Pizzagate conspiracy story, 30–31, 34, 37–38, 94
Plato, 141, 142, 145, 157, 158
Pliny, 12
polemic, 3
police, 37
political correctness, 134
politics, 63–65
abandonment of, 9, 14
acquiring and maintaining convictions about, 1, 7
agreement vs. disagreement on, 2
arrogance in, 2–3, 5
of contempt, 130–38
current American, 79–84
debates on, 146–47
demonstrations in, 13
disagreement in, 165
discourse in, 3
dogmatic, 13
give and take in, 14
identity, see identity politics
Left vs. Right, 1, 13, 38, 70, 79, 81, 83, 85, 86, 93, 95, 107–9, 112, 116, 119–20, 122, 127, 131, 138
polarization in, 5, 7, 12
purpose of, 108, 110
rational argument in, 8
recognition, 110
suspicion and resentment in, 2, 14
talking, 103
tribal, 112, 114, 117
truth in, 4
upheaval in, 10
war and, 108
pollution, 64
pornography, 146
postmodernism, 115
“post-truth” culture, 37, 163–64
power, 133, 141
conflict with those in, 151
desire for, 108
of hearts, 45
knowledge confused with, 142
as measure of success, 3
political, 78
seizure of, 79
prediction, 78
prejudice, 125, 143, 150
racist and sexist, 17–18, 69–70
religious, 17, 31
social, 17–18, 37
stereotypes and, 17–18
pride, ix, 23, 104
progressivism, 103, 104, 116, 117, 120, 129–30
Prometheus, 19
propaganda, 3, 7, 32, 33, 36, 71
prophecy, 10
Protagoras, 164
protest, 5, 38, 152, 153–54
violent vs. nonviolent, 60, 161
Protestantism, 81
Protestant Reformation, 10
Protocols of the Elders of Zion, The, 31
psychology, social, 5
public debate, 64, 100, 146–47
public discourse, 156
Putin, Vladimir, 69
Pyrrhonian skeptics, 11, 12
QAnon, 31
racism, 17–18, 37, 59, 69–70, 76, 77, 85, 88, 92, 115, 123, 131, 133, 147–48, 152
rape, 115, 119
rationality, 8, 15–16, 67, 124–25
Rawls, John, 124, 182
reason, 124, 125, 129
conviction and, 8, 66
motivated, 17
as slave of passion, 35, 36, 39
sound, 18
recognition politics, 111–13, 119
reference, frames of, 52, 53
reflection, 16, 18, 24, 48, 49, 105, 143, 148
practices of, 158, 160–61
relations:
attitudes and, 5
interactive, 12
personal, 3
relativism, 116–20, 164
religion, 10–13, 60, 116, 146
belief in, 10, 25
blind faith in, 10
conflict and violence in, 10, 11
extremism in, 10
moral distinctions in, 36
truth and, 10
zealotry in, 13
renegotiation, 147, 154
Republic, The (Plato), 1, 141
Republican National Convention of 2016, 81
Republican Party, 25, 58, 80, 94, 121, 126, 128
“research” firms, 32
resentment, 77, 80, 90, 91
respect, 154, 156, 170
equal, 11, 110
mutual, 150
Ricks, Thomas, 22–23
righteousness, 137, 170
Rini, Regina, 176
Roman Catholic Church, 10, 12
Rorty, Richard, 116, 125, 165
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 124
Rubio, Marco, 121
Russell, Bertrand, ix, 8, 155
Russian Revolution, 31
Russian troll farms, 32, 33
Sanders, Bernie, 85
Sandy Hook Elementary School, 132
San Francisco 49ers, 152
Sartre, Jean-Paul, 56, 98
Schmitt, Carl, 108
science, 22, 64, 69, 83
cognitive, 15, 74
discoveries of, 10
teaching of, 65, 66
Scruton, Roger, 125
self-assurance, 3, 7, 17, 47, 54
social rewards of, 20
self-certainty, 8, 53
self-control, 19
self-esteem, 2, 20, 77, 95
grit and, 19
praise and, 19
self-expression, 45
self-identity, 56–60, 62, 71–72, 91, 107, 148, 173
aspirations and, 6, 110
attacks on, 6
formation of, 57–58, 66, 72, 83, 111
protection of, 7
reinforcement of, 7, 83
self-image, 56
selfishness, 79, 107
Seneca Indians, 31
sentiments, 5, 17, 18, 59
expression of, 40
moral, 42
of outrage, 4
sexism, 17, 85, 88, 115, 123, 135
sex-trafficking, 30–31, 37–38
shell game, 33
Silver, Nate, 121–22
skepticism, 9, 33, 61, 68, 118, 125, 143, 150, 162, 163, 164
Pyrrhonian, 11, 12
slavery, 95
sleight of hand, 33
Sloman, Steve, 174
Smith, Adam, 145
Smith, Barbara, 106
smoking, 56
Snyder, Timothy, 76
social constructions, 115–17
social hierarchies, collapse of, 111
social media, 32, 46, 49, 53, 72–73, 100, 104, 136
as a blind-conviction machine, 7, 73
as boot camp for emotions, 47
fake, 32
information weaponized in, 3
as an outrage factory, 44
propaganda on, 33–34
quitting of, 9
sharing stories on, 40
as a vehicle for passion, 39
societal rules, 37, 39, 43, 47
Socrates, 1, 3, 4, 8, 148–49, 151
dialogues of, 139–41, 144
elenchus method of, 139–43
philosophy of, 142
teaching of, 11, 149, 162
trial and death sentence of, 140, 141, 142
value of dissent to, 152–53
Soros, George, 70, 94
Southern Baptist Church, 84
Soviet Union, 70
spaces of reason, 155, 156–57, 158, 163
