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Zsolt Kristof Kapelner

Postdoctoral Fellow - Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas

Email z.k.kapelner@ifikk.uio.no

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Visiting address Blindernveien 31 Georg Morgenstiernes hus 0313 Oslo

Postal address Postboks 1020 Blindern 0315 Oslo

Other affiliations Study of Religion (Student)

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Academic interests

I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas, I work on moral and political philosophy. In the GoodAttention Project, I research the role of attention in democratic deliberation. What kind of norms should govern citizens’ attention when they deliberate on common problems and make decisions together in democratic fora? Politicians, experts, marginalized groups, and conspiration theorists are all striving to grab our attention, and we must always decide which voices to prioritize. In the age of social media, growing polarization, and the like, this is an increasingly difficult task. My research looks at how individuals and institutions can promote good attention norms for ensuring the proper functioning of democratic deliberation.

My general research interests are democratic theory, particularly the value of democracy, as well as non-ideal democratic theory, particularly possibilities for democratic reform in the face of mounting global crises, e.g., populism, the development of digital technology and AI, climate change, and migration.

Background

I received my PhD from Central European University (Vienna, Austria) in 2022. For more information, see my Academia.edu site

Tags: Democracy, Attention, Deliberative democracy, Freedom of speech and democracy

“What does it mean to have an equal say?” Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. Online first. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-023-10404-1

“The state’s duty to foster voter competence.” Episteme. Online first. https://doi.org/10.1017/epi.2022.31. Co-authored with Michele Giavazzi.

“Mutual service as the relational value of democracy.” Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 25(4): 651–665. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-022-10271-2

Kapelner, Zsolt (2026). Ignoring the Unreasonable. Moral Philosophy and Politics. ISSN 2194-5616. doi: 10.1515/mopp-2025-0053. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Illiberal and antidemocratic political forces, for example, in the form of far-right populism, are on the rise. Such politics, commonly referred to as ‘unreasonable’ in political philosophy, is widely seen as a threat to democracy. Many argue that an adequate response must involve listening to, that is, understanding and seriously considering the perspective of the unreasonable. I disagree. I argue that as democratic citizens, we should not listen to the unreasonable; we should, in a sense, ignore them, that is, refuse to understand and seriously consider their perspective, although continue to monitor their activities. Listening to the unreasonable is not instrumentally required for countering unreasonable politics. In addition, the unreasonable likely have no moral claim to be listened to. Finally, listening to them is disrespectful to reasonable citizens whose voice is ignored for the sake of paying attention to the unreasonable. For these reasons, we should ignore the unreasonable.
Kapelner, Zsolt (2025). The Democratic Theory of Immigrant Enfranchisement. Democratic Theory: An Interdisciplinary Journal. ISSN 2332-8894. 12(1), p. 103–103. doi: 10.3167/dt.2025.120105. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Abstract Immigrants without citizenship are usually excluded from democratic participation. It is often argued that this is a grave injustice that calls for redress; immigrants should be enfranchised whether they have citizenship or not. Most arguments for this claim hold that immigrant enfranchisement is justified by immigrants’ interest against being ruled by the receiving state. In this article, I argue that this view fails to explain why immigrants should be enfranchised. I offer an alternative view according to which immigrant enfranchisement is justified by a shared interest of immigrants and citizens in relating as mutually serving agents of justice by participating in the common undertaking of ruling the polity justly together.
Kapelner, Zsolt Kristof (2024). Civic Friendship, the Burdens of Politics, and the Ethics of Attention. Analyse & Kritik. Zeitschrift für Sozialtheorie. ISSN 0171-5860. 46(2), p. 279–287. doi: 10.1515/auk-2024-2022. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
In Philosophizing the Indefensible Shmuel Nili proposes strategic political theory as a productive and respectful manner for political philosophy to engage with unreasonable political views. One objection to his proposal he considers is that strategic political theory gives ‘excessive attention' to unreasonable views. In this paper I offer a perspective on this objection which Nili does not consider and which, I believe, has important consequences for his account. The strategic theorist pays engaged and respectful attention to unreasonable views for the sake of showing respect and upholding ties of civic friendship with unreasonable citizens. Yet such attention might inadvertently disrespect and damage ties of civic friendship with those disadvantaged by the indefensible policies of the unreasonable. I consider how this consideration bears on Nili’s argument for strategic theorizing based on the practical necessity to alleviate what he calls ‘the burdens of politics'.
Kapelner, Zsolt (2023). Strukturális igazságtalanság és a felelősség problémája. Magyar Filozofiai Szemle. ISSN 0025-0090. 66(4), p. 55–72. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Structural injustice is a special class of injustice which stems not from unjust or negligent governments, legislatures, groups of individuals, but from unjust social structures. Such social structures include the patriarchy, structural racism, and the class structure generating unjust social inequalities. Who is responsible for creating and abolishing such structural injustices? The most influential answer to this question is provided by Iris Marion Young’s theory. Young argues that no one bears backward-looking responsibility for structural injustice, i.e., no one can be blamed or held to account for them, but everyone who is socially connected to unjust structures bears forward-looking responsibility to abolish them. Numerous challenges were raised against Young’s theory in recent years. In this paper I argue that it can be defended against the most important challenges.
Kapelner, Zsolt (2023). What does it mean to have an equal say? Ethical Theory and Moral Practice. ISSN 1386-2820. p. 1–15. doi: 10.1007/s10677-023-10404-1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Democracy is the form of government in which citizens have an equal say in political decision-making. But what does this mean precisely? Having an equal say is often defined either in terms of equal power to influence political decision-making or in terms of appropriate consideration, i.e., as a matter of attributing appropriate deliberative weight to citizens’ judgement in political decision-making. In this paper I argue that both accounts are incomplete. I offer an alternative view according to which having an equal say is having a say as an equal. That is, having an equal say is to be defined in terms of citizens’ occupying a role of political decision-makers, i.e., the political office of the democratic co-ruler of the polity, such that no citizen is a secondary or auxiliary decision-maker; they rule together as equals. This view aligns with the traditional understanding of democracy as rule by the people while providing a coherent conceptual framework for specifying what it means for democratic citizens to have an equal say which incorporates the strengths of alternative accounts and overcomes some of their challenges.
Kapelner, Zsolt Kristóf (2023). Why Refugees Should Be Enfranchised. Journal of Applied Philosophy. ISSN 0264-3758. p. 1–16. doi: 10.1111/japp.12682. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Many authors argue that refugees should be enfranchised independently of citizenship. The enfranchisement of refugees is often seen as crucial for affirming their agency in the politics of asylum. However, most arguments in the literature do not explain why precisely it matters that they exercise their agency in the realm of democratic decision-making, i.e. why it matters that refugees participate in collectively wielding the public power to which they are subjected, rather than passively enjoy protection against the excessive and intrusive exercise of this power. This leaves it unclear what value refugee enfranchisement realises precisely, and what function or role it is meant to play within the overall provision of asylum. My goal is to propose a plausible explanation of the significance of democratic inclusion from the viewpoint of refugees' agency. I argue that refugee enfranchisement affirms refugees' agency by advancing their interest in acting as makers of justice within the political context in which they find themselves.
Kapelner, Zsolt Kristof (2023). Lukács és a forradalmi reálpolitika. Elpis Filozófiatudományi Folyóirat. ISSN 2732-3684. doi: 10.54310/Elpis.2023.1.6. Full text in Research Archive
Giavazzi, Michele & Kapelner, Zsolt (2022). The State's Duty to Foster Voter Competence. Episteme: A journal of individual and social epistemology. ISSN 1742-3600. 21(3), p. 719–732. doi: 10.1017/epi.2022.31. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
In this paper we discuss an often-neglected topic in the literature on the ethics of voting. Our aim is to provide an account of what states are obligated to do, so that voters may fulfil their role as public decision-makers in an epistemically competent manner. We argue that the state ought to provide voters with what we call a substantive opportunity for competence. This entails that the state ought to actively foster the epistemic capabilities that are necessary to achieve competent participation in political decision-making practices.

