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The first philosophical introduction to extremism which will become
the 'go to' book on the topic. A highly topical subject on which
courses are emerging - this book will enable teachers to teach it.
Quassim Cassam is a prestigious name and already well-known for his
work on terrorism and conspiracy theories and is a regular
commentator on BBC Radio. Includes lots of examples of many kinds
of extremism, from the philosophical and psychological (Nietzsche
and Jung) to the political (Suffragettes, ANC) to contemporary
examples like Prevent, the UK Deadicalization program and examples
from the US and Europe.
This is the first edited scholarly collection devoted solely to the
epistemology of democracy. Its fifteen chapters, published here for
the first time and written by an international team of leading
researchers, will interest scholars and advanced students working
in democratic theory, the harrowing crisis of democracy, political
philosophy, social epistemology, and political epistemology. The
volume is structured into three parts, each offering five chapters.
The first part, Democratic Pessimism, covers the crisis of
democracy, the rise of authoritarianism, public epistemic vices,
misinformation and disinformation, civic ignorance, and the lacking
quantitative case for democratic decision-making. The second part,
Democratic Optimism, discusses the role of hope and positive
emotions in rebuilding democracy, proposes solutions to myside
bias, and criticizes dominant epistocratic approaches to forming
political administrations. The third and final part, Democratic
Realism, assesses whether we genuinely require emotional empathy to
understand the perspectives of our political adversaries, discusses
the democratic tension between mutual respect for others and a
quest for social justice, and evaluates manifold top-down and
bottom-up approaches to policy making.
The first philosophical introduction to extremism which will become
the 'go to' book on the topic. A highly topical subject on which
courses are emerging - this book will enable teachers to teach it.
Quassim Cassam is a prestigious name and already well-known for his
work on terrorism and conspiracy theories and is a regular
commentator on BBC Radio. Includes lots of examples of many kinds
of extremism, from the philosophical and psychological (Nietzsche
and Jung) to the political (Suffragettes, ANC) to contemporary
examples like Prevent, the UK Deadicalization program and examples
from the US and Europe.
Some of the most problematic human behaviors involve vices of the
mind such as arrogance, closed-mindedness, dogmatism, gullibility,
and intellectual cowardice, as well as wishful or conspiratorial
thinking. What sorts of things are epistemic vices? How do we
detect and mitigate them? How and why do these vices prevent us
from acquiring knowledge, and what is their role in sustaining
patterns of ignorance? What is their relation to implicit or
unconscious bias? How do epistemic vices and systems of social
oppression relate to one another? Do we unwittingly absorb such
traits from the process of socialization and communities around us?
Are epistemic vices traits for which we can blamed? Can there be
institutional and collective epistemic vices? This book seeks to
answer these important questions about the vices of the mind and
their roles in our social and epistemic lives, and is the first
collection of its kind. Organized into three parts, chapters by
outstanding scholars explore the nature of epistemic vices,
specific examples of these vices, and case studies in applied vice
epistemology, including education and politics. Alongside these
foundational questions, the volume offers sophisticated accounts of
vices both new and familiar. These include epistemic arrogance and
servility, epistemic injustice, epistemic snobbishness,
conspiratorial thinking, procrastination, and forms of
closed-mindedness. Vice Epistemology is essential reading for
students of ethics, epistemology, and virtue theory, and various
areas of applied, feminist, and social philosophy. It will also be
of interest to practitioners, scholars, and activists in politics,
law, and education.
Leading philosopher Quassim Cassam introduces epistemic vices,
drawing on recent political phenomena including Brexit and Trump to
explore such 'vices of the mind'. Manifesting as character traits,
attitudes, or thinking styles, epistemic vices prevent us from
having or sharing knowledge. Cassam gives an account of the nature
and importance of these vices, which include closed-mindedness,
intellectual arrogance, wishful thinking, and prejudice. In
providing the first extensive coverage of vice epistemology, an
exciting new area of philosophical research, Vices of the Mind uses
real examples drawn primarily from the world of politics to develop
a compelling theory of epistemic vice. Key events such as the 2003
Iraq War and the 2016 Brexit vote, and notable figures including
Donald Trump and Boris Johnson are analysed in detail to illustrate
what epistemic vice looks like in the modern world. The traits
covered in this landmark work include a hitherto unrecognised
epistemic vice called 'epistemic insouciance'. Cassam examines both
the extent to which we are responsible for our failings and the
factors that make it difficult to know our own vices. If we are
able to overcome self-ignorance and recognise our epistemic vices,
then is there is anything we can do about them? Vices of the Mind
picks up on this concern in its conclusion by detailing possible
self-improvement strategies and closing with a discussion of what
makes some epistemic vices resistant to change.
