Acclaiming. Notes for a political philosophy of the choral voice

This paper investigates the role of the acclamation in the constitution of the public opinion. The main argument of the essay is that acclaiming means to express chorally dissent or consensus, and therefore it should be consider a political act. However, a few political problems concerning the autonomy of such a choral voice and its manipulative dimension emerge. The paper sketches a philosophical itinerary from ancient Greek to Habermas in order to show the conceptual nucleus of a political philosophy of the acclamation. In the final part, the paper investigates the relationship between acclamation and social networks, arguing that they constitute a new form of public opinion and a challenge for future democracy.