Know-It-All Society
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evangelical, 79–81, 84–85
values of, 79, 84, 88
civility, 5, 12, 24, 133
civilization, end of, 10
civil rights movement, 38, 60, 107, 153
Civil War, U.S., 94–97
monuments of, 94, 95, 96–97
climate change, 3, 63–68, 70–71, 101, 162
Clinton, Hillary:
conspiracy theories about, 30–31, 37–38, 40
“deplorables” remark of, 85, 178
2016 presidential campaign of, 121
Clouds, The (Aristophanes), 142
CNN, 96
Colson, Chuck, 84
Columbia University, 41
Combahee River Collective, 106–7, 109, 112, 114, 180
commitments, 56, 61, 69
to action, 55
adoption of, 74
challenge of, 51
emotional, 53
moral, 69
communication:
active, 39–40
distraction by, 43
moral, 45
online, 39–42, 46, 47–48
primary function of, 42–43, 46
verbal, 35, 37, 39–40, 44
communitarianism, 113
communities, 113, 125
competence, 15
concepts, 145–47
discourse on, 146–47
stretching of, 146
Confederacy, 95
confidence, 2, 47, 78, 150
confusion, 33–34, 41, 44
con games, 33
Conservapedia, 103–4, 121
conservatives, 117–18, 123, 124, 126–27, 129, 131
conspiracy theories, 30–31, 37–39, 93–95, 132
belief in, 39
supported evidence for, 34–35
contempt, 130–38
convictions, 59–74, 83, 136, 177
action and, 6, 53, 55
arrogance and, 6
aspiration and, 56–57
attacks on, 6
attitudes toward, 13–14
belief and, 61, 68–74, 93
blind, 7, 72, 73, 100
certainty of, 54
challenge of, 54
changes in, 147–49
confidence about, 7
defending of, 62
definitions of, 6, 57, 59
emotional component of, 54
expansion of, 7
faulty, 143
forming of, 1, 7, 54, 63, 91, 144
having courage of, 51
ignoring evidence against, 6
loss of, 59
maintaining of, 13, 14, 141
moral, 13, 70, 71
nature of, 53, 67
opposition to, 54
reason and, 8, 66
reinforcement of, 7
religious, 60
of right and wrong, 13
settled, 154
testing of, 148
tribal, 36
about truth, 37
cooperation, 5
Copernicus, 10
corruption, 142, 162
bribery and, 37
of information culture, 37, 98
pollution vs., 36–37
protests of, 38
courage, 51
creation, 147
crime, 64, 81
Crockett, Molly, 42, 43–44
Cruz, Ted, 121
cynicism, 98
Czechoslovakia, 70
Darwall, Stephen, 181
death penalty, 44–45
death threats, 38
deception, 31–33
intention and, 32–33
lying vs., 32
self-, 36, 37, 49
sleight of hand and, 33
as “success term,” 33
defensiveness, 7, 23, 79, 95
deism, 123
democracy, 4, 11, 105, 109, 124, 125–26, 132, 134–36, 149, 155
challenges of, 6
citizens of, 157, 170
convictions and ideals of, 14, 134
fragility of, 54
ideals of, 170
liberal, 32
value of truth in, 8
Democratic Party, 25, 30, 34, 58, 85, 86–87, 89, 121, 124, 128
Dennett, Daniel, 177
Descartes, René, 54, 61, 166
desire, 12, 68, 100
Dewey, John, 149, 150, 154–55, 156–58, 162
dialogue, 143–44, 147–48
Dickens, Charles, 57
Dillon, Robin, 181
discovery, 10, 128, 147
discrimination, 17–18, 37
dissent, 152–54, 161
doctors, 158, 159, 160
dogmatism, 3, 11, 53, 170
religious, 10
spread of, 4–5, 30
doom, prophecies of, 10
doubt, 54, 61, 153
Douthat, Ross, 93
Dunning, David, 15
Earth, 118, 151
as center of the universe, 10
circling of the sun by, 20
economic power structure, 85–86
ego, truth and, 23–24, 98–99, 143, 151
elections, 9
presidential, 2, 3, 69, 80–92, 121–23
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 53
emoticons, 47–48
emotions, 43, 54, 137
building bonds of, 46, 47, 73, 83–84
conveying of, 40, 45–47, 49
facial expression of, 47
sharing of, 83–84
tribal, 46
see also passion; sentiments
enemies, 92, 108
Enlightenment, 105
enthusiasm, 53
esteem, signs of, 20
Europe, 10, 13, 70, 142
existence, 54, 61
existentialism, 56
experts, 22, 135
questioning of, 27, 139, 140
expressivism, 45, 49
Facebook, 39, 72, 175–76
advertisements on, 29
emotional connections on, 47
fact-checking, 161
facts, 32, 62, 71
“alternative,” 3, 120
citing of, 27, 83
civic, 4
contempt for, 79
disagreement over, 12
disregard of, 81, 83
“hidden,” 82, 83
questioning of, 1
