Cynical Theories : How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity - And Why this Harms Everybody

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Debunking harmful activist academia in readable tones.

"Cynical Theories" is an essential read for those who want to understand how activist