the Council of 500, and as jurors --which in the case of ancient Greeks was more of a judicial post than what we have today. These officials and others were representatives in that they served the law and the people who made the laws: the Greek citizens. By failing to analyze the difference in the methods used by the Greeks and the method favored by Madison, the author fails to discover and report the reason(s) our government fails to implement the will of the people, while the government of ancient Athens obeyed the will of the people. All of the woes that our current system of government forces on the people are due to Madison's "scheme of representation." So, this book will be useful to point out the flawed logic that is followed by the intellectuals and politicians of our era, who, together, are failing to take the immediate, large-scale projects needed to combat the onrushing catastrophe of global warming.

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Cleber Ranieri Ribas de Almeida

Five Stars

October 12, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

excelent!

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Thomas J. Leeper

A stunning work!

July 26, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

As a political scientist, this was a necessary read. Was fully satisfied and, often, stunned by the depth and clarity of thought Pitkin brings to the subject. Worth reading as a superb example of conceptual analysis, even if you're not specifically interested in the topic of representation.

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Mark T. Klomann

The Concept of representation. .

October 24, 2015

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Grand!

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Phoenix Without Ashes

Proxified!

October 28, 2017

Format: Paperback

A wonderfully thorough/readable philosophical exploration of what it means to represent someone else. The introduction intrigues with the following: does a sovereign represent his people and are they accountable for each other's actions; does an employee such as the head of a hospital represent by their actions the institutions they work for; does an actor represent their character or the playwright or the director or themselves; a lawyer or a negotiator who represents their client; an elected or appointed official represents their constituencies; a parent or guardian is allowed to represent their child. Further what are the responsibilities that either party owe each other. Much later on she asks if a plea of temporary insanity reflects a situation where punishment should be withheld as the perpetrator was not actually representing himself. Indeed, when a sentence is completed we have the expectation that the perpetrator has reformed and has become a different person, one no longer deserving of imprisonment.

Though touching on Hobbes Leviathan, the Federalist Papers and J. S. Mill, her centerpiece is the discussion of Edmund Burke for whom a member of parliament does not need to represent his constituents as much as represent the best interests of the nation. And while a certain proportion of the electorate consists of lunatics and criminals it should never be supposed that they ought by right be voted in. In contrast the American approach of the founding fathers was that one elects a diverse range persons each reflecting different interests so that the end result will reflect the prevailing view. As to which is best it depends on whether you believe that an effective moral legislator should apply conscience or consensus when they cast their vote.

After covering a wide variety of circumstances and reviewing the etymology and history of representational theory, Pitkin concludes that the nature of representation depends on the social conventions of each society. Representatives are mandated a set of rules within which they are is allowed to operate freely within limits. This delegation is necessary, even in a democracy, in that individuals cannot be omnipresent to represent themselves, nor do they have sufficient time to master all issues. Counterbalancing this there often exists means to revoke that authority.

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Dr. Jones

Representing A Great Book

May 25, 2010

Format: Paperback

The previous reviewer was spot on, this is the gold standard when discussing representation. I cannot add much to the previous review in terms of praise. I mean the other reviewer is on, but what I can do is add substance. Pitkin offers four views of representation. They are the formalisitic, which stresses authorization and accountablitly; symbolic, which stresses a representative has some meaning to those that they are trying to represent; descriptive, which highlights the degree to which the representative matches the characteristics of those being represented; and substantive, which highlights what the representative does for those they claim to represent. This is a book of theory and each of these is detailed in a very understandable way, which makes this book of theory seem less like a tome you would want to avoid. Overall, a good book.

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L. Fucilla

Review of Pitkin's The Concept of Representation

February 11, 2008

Format: Paperback

This book arises out of Hannah Pitkin's doctoral dissertation and is considered by political scientists to be the gold standard in terms of a philosophical treatment of the subject. Pitkin covers the historical evolution of thinking about representation from the Greeks through the founding of the American republic highlighting diverse thinkers and politicians like Edmund Burke, Jeremy Bentham, and James Madison as well as more contemporary scholars like Robert Dahl and Charles Lindblom. For those wishing an empirical treatment of the subject, this is not the book for you. However, if you are interested in understanding the philosophical underpinnings of the American system of representation then there are few better books to begin your inquiry with than the Concept of Representation.

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