A timely exploration of intellectual dogmatism in politics, economics,
religion, and literature--and what can be done to fight it
Polarization may be pushing democracy to the breaking point. But few
have explored the larger, interconnected forces that have set the stage
for this crisis: namely, a rise in styles of thought, across a range of
fields, that literary scholar Gary Saul Morson and economist Morton
Schapiro call "fundamentalist." In Minds Wide Shut, Morson and
Schapiro examine how rigid adherence to ideological thinking has altered
politics, economics, religion, and literature in ways that are mutually
reinforcing and antithetical to the open-mindedness and readiness to
compromise that animate democracy. In response, they propose
alternatives that would again make serious dialogue possible.
Fundamentalist thinking, Morson and Schapiro argue, is not limited to
any one camp. It flourishes across the political spectrum, giving rise
to dueling monologues of shouting and abuse between those who are
certain that they can't be wrong, that truth and justice are all on
their side, and that there is nothing to learn from their opponents, who
must be evil or deluded. But things don't have to be this way. Drawing
on thinkers and writers from across the humanities and social sciences,
Morson and Schapiro show how we might begin to return to meaningful
dialogue through case-based reasoning, objective analyses, lessons drawn
from literature, and more.
The result is a powerful invitation to leave behind simplification,
rigidity, and extremism--and to move toward a future of greater
open-mindedness, moderation, and, perhaps, even wisdom.
