The past two decades have witnessed an intensifying rise of populist movements globally, and their impact has been felt in both more and less developed countries. Engaging Populism: Democracy and the Intellectual Virtues approaches populism from the perspective of work on the intellectual virtues, including contributions from philosophy, history, religious studies, political psychology, and law. Although recent decades have seen a significant advance in philosophical reflection on intellectual virtues and vices, less effort has been made to date to apply this work to the political realm. While every political movement suffers from various biases, contemporary populism’s association with anti-science attitudes and conspiracy theories makes it a potentially rich subject of reflection concerning the role of intellectual virtues in public life. Interdisciplinary in approach, Engaging Populism will be of interest to scholars and students in philosophy, political theory, psychology, and related fields in the humanities and social sciences.
Author(s): Gregory R. Peterson, Michael C. Berhow, George Tsakiridis
Edition: 1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Commentary: TruePDF
Pages: 371
Tags: Political Philosophy; Epistemology; Political Theory; Political Psychology; Political Science
Acknowledgments
Contents
Notes on Contributors
Chapter 1: Introduction: Populism and the Significance of the Intellectual Virtues
Introduction
Populism: A Brief History
Defining Populism: Social Scientific Approaches
Characteristics of Modern Populism
The Intellectual Virtues: Old and New
Politics, Populism, and Applied Virtue Theory
Overview
Part I—Putting Populism in Context
Part II—Populism and Intellectual Virtues: Philosophical Approaches
Part III—Populism and Intellectual Virtues Across Disciplines
Part IV—The Big Picture: Virtues, Populism, and Epistemic Environments
Conclusion
References
Part I: Putting Populism in Context
Chapter 2: Using Political Psychology to Understand Populism, Intellectual Virtues, and Democratic Backsliding
The Politics of Populism
Emotion and the Intellectual Virtues
Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: Mid-century Populists and the Intellectual Virtues
From the People’s Party Populism to the New Deal Coalition
Populist Movement
The Issue: Monopolies
Charismatic Center
Sam Rayburn
The Austin-Boston Connection
References
Chapter 4: Populism, Evangelicalism, and Technology: Applying Intellectual Virtue to a Familiar Trinitarian Formula
A History of Evangelicalism and Technology
Precursors
Evangelicalism and Radio
Televangelists and the 1980s
Evangelicals and the Internet
Populism and Technology
Evangelicalism and American Populism
Conclusion
References
Part II: Populism and Intellectual Virtues: Philosophical Approaches
Chapter 5: Populism, Expertise, and Intellectual Autonomy
Populism
Populist Expertise Skepticism
Intellectual Autonomy
Populist Expertise Skepticism as a Species of Deferential Disposition
Alternative Experts
Formal vs. Substantive Diagnoses of Populism
Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: Truthfulness as a Democratic Virtue
Introduction
Virtues and Democratic Virtues
Truthfulness and Its Rivals
Truthfulness and Democracy
Democratic Flourishing
Trustworthiness
Epistemic Justice
Truthfulness, Populism, and Polarization
Polarization
Populism
Conclusion
References
Chapter 7: E Pluribus Unum? Empathy as an Antidote to Populism’s Antipluralism
Populism’s Antipluralism
Empathy as an Intellectual Virtue
Empathy as an Antidote
References
Chapter 8: Populism and the Virtues of Argument
Populism and Argument
Populist Arguers
Populist Co-arguers
Populist Audiences
Virtuous Remedies?
References
Chapter 9: Epistemic Charity in Times of Populist Polarization
Epistemic Charity
EC Is Uniquely Relevant to Minimize Situations of Justified Closed-mindedness
EC Seeks to Discover Truth in an Intellectual Opponent’s Argument
EC Seeks to Understand an Intellectual Opponent’s Argument in the Most Rational Way Possible
EC Seeks to Respect an Intellectual Opponent During a Deliberative Exchange
Populist Polarization as an Epistemic Challenge
Applying Epistemic Charity to Populist Polarization
References
Part III: Populism and Intellectual Virtues Across Disciplines
Chapter 10: An Epistemology for Listening Across Religious, Cultural, and Political Divides
Introduction
An Epistemology of Interpersonal Understanding
Relational Epistemology
The Problem of Intergroup Understanding
Some Objections
A Recursive Criterion
An Eschatological Perspective
A Sacrificial Solution
The Virtue-Laden Practice of Sacrificial Listening
Conclusion
References
Chapter 11: Certain Simple Stories
Introduction
Ethical Persuasion and Epistemic Virtue
Democratic Citizenship and Uncertainty
Simplicity and Political Persuasion
Nurturing What Democracy Demands
References
Chapter 12: Virtuous Autonomy and Its Explanatory Role in Turkish Activism
Introduction
Populism and Protest in Gezi Park
Autonomy as Institutionally Formed and Forming Democratic Virtue
Kinds of Autonomy
Autonomy as a Democratic Virtue
What Makes Virtuous Autonomy a Virtue?
What Makes Virtuous Autonomy Autonomy?
Virtuous Autonomy, Democracy, and Just Institutions
Virtuous Autonomy as Psychological Construct
Virtuous Autonomy and Its Application to Gezi
Conclusion: Autonomy as a Democratic Virtue
References
Chapter 13: The Populist’s Feelings, the Expert’s Facts, and the Citizen’s Peculiar Virtue
Medical Populism: The Example of Medicalization
A Recognition Approach
Critical Distance
Concluding Remarks
A Brief Postscript
References
Part IV: The Big Picture: Virtues, Populism, and Epistemic Environments
Chapter 14: Justifying Humanitarian Interference for Epistemic Threats
Foundational Concepts
Sovereignty
Epistemic Dependence, Authority, and Virtue
Epistemic Monopolies and Ideological Environments
Theories of Sovereignty
R2P and Sovereignty as Responsibility
Sovereignty and Moral Minimalism
The Consent of Political Communities
Assessing Epistemic Consent
Humanitarian Interference
Conclusion
References
Chapter 15: Intellectual Virtues, Epistemic Democracy, and the Wisdom of “the People”
Introduction
Concepts
Intellectual Virtues
Epistemic Democracy
Epistemic Democracy: Pro and Con
Formal Models and Theoretical Justification
Micro- and Macro-empirical Justifications
Objections to Epistemic Democracy
Thesis I: Intellectual Virtues Improve the Epistemic Functioning of Democracy
The Obvious Conclusion
The Homogeneity Objection
Thesis II: Manichean Populism on Average Impairs Epistemic Functioning of a Democratic Polity
Conclusion: Intellectual Virtues, Democratic Virtues, and Democratic Deconsolidation
References
Chapter 16: Pandemic Postscript: Populism and Intellectual Virtues After COVID-19
Populism After the Pandemic
Debating Populisms
Philosophy, Virtues, and Populism
Charting Future Directions
Conclusion
References
Index
