02 Feb The Age of American Unreason in a Culture of Lies
Order Instructions
This week, we begin our read of the second book in the course, Susan Jacoby’s The Age of American Unreason in a Culture of Lies. You are asked to read the introduction and Chapters 1-3 of the book, as well as view a short talk in which Jacoby presents some of the core ideas from the text.
As you will see, Jacoby presents a fervent argument in favor of intellectualism, rationalism, and evidence-based policymaking as touchstones for U.S. political life. We will discuss the material from the opening chapters of the book, and her talk, at our next discussion section.
For the this week’s DB, however, I’d like you to think about the role that things that are arguably the opposite of intellectualism, rationalism, and evidence might productively play in U.S. law and policymaking. For example, how might things like emotion and action based on instinct be positive qualities in this milieu? What examples might you draw on from recent or not-so-recent history where these things were deployed in a positive way?
As always, please cite your sources
Video:
Book:
Jacoby, S. (2008). The Age of American Unreason in a Culture of Lies.