sources of, 12
teaching of, 4
fairness, 145
faith:
bad, 99–100, 122, 130
blind, 10, 72
loss of, 59, 60
“fake news,” 1, 3, 7, 24, 30–32, 36, 134, 162
accusations of, 39
harm of, 31
manipulation with, 32
for profit and political gain, 31–32
purveyors of, 44, 49
susceptibility to, 34
“false flag attacks,” 38, 94, 96
falsehoods, 30–35, 98
belief in, 7, 33
corruption and, 39
distinguishing truth from, 52
outrageous, 34–35
pronouncement of, 3
family, 55, 60, 145
fascism, 76
fear, 121, 148
of change, 7
exploitation of, 7
of ignorance, 21
of mistakes, 23
of status loss, 87–88, 92–93
feminism, 106–7, 112, 113
black, 106
Fernbach, Phil, 174
Fiasco (Ricks), 22–23
figure skating, 146
Fisher, Matthew, 28
Florida, 147
Founding Fathers, 123
Fox News, 122, 128
France, sixteenth-century, 10–11
Frank, Thomas, 85
Franklin, Benjamin, 31
Fraser, Nancy, 112–13
free assembly, 156
freedom, 109, 132
free press, 156
free trade, 70
Freud, Sigmund, 5
/>
Frost-Arnold, Karen, 176
Galileo Galilei, 20
games, 145–46
Gawande, Atul, 158, 160
gay marriage, 66, 79
genius, 24
geography, 10, 76
globalism, 80
God, 84, 117
God and Donald Trump (Strang), 80–81
Godwin, Pearce, 131
Goebbels, Joseph, 132
Goldberg, Jonah, 93, 108–9, 127
Goldberg, Sandy, 176
goodness, 11
Google, ix, 27–30, 104
“Google-knowing,” 27–28
Gordon, Lewis, 179
Gosar, Paul, 94
grammar, 15
Great Britain, 4, 31
greed, 79
Greek philosopy, 18, 19, 164, 165
see also Socrates
grit, 19
groupthink, 123–24
guessing, 33, 91
guilt, 62
gun control legislation, 67
gun violence, 38, 63, 65, 132
Habermas, Jürgen, 124, 182
Haidt, Jonathan, 180
happiness, 11, 165–66
Harding, Sandra, 119
Harvard University, 127
Haslanger, Sally, 180
hatred, 11, 74, 77
health care, 101
hearts, 35
and minds, 36
power of, 45
Heyer, Heather, 94
Hitler, Adolf, 76–78
Hochschild, Arlie Russell, 58, 82, 90, 91
Hollywood, 128
Holocaust, 75, 76
hostility, 77, 163
hubris, 18–20
HuffPost, 121, 122
humanity, 76, 152
nature of, 15
observations about, 11
quest for truth in, 9–10
worst in, 26
human rights, 111
human welfare, 156
Hume, David, 5, 16–17, 18, 19–20, 44, 149
character and personality of, 35
critical insights of, 35–36, 45
humility, 14, 24, 151, 169
lack of, 79
necessity of, ix
see also intellectual humility
Hungary, 4
hunger, 40
hurricanes, 63, 64
hypocrisy, 4
Icarus, 18, 19
idealism, 8
ideas, 150
association of, 16–17
identity:
family, 55, 105
national, 58
personal, 55, 56, 105
political, 65
social, 55, 56, 105, 109, 113
tribal, 60
see also self-identity
identity politics, 105–9, 120
advocates of, 106
critics of, 104–5, 106, 107, 108
exercises in, 106
two concepts of, 105–8, 112
ideology, 53, 74, 79, 100, 152, 162
Nazi, 76–77
ignorance:
admission of, 139, 149
fear of, 21
“illusion of explanatory depth,” 15, 28
immigration, 101, 145
incivility, 6
infallibility, 3, 78
information, 73
access to, 12, 28
alternative, 34
analysis of, 29
bubbles of, 30, 34
confirmation of, 20–30
contradictory, 164
conveying of, 36
corrupted, 49
deceptive, 31–33
disagreement over, 12
dismissal of, 35
doubting of, 34
false, 3, 4, 7, 30–35, 39
misuse of, 30
political use of, 30–31
prediction of, 29
processing of, 16
recommendation and endorsement of, 40–41
reliability of, 37
sharing of, 37, 40–42
sources of, 24–25, 27–30, 34, 35
technological, 12
testimonial, 40
as tool of empire and war, 31
toxic, 31
vulnerability to, 49
weaponizing of, 3
word of mouth, 37
see also “fake news”; news
information pollution, 7, 30–35, 36, 39, 98, 100.170
definition of, 31
golden age of, 32
justification of, 31
political use of, 32
inquiry, 149, 157, 161, 163, 165, 166
intellectual elitism, 126, 128, 129
intellectual humility, 8, 51, 149–54, 160, 182
adopting of, 149, 150
democracy and, 150
encouragement of, 161
essence of, 169
intelligence, 17, 69–70
internet, 106
apps of, 29
clicking on links on, 29, 41
creation of, 36
digital platforms on, 45–46
know-it-all culture encouraged on, 35
