Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-1994

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Political Science

Major Professor

Thomas D. Ungs

Abstract

Several theories exist which posit that communities of people hold in common a set of core beliefs, values or ideas. When these ideas influence public policy, affect the law and form the criteria of worth and wealth, they are termed public ideas.

This thesis examines the several theories which infer, in some fashion, the existence of public ideas. In doing so, I have sought to answer the following questions: (1) How is the term public ideas differentiated from others? (2) What evidence exists to suggest that a public acts harmoniously regarding its ideas? In other words, has anyone presented a theory of how the public functions? (3) If so, how does this theory help one understand theories of public ideas?

I proceeded to answer these questions by presenting a conceptual definition and meaning analysis of the term public ideas. This provided a conceptual framework for further discussion. Next, I examined John Dewey's The Public and Its Problems. Dewey deals with the question of how a public functions how it forms and develops. The critique of Dewey's theory of the public assisted in the evaluation of the theory of public ideas.

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