Unruly Voices

Mark Kingwell is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto, a contributing editor for Harper's Magazine, and has written for publications ranging from Adbusters and the New York Times to the Journal of Philosophy and Auto Racing Digest. Among his twelve books of political and cultural theory are the Canadian best-sellers Better Living, The World We Want, and Concrete Reveries. In order to secure financing for their continued indulgence he has also written about his various hobbies, including fishing, baseball, cocktails, and contemporary art.

"Examining such social and existential issues as the role of luck in accumulating political or other power and the way that "desirable objects" reinforce a sense of "class superiority," Kingwell ranges far and wide. He cites not only to such philosophers as Plato, Heidegger, and Rawls, but also to such writers as Melville and literary critics such as Northrop Frye, not to mention such cinematic cult classics as Beyond the Valley of the Dolls ... he is a perceptive and imaginative social critic."--Publishers Weekly "This broad-minded collection of essays carries its own anecdote. As Kingwell writes in his introduction, it is philosophy, along with poetry and art, that has the extraordinary power to 'expand our ethical imaginations.' A robust democracy will need both ground rules for civil discourse and citizens with imagination enough to understand the stakes of the game."--The Rumpus "Unruly Voices has insightful things to say about the corrupting influence of money on public discourse, including reference to the U.S. Supreme Court's controversial 2010 Citizens United ruling, which granted corporations the same right as people to free speech ... The scourge of incivility might not be new, but it is more pervasive. And, as Kingwell warns, the cost to coherent debate is great."--National Post (Canada) PRAISE FOR MARK KINGWELL "Illuminates on almost every page."--The Los Angeles Times "An original approach to where we are as a civilization."--The Washington Post "The writing is elegant, often poetic. It appeals to the thoughtful reader who thrives on insights into the way humans interact."--The Globe & Mail "Smoothly splicing together personal narrative, philosophical inquiry and historical analysis, frequent Harper's contributor [Mark] Kingwell ... wears his learning lightly."--Publishers' Weekly

• Introduction: Empathy and the End of The End of Democracy1. The Shout Doctrine2. "Fuck You" and Other Salutations: Incivility as Collective Action Problem3. Masters of Chancery: The Gift of Public Space4. All Show: Justice and the City5. The American Gigantic6. The Tomist: Francis Fukuyama's Infinite Regression7. Ways of Not Seeing: on Deyan Sudjic's The Language of Things8. The Philosopher President Sets Forth: A Monologue9. Intellectuals and Democracy10. What Are Intellectuals For? A Modest Proposal in Dialogue Form11. The Work Idea: Wage Slavery, Bullshit, and the Good Infinite12. Throwing Dice: Luck of the Draw and the Democratic Ideal13. As It Were: On the Metaphysics Ethics of Fiction [n.b.: the word "Metaphysics" appears with a strikethrough]14. Language Speaks Us: Sophie's Tree and the Paradox of Self15. The Trick of It: Poetry and the Plane of Immanence16. Self-Slaughter, Poetry, and the Interfaith Blurb UniversePostscript: The (In)dividual, Beyond the Uncanny Valley