sports, 22
Olympic, 146
Stalin, Joseph, 70
standpoint epistemology, 113–14, 119, 120
Stanley, Jason, 97, 132, 175
stars, 169
starvation, 115
stereotypes, 17–18, 174
Stevenson, Matthew, 147
Strang, Stephen, 79–81, 83–84, 86, 87, 92, 101
success, 142
power as measure of, 3
“success terms,” 33
suicide, 67
Suicide of the West (Goldberg), 108
sun, revolving of Earth around, 20
superiority:
moral, 85, 97, 101
sense of, 13, 25–26, 77, 78, 85, 97
suspicion, 2, 10
political, 14
Talisse, Robert, 181
Tanesini, Alessandra, 175, 180, 182
Taylor, Charles, 180
“team-building,” 46–47
technology, 36
benefits of, 35
information
, 12
Theaetetus (Socrates), 139–41
Third Reich, see Nazis
thought, 155
action and, 5
associative, 21
concerns about, 14
critical, 124, 149
existence and, 54, 61
experiments with, 48, 49, 59, 133
expression of, 144
logical structure of, 52
moral, 44
reflective, 16, 18, 24, 48, 49, 105, 143, 148
sophisticated, 16
unconscious and automatic, 16, 17
see also groupthink; intuition
totalitarianism, 32, 75–76
transgender rights, 101, 110
tribes, 7, 60, 77, 112, 119, 173
arrogance of, 6, 25–26, 78, 92, 93, 95–96, 97, 152, 162, 163, 170
belief in infallibility of, 3, 4, 77
betrayal of, 62
bonding in, 42, 47, 82
competition among, 76, 108
emotional attitudes in, 46
formation of, 43–44
hierarchy of, 25
loyalty of, 100, 106
nationalism of, 92
nature of, 58
overconfidence about, 30
politics of, 112, 114, 117
trolls, 32, 33, 44
Trump, Donald J., 39, 79–92, 131–33, 152
administration of, 120, 128, 163
character of, 121, 163
“Make America Great Again” slogan of, 87, 89
political support for, 79–81, 82, 84–88, 91–92
presidential election of, 3, 69, 80–92, 121–23
speeches of, 81–82
Twitter rants of, 132, 177
wealth of, 90
trust, 28
break down of, 162
building of, 46–47
-self, 160
truth, ix, 33, 37, 78, 134, 163, 167
access to, 157
arrogant indifference to, 3, 4
attitudes toward, 4, 100
convictions about, 37
“correspondence theory” of, 168
distinguishing falsehood from, 52
emotional, 82
equating ego with, 23–24, 98–99, 151
giving up quest for, 11
inadvertent, 33
nature of, 163–67
objective, 164
political, 4
politically important, 153
putting loyalty before, 6
quest for, 9–10, 11, 139, 143, 151, 156–58, 166–67, 169
regard for, 36
relativism and, 116–20
religious, 10
self-deception and, 37
speaking, 81–82
substitution of lies for, 4
value of, 8, 155
Twitter, 39, 41, 42, 132, 177
tyrants, 162
unhappiness, Montaigne on, 11
United States, 4, 124
“America First” attitude in, 89–90
cultural and demographic change in, 12
economy of, 88
“exceptionalism” of, 89
issue of border wall in, 13
mass shootings in, 38, 63, 132
presidential elections in, 2, 37, 79–92, 121–23
universe, 169
Earth-centric view of, 10
nature of, 10
vaccines, 3, 65, 67
values, 56, 58, 69
disagreement over, 12
liberal, 104, 108
religious, 60, 79, 84, 88
vanity, 11
Venn diagram, 109
Virginia, University of, 94
voting, 5, 29, 53, 83, 86–87, 92, 120, 123
war, 108
Washington, DC, 30–31, 34, 37
Watergate scandal, 84
wealth, 90, 99, 116
Welch, Edgar, 30–31, 34, 37–39
white supremacy, 120, 132, 147–48, 151
Wikipedia, 103
Williams, Bernard, 177
wisdom, 140
path to, 11, 142
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 52–53, 54, 61, 145–46, 182
women:
black, 109, 112
harassment and sexual assault of, 20, 114, 115, 119, 160
male power over, 114, 135
pregnancy of, 113–14
status of, 87, 88–89
stereotypes of, 17–18
work, 60
worldview, 61
arrogance about, 6, 10, 12, 21–23, 52, 98, 149
change of, 10, 52
Yale University, 66, 97
Yeats, William Butler, 54
zealotry, 11
religious, 13
About the Author
Michael Patrick Lynch is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and director of the Humanities Institute at the University of Connecticut, where he also leads Humility & Conviction in Public life, a research and engagement project aimed at renewing public discourse. His previous books include The Internet of Us and True to Life, an Editors’ Choice of the New York Times Book Review. He lives in Mansfield, Connecticut.
ALSO BY MICHAEL PATRICK LYNCH
The Internet of Us: Knowing More and
Understanding Less in the Age of Big Data
In Praise of Reason: Why Rationality Matters for Democracy
Truth as One and Many
True to Life
The Nature of Truth (editor)
Truth in Context
Copyright © 2019 by Michael Patrick Lynch
All rights reserved
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