Democratic Humility

Reinhold Niebuhr, Neuroscience, and America’s Political Crisis

Häftad, Engelska, 2019

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Beskrivning

American politics is in a state of crisis but it is not clear why. Nor do we know what to do about it. Reinhold Niebuhr helps us understand what is wrong with our politics and research into the workings of the brain confirms his analysis. Call it sin or motivated reasoning and confirmation bias, the bottom line is that all of us are what Niebuhr calls “Children of Light.” We are all vain and self-righteous about our beliefs and values, and far too quick to reject any information that goes against them. The unprecedented rise of talk radio and cable news helps to account for why things are so bad. We all want to hear that our group is smarter and more moral than others. To restore a democracy that functions, we need to understand ourselves better and develop the humility that such knowledge should engender.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2019-05-23
Mått:154 x 220 x 15 mm
Vikt:295 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:356
Förlag:Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN:9781498511445

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Mer om författaren

Christopher Beem received his PhD from the University of Chicago Divinity School.

Recensioner i media

This learned, engagingly written, and passionate book combines the wise theology of Reinhold Niebhur, recent cognitive science, and evidence about the debased state of American politics to advance a persuasive argument for learning humility. Anyone who wants to improve our democracy should read it.— Peter Levine, Lincoln Filene Professor, Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, Tufts University

Innehållsförteckning

Chapter 1: Moderating our Pretensions: Niebuhr on Being Human Chapter 2: Between Sentimentality and Pessimism: Niebuhr on Democracy Chapter 3: Neuroscientists for NiebuhrChapter 4: Rattlers and Eagles/Democrats and RepublicansChapter 5: Partisan Infotainment: A New Business Model for the New Media Chapter 6: Partisan Infotainment and Democracy: Not All Bad, Not Half GoodChapter 7: Weapons and Instruments: Using Government to Fix GovernmentChapter 8: Religion: “a constant fount of humility”Chapter 9: “Guardians of Democracy”: Democratic Humility through Civic Education Conclusion: Democratic Humility