In order to have an informed discussion about what should be done to protect individuals and advance the common good, we need reliable evidence and sound arguments. Yet all around us, charlatans are not only spreading lies, but also conning people into rejecting what have been put forward with good reason. Citizens often end up not knowing what to believe, or buying into false and dangerous narratives. But what can be done?
Following the publication earlier this year of Time to Save Democracy (Policy Press) with detailed proposals to reform our system of governance, the ‘Question the Powerful’ project is now bringing out a new book, What Should Citizens Believe (published in association with Citizen Network), to help anyone interested in promoting democracy to engage others in exploring how disputes over rival claims ought to be resolved in society. It contains five sets of ‘Explorations’ that will, in diverse ways, assist teachers and students of politics in discovering how to establish what merits belief.
Introductory Explorations
What Should Citizens Believe will introduce you to the problem of belief evaluation with ‘Fallacies Unmasked’, which flags up sleight-of-hand arguments that are liable to obstruct rational judgements; ‘The Justification Challenge’, which highlights various pseudo-defences against critical scrutiny that should be overturned; and ‘Experimenting with Cooperation’, which explains how a cooperative approach to problem-solving has evolved over time to help us navigate through contested claims.
Practical Explorations
You will next be involved in considering the practical implications of the approach being put forward, with reference to four key sets of issues: ‘The Impact of Cooperative Problem-Solving’ will demonstrate the positive difference that can be made; ‘Empowerment Matters’ will outline the developmental support needed to advance the cooperative approach; ‘Crossing Institutional Barriers’ will review the obstacles that should be overcome; and ‘Reflective Leadership’ will set out how the necessary changes can be taken forward by those in leadership positions.
Civic Explorations
You will discover what kind of civic outlook and arrangements are required to sustain cooperative problem-solving in ‘Communities of Thoughtful Citizens’, which explains what should be done to advance the nurturing of thoughtful members of overlapping communities. The key implications relating to the three types of civic thoughtfulness to be cultivated are then elaborated in the chapters on: ‘Mutual Responsibility & Empathic Thoughtfulness’; ‘Cooperative Enquiry & Cognitive Thoughtfulness’; and ‘Citizen Participation & Volitional Thoughtfulness’.
Philosophical Explorations
A number of philosophical issues will be shared with you in exploring how the ideas underpinning cooperative problem-solving can stand up to epistemological scrutiny. A historical perspective of the debate is given in ‘The Baconian Revolution’; the notion that we should settle for nothing less than absolute certainty is challenged in ‘God & the Cartesian Quest for Certainty’; a classic paradox is critically reviewed in ‘Inductive Reasoning & the Grue Paradox’; and the nature of reasoning itself is put under the spotlight in ‘Wittgenstein & the Tortoise: a philosophical fable’.
Novel Explorations
In the final part of the book, you will explore aspects of anti-democratic manipulation through the prism of dystopian fiction. You will encounter extracts from three novels (Kuan’s Wonderland; Whitehall through the Looking Glass; and The Hunting of the Gods) that have been recommended by the Equality Trust, the WEA (Workers’ Educational Association), and others for promoting wider interest in what should be questioned in society, along with instructive discussion topics derived from those works.
Conclusion
Whether you want to acquire an extensive overview of the problem of belief evaluation in society, have access to a selection of materials to engage people with different interests in ways to settle disputed claims, or be better equipped in facilitating discussions on how to expose fallacious arguments, you will find What Should Citizens Believe a handy primer. It may not have all the answers regarding the legitimacy of different beliefs, but it will help to fortify minds in combating those who seek to thrive through lies and misdirection.
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What Should Citizens Believe? – exploring the issues of truth, reason & society, is available in e-book format: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CSYRF8H and in paperback: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1548183105
For more about Time to Save Democracy and the political reforms it puts forward, read ‘The Vote is Not Enough’, posted with the Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics: http://www.crickcentre.org/blog/vote-not-enough/
Tuesday, 15 May 2018
Tuesday, 1 May 2018
Society’s Identity Crisis
How people see themselves has always been a key factor in the political struggle for a better society. For reactionaries, their arbitrary dominance over others can be more effectively preserved if most people identify with their assigned position in a highly unequal hierarchy. For progressives, by contrast, the challenge to overturn neglect, oppression and exploitation, becomes stronger as people view themselves as fellow citizens united in pursuit of their common good. In recent decades, the reactionaries have gained the upper hand because a range of identity problems have, inadvertently or deliberately, been stirred up – undermining the civic solidarity that is vital for the progressive cause.
One notable strand of this societal identity crisis is the antipathy shown towards any pluralist conception of ‘belonging’. Under primitive conditions, people may well feel that belonging to their tribe is the be all and end all of their lives, and their assigned role in the tribe encapsulates their identity. As a result of social evolution, however, each of us can now identify strongly with different groups, institutions, characteristics, cultures, and rituals, and still recognise our shared citizenship in a sovereign state. But the fashionable rejection of pluralism means that people are expected to immerse themselves in one monolithic identity – defined by a narrow ethnic profile, religious affiliation, some parochial accent and customs, plus whatever other arbitrary features picked out by those promoting their version of ‘true Brits’, ‘real Americans’, etc. This outlook blatantly ignores the fact that multicultural development is at the heart of all our identities. Those who hark back to ‘their’ Anglo-Saxon roots forget that Angles and Saxons were different tribes that not only in time integrated with each other, but also with Celts, Normans, Danes, and others from the Mediterranean and the many different Commonwealth countries.
Another strand flows from the formation of exclusionary group identities that in effect divert efforts from tackling perpetrators of discrimination and abuse, and channel them instead towards divisive generalisations. Ethnic minorities are rallied to stand up against ‘Whites’, while white people who are themselves badly treated are urged to direct their frustration against ‘Minorities’. Women are encouraged to see ‘Men’ as the aggressors, while men who have suffered injustice themselves are goaded into regarding ‘Women’ as being unfairly favoured at every turn. Such crude, and often manipulative, divisions into rival camps can also be found in relation to religion, sexuality, age, class, nationality, and numerous other factors. Their net impact is to corrode common civic bonds and leave individuals more susceptible to siren calls to detest/resent/oppose the ‘enemy’ group.
Furthermore, the obsession with having an absolute identity fuels demands for stringent demarcations. Instead of focussing on battling those who mistreat others because of the latter’s biological, cultural, or some other characteristics, people have their attention directed towards protecting their ‘identity’ from being diluted by ‘interlopers’ who must never be allowed to become one of them. Thus people who rejoice in celebrating a culture not traditionally associated with their ethnic lineage are castigated for trying to appropriate something that ‘belongs’ to others. People who undergo gender reassignment are warned that their previous biological history render them unacceptable to be members of whichever gender they have sought to transition to. Such rigid delineations end up pushing aside issues that deserve serious consideration, and leaving behind immovable obstacles to any cooperative quest for solutions.
Progressives have too often in the past hesitated in promoting the value of civic identity, and supporting its teaching to raise awareness and understanding of how citizens are to unite to secure the common good, their mutual respect, and protection for their diversity. The resultant vacuum has drawn in both misguided demarcations and malicious divisiveness. To cure society’s identity crisis, we must revive our civic identity and champion a pluralist culture that brings together the best in all outlooks and traditions, as the only sensible foundation of long-term solidarity.
One notable strand of this societal identity crisis is the antipathy shown towards any pluralist conception of ‘belonging’. Under primitive conditions, people may well feel that belonging to their tribe is the be all and end all of their lives, and their assigned role in the tribe encapsulates their identity. As a result of social evolution, however, each of us can now identify strongly with different groups, institutions, characteristics, cultures, and rituals, and still recognise our shared citizenship in a sovereign state. But the fashionable rejection of pluralism means that people are expected to immerse themselves in one monolithic identity – defined by a narrow ethnic profile, religious affiliation, some parochial accent and customs, plus whatever other arbitrary features picked out by those promoting their version of ‘true Brits’, ‘real Americans’, etc. This outlook blatantly ignores the fact that multicultural development is at the heart of all our identities. Those who hark back to ‘their’ Anglo-Saxon roots forget that Angles and Saxons were different tribes that not only in time integrated with each other, but also with Celts, Normans, Danes, and others from the Mediterranean and the many different Commonwealth countries.
Another strand flows from the formation of exclusionary group identities that in effect divert efforts from tackling perpetrators of discrimination and abuse, and channel them instead towards divisive generalisations. Ethnic minorities are rallied to stand up against ‘Whites’, while white people who are themselves badly treated are urged to direct their frustration against ‘Minorities’. Women are encouraged to see ‘Men’ as the aggressors, while men who have suffered injustice themselves are goaded into regarding ‘Women’ as being unfairly favoured at every turn. Such crude, and often manipulative, divisions into rival camps can also be found in relation to religion, sexuality, age, class, nationality, and numerous other factors. Their net impact is to corrode common civic bonds and leave individuals more susceptible to siren calls to detest/resent/oppose the ‘enemy’ group.
Furthermore, the obsession with having an absolute identity fuels demands for stringent demarcations. Instead of focussing on battling those who mistreat others because of the latter’s biological, cultural, or some other characteristics, people have their attention directed towards protecting their ‘identity’ from being diluted by ‘interlopers’ who must never be allowed to become one of them. Thus people who rejoice in celebrating a culture not traditionally associated with their ethnic lineage are castigated for trying to appropriate something that ‘belongs’ to others. People who undergo gender reassignment are warned that their previous biological history render them unacceptable to be members of whichever gender they have sought to transition to. Such rigid delineations end up pushing aside issues that deserve serious consideration, and leaving behind immovable obstacles to any cooperative quest for solutions.
Progressives have too often in the past hesitated in promoting the value of civic identity, and supporting its teaching to raise awareness and understanding of how citizens are to unite to secure the common good, their mutual respect, and protection for their diversity. The resultant vacuum has drawn in both misguided demarcations and malicious divisiveness. To cure society’s identity crisis, we must revive our civic identity and champion a pluralist culture that brings together the best in all outlooks and traditions, as the only sensible foundation of long-term solidarity.
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