How is knowledge of the external world possible? How is knowledge
of other minds possible? How is a priori knowledge possible? These
are all examples of how-possible questions in epistemology. Quassim
Cassam explains how such questions arise and how they should be
answered.
In general, we ask how knowledge, or knowledge of some specific
kind, is possible when we encounter obstacles to its existence or
acquisition. So the question is: how is knowledge possible given
the various factors that make it look impossible? A satisfactory
answer to such a question will therefore need to do several
different things. In essence, explaining how a particular kind of
knowledge is possible is a matter of identifying ways of acquiring
it, overcoming or dissipating obstacles to its acquisition, and
figuring out what makes it possible to acquire it.
To respond to a how-possible question in this way is to go in for
what might be called a "multi-levels" approach. The aim of this
book is to develop and defend this approach. The first two chapters
bring out its advantages and explain why it works better than more
familiar "transcendental" approaches to explaining how knowledge is
possible. The remaining chapters use the multi-levels framework to
explain how perceptual knowledge is possible, how it is possible to
know of the existence of minds other than one's own and how a
priori knowledge is possible.
How is knowledge of the external world possible? How is knowledge
of other minds possible? How is a priori knowledge possible? These
are all examples of how-possible questions in epistemology. Quassim
Cassam explains how such questions arise and how they should be
answered.
In general, we ask how knowledge, or knowledge of some specific
kind, is possible when we encounter obstacles to its existence or
acquisition. So the question is: how is knowledge possible given
the various factors that make it look impossible? A satisfactory
answer to such a question will therefore need to do several
different things. In essence, explaining how a particular kind of
knowledge is possible is a matter of identifying ways of acquiring
it, overcoming or dissipating obstacles to its acquisition, and
figuring out what makes it possible to acquire it.
To respond to a how-possible question in this way is to go in for
what might be called a "multi-levels" approach. The aim of this
book is to develop and defend this approach. The first two chapters
bring out its advantages and explain why it works better than more
familiar "transcendental" approaches to explaining how knowledge is
possible. The remaining chapters use the multi-levels framework to
explain how perceptual knowledge is possible, how it is possible to
know of the existence of minds other than one's own and how a
priori knowledge is possible.
Self and World is an exploration of the nature of self-awareness.
Quassim Cassam challenges the widespread and influential view that
we cannot be introspectively aware of ourselves as objects in the
world. In opposition to the views of many empiricist and idealistic
philosophers, including Hume, Kant and Wittgenstein, he argues that
the self is not systematically elusive from the perspective of
self-consciousness, and that consciousness of our thoughts and
experiences requires a sense of our thinking, experiencing selves
as shaped, located, and solid physical objects in a world of such
objects. Awareness of oneself as a physical object involves forms
of bodily self-awareness whose importance has seldom been properly
acknowledged in philosophical accounts of the self and
self-awareness. The conception of self-awareness defended in this
book helps to undermins the idealist thesis that the self does not
belong to the world, and also the claim that the existence of
subjects or persons is only a derivative feature of reality. In the
final part of the book, Cassam argues that the existence of persons
is a substantial fact about the world, and that it is not possible
to give a complete description of reality without claiming that
persons exist. This clear, original, and challenging treatment of
one of the deepest intellectual problems will demand the attention
of all philosophers and cognitive scientists who are concerned with
the self.
An exploration of the nature of self-awareness, Quassim Cassam
challenges the widespread and influential view that one cannot be
introspectively aware of oneself as an object in the world. In
opposition to the views of many empiricist and idealist
philosophers, including Hume, Kant, and Wittgenstein, he argues
that the self is not systematically elusive from the perspective of
self-consciousness, and that consciousness of thoughts and
experiences requires a sense of thinking, experiencing selves as
shaped, located, and solid physical objects in a world of such
objects. Awareness of oneself as a physical object involves forms
of bodily self-awareness whose importance has seldom been properly
acknowledged in philosophical accounts of the self and
self-awareness. The conception of self-awareness defended in this
book helps to undermine the idealist thesis that the self does not
belong to the world, and also the claim that the existence of
subjects or persons is only a derivative feature of reality. In the
final part of the book, Cassam argues that the existence of persons
is a substantial fact about the world, and that it is not possible
to give a complete description of reality witho
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