You helped me understand why so many on the left, who used to be all about freedom of thought and speech, have become authoritarian. They disdain material reality in favor of solidarity and narratives that are fact impervious. It’s not about finding reality, it’s about loyalty to the clan.
Thank you Helen & Eric. As always, I'm impressed and awed by the depth, breadth and incisiveness of your analysis of the multiple factors contributing to today’s individual, interpersonal, social and cultural confusions. As you say, the main problem the world faces today is an epistemic one - it’s not just about political polarisation. People have lost sight of the objective, shared truths and principles which underpin classical liberalism and provide the basis of functional democracies. The bulk of today’s discourse shamelessly uses inconsistent narratives, motivated reasoning and confirmation bias (among other biases) to promote illiberal narratives, irrespective of their alignment with reality. I’m one of the adults you referred to who find the arguments in your book “Social (In)justice” easier to understand & retain than those made in “Cynical Theories” & “The Counterweight Handbook”. A thoroughly enjoyable interview showing how some of your own personal evolution has shaped your current thinking about our culture wars and what can be done about them.
This podcast unfolds excellent thought and fascinating personal life as well. One minor but fascinating point was in how two different speaking styles - Helen’s miraculous flowing intelligence; Eric’s fully ready if (apparently) not fluent, thoughtful questions — can both be so very clear and calm(ing)!
You helped me understand why so many on the left, who used to be all about freedom of thought and speech, have become authoritarian. They disdain material reality in favor of solidarity and narratives that are fact impervious. It’s not about finding reality, it’s about loyalty to the clan.
Thank you Helen & Eric. As always, I'm impressed and awed by the depth, breadth and incisiveness of your analysis of the multiple factors contributing to today’s individual, interpersonal, social and cultural confusions. As you say, the main problem the world faces today is an epistemic one - it’s not just about political polarisation. People have lost sight of the objective, shared truths and principles which underpin classical liberalism and provide the basis of functional democracies. The bulk of today’s discourse shamelessly uses inconsistent narratives, motivated reasoning and confirmation bias (among other biases) to promote illiberal narratives, irrespective of their alignment with reality. I’m one of the adults you referred to who find the arguments in your book “Social (In)justice” easier to understand & retain than those made in “Cynical Theories” & “The Counterweight Handbook”. A thoroughly enjoyable interview showing how some of your own personal evolution has shaped your current thinking about our culture wars and what can be done about them.
Looking forward to listening. I'm enjoying reading "Social (In)Justice" as a reader-friendly overview of "Cynical Theories".
This podcast unfolds excellent thought and fascinating personal life as well. One minor but fascinating point was in how two different speaking styles - Helen’s miraculous flowing intelligence; Eric’s fully ready if (apparently) not fluent, thoughtful questions — can both be so very clear and calm(ing)!
Liberal conservative. I like it.