# Robert Cavalier

Robert Cavalier (born 1947) is an American philosopher and Teaching Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University. Cavalier is currently director of the Department of Philosophy's Program for Deliberative Democracy and is known for his works on ethics and political philosophy. His career ranges over the fields of computing and philosophy, interactive multimedia, and deliberative democracy.

## Computing and philosophy

An early proponent of the Computational Turn in both teaching and research, Cavalier established and organized some of the first workshops and conferences in the newly emerging field during the 1980s. From here, he went on to explore the first uses of “interactive video” at CMU's Center for Design of Educational Computing and in the 1990s worked with teams at the Center for the Advancement of Applied Ethics (now the Center for Ethics and Policy) to develop programs such as “A Right to Die? The Case of Dax Cowart.” Versions of the early videodisc programs were published as CD-ROMS by Routledge in the mid-90s.
Cavalier was co-Editor of Ethics in the History of Western Philosophy (St. Martin's/Macmillan, England, 1990), Editor of The Impact of the Internet on Our Moral Lives (SUNY, 2003) and other works in ethics as well as articles in educational computing. He was President of the Computing and Philosophy Conference (now the International Association for Computing and Philosophy) and Chair of the APA Committee on Philosophy and Computers.

## Deliberative Democracy

During the late 90s and early aughts his teaching and research shifted from Applied Ethics to Applied Political Philosophy and the field of deliberative democracy. He first collaborated with Jim Fishkin and the PBS By the People project to develop prototypes for online deliberation. Later he focused on various models for Deliberative Forums, relaxing some of the formal requirements of Fishkin's approach to form what he called Deliberative Loops.
In 2011 he edited Approaching Deliberative Democracy: Theory and Practice (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2011) and in 2013 he co-authored the Pittsburgh Civic Health Index for the National Conference on Citizenship. The report recommends that City government institutionalize the principles and practices of deliberative democracy in its citizen engagement efforts. The City of Pittsburgh adopted these recommendations during the Peduto Mayoral Administration (2014-2022) and in 2016 the City produced A Handbook for Deliberative Community Forums for use by city departments and other cities across the country.

## The Program for Deliberative Democracy

The Program has held over 40 deliberative forums at the state and local level and has addressed issues like same sex marriage and abortion. It has hosted workshops on the importance of developing the capacity to hold these kinds of forums, including the need to train moderators, recruit participants, prepare background materials and select resource panelists. A successful event will have stakeholder buy-in and exit surveys to document the participants' informed opinions.
The website for the Program for Deliberative Democracy (see External Links) is both an archive and a resource for those interested in exploring the field. The site contains detailed documentation of a broad range of forums, including City Budgeting, the challenges of climate change at the local level and even an attempt to envision “foros deliberativos” on the island of Cuba.

## Books and multimedia

* Approaching Deliberative Democracy: Theory and Practice (ed.), Carnegie Mellon University Press (2011)
* Democracy for Beginners. For Beginners LLC (2009)
* The Impact of the Internet on Our Moral Lives (ed.), SUNY Press (2005)
* With Covey, Thompson and Style, CD-ROM: The Issue of Abortion in America (Routledge, 1998)
* With Covey and Andersen, CD-ROM: A Right to Die? The Case of Dax Cowart (Routledge, 1996)