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Watzl, Sebastian; Browne, Katharine Naomi Whitfield; Clover, Louise Margaret; Eldjarn, Eileen; Kapelner, Zsolt Kristof & Lange, Victor [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2026). Aufmerksamkeit ist Macht. Und die müssen wir brechen. doi: https:/www.zeit.de/digital/internet/2026-03/social-media-verbot-demokratie-big-tech-digitalpolitik. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Die Debatte um Social Media ist komplett falsch abgebogen. Wenn wir unsere Kinder und uns selbst schützen wollen, müssen wir zum Kern der Krise: unsere Aufmerksamkeit.
Watzl, Sebastian; Browne, Katharine Naomi Whitfield; Clover, Louise Margaret; Eileen Eldjarn; Lie Hølmebakk, Lara & Kapelner, Zsolt Kristof [Show all 11 contributors for this article] (2026). Aldersgrenser i sosiale medier er et bomskudd. doi: https:/www.morgenbladet.no/ideer/aldersgrenser-i-sosiale-medier-er-et-bomskudd/10270143. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Et samfunn som ønsker selvstendige borgere, kan ikke møte digitale utfordringer først og fremst med forbud.
Watzl, Sebastian; Browne, Katharine Naomi Whitfield; Kapelner, Zsolt Kristof; Eldjarn, Eileen; Hølmebakk, Lara Lie & Lange, Victor [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2026). Social Media Bans and the Ethics of Attention. doi: https:/www.hf.uio.no/ifikk/english/research/projects/goodattention/news/goodattention_final-social-media-bans.pdf. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
The current worldwide debate on age restrictions on social media is mis-framed, and if this framing persists, the net societal harm will increase regardless of which side prevails.
Watzl, Sebastian & Kapelner, Zsolt (2025). Det nye oppmerksomhetstyranniet | Klassekampen. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
Blant de mest bemerkelsesverdige trekkene ved den nye Trump-administrasjonen er de nære båndene til Silicon Valley og tek-milliardærer som Elon Musk o...
Kapelner, Zsolt (2025). Democracy and Exclusion by Patti T. Lenard: introduction to the symposium. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy (CRISPP). ISSN 1369-8230. doi: 10.1080/13698230.2025.2512269. Full text in Research Archive
Kapelner, Zsolt Kristof (2024). Democratic Failures and the Ethics of Democracy . By Adam Lovett. The Philosophical Quarterly. ISSN 0031-8094. doi: 10.1093/pq/pqae150. Full text in Research Archive

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Published Aug. 1, 2023 1:46 PM - Last modified July 4, 2025 2:23 PM