personalization of, 32
political misinformation on, 33
as reinforcement mechanism, 30
search engines on, 27–30
sharing content on, 39–42, 46
shopping on, 32
social platforms on, 3, 7, 9, 29, 32
speed and ease of access to, 28
spread of outrage on, 4
videos and stories on, 37–38, 40
Internet of Things, 29
Internet of Us, 29
intuition, 16, 17, 21, 113
Iraq War, 22
irony, 21, 35, 40, 116, 154
Islamic terrorism, 80
jazz, 146
Johnson, Lyndon B., 23
Jones, Alex, 94
judgment:
automatic and involuntary, 17
biased, 17–18
forming of, 17
moral, 45
rational and deliberate, 15–16
removal of, 58
justice, 70, 141
social, 170
Kaepernick, Colin, 152, 153–54
Kahan, Dan, 66–67, 68, 178
Kahneman, Daniel, 174
Kansas, 123
Kant, Immanuel, 110, 124, 134, 145
Kennedy, John F., 23
know-it-alls, 2, 162
characteristics of, 21–26, 74, 86, 103
internet encouragement of, 35
knowledge, 73, 78, 114
common, 123, 174
confusing power with, 142
dialogue as path to, 143–44
lack of, 33, 139–42, 143, 144
overestimating of, 15–18, 21, 28–30, 139
pursuit of, 11, 143–44, 157
of right vs. wrong, 52
shared, 114–15
transfer of, 43
of unrelated subjects, 28
wisdom vs., 140
Kristof, Nicholas, 127
language, 52, 92, 144
expressive, 49
hypocrisy and, 4
moral, 44
of symbols, 58
Lao-tzu, 142
Lee, Robert E., 94
legislation, 4
liberals, 103–5, 117, 125, 128–30, 138
arrogance of, 121, 123, 193–94
in higher education, 126–29
traditional, 125
values of, 104, 108
liberty, 145
light, speed of, 169
Lilla, Mark, 107–9
Listen First Project, 131
listening, 24, 150
Locke, John, 113, 124
logic, 52, 53, 54, 62, 65, 66, 119
Lorde, Audre, 106
loyalty, 75, 78, 82, 100
truth and., 6
lying, 4, 32–33, 151
deception vs., 32
see also falsehoods
Machiavelli, Niccolò, 31, 108
Manne, Kate, 179
marriage, 115, 145, 146
Marx, Karl, 153
Marxism, 107, 112
Medina, José
memes, 105, 106
#MeToo movement, 114
military training, 46–47
Mill, John Stuart, 166
Millikan, Ruth, 176
Mills, Charles, 125
mind:
change of, 51–53, 99
empty, 150
faculties of, 16
frame of, see attitudes
hearts and, 36
mechanisms of, 17
strength of, 20
mistakes, 15, 39
admission of, 21, 78–79
fear of, 23
money, 59, 85
Montaigne, Michel de, 9–16, 18, 149, 166, 173
Catholic faith of, 12
influence of, 16
political life of, 9, 10, 11
skepticism of, 143
teaching of, 26, 141–42
works of, 9, 11
on worldview, 6, 10, 12
moon landing conspiracy theories, 34
Moore, Russell, 84
morality, 44–45, 60, 69, 73–74, 136–37
communication of, 45
sentiments of, 42
social passion and, 36
Moses, 16
Muslims, 17, 89
Mutz, Diana, 86, 87, 88–89
myths, 18–19, 97
national consciousness, 2
nationalism, 4, 76, 92, 93
white, 147
National Socialist Party, 78
nature, 36
Nazis, 76–77, 94–95, 108, 131–32, 151
atrocities of, 156
“Blood and Soil” slogan of, 94
Stormfront website of, 147
negotiation, 146–47
neo-Nazis, 13, 94
news, 1, 161
editing of, 34
misleading, 31
sharing of, 40–41, 43
sources of, 35
twenty-four-hour cycle of, 9
see also “fake news”
New World, discovery of, 10
New York, N.Y., 80
New York Times, 06, 30, 147–48
Nietzsche, Friedrich, 62–63, 168
1984 (Orwell), 169–70
Niobe, 19
Noah, 16
North Carolina, 63
Oakeshott, Michael, 124–25
Obama, Barack, 80, 122
obligations, 60
obsessions, 8, 142
opinions, 118, 134
agreement with, 20
alternate, 24
confidence in, 20
political, 145
shaping of, 17, 141
shifting of, 52
see also beliefs
oppression, 114
optimism, 125
Oracle of Delphi, 11
Orwell, George, 169
outrage, 42133
moral, 43–44
overconfidence, 15, 19, 20, 30
Paine, Thomas, 153
partisanship, 150
passion, 54
reason as slave of, 35, 36, 39
role of, 36
rousing of, 31
social, 36
social media as vehicle for, 30
peer pressure, 68
performance, self-rating of, 15
Pew Research Center, 126, 128
philosophy, ix, 5, 8, 16, 35, 167, 168
Greek, 11, 142, 143, 165–66
justification of, 52
political, 124–25
problems of, 13–14, 52
Pilate, Pontius, 167
pilots, 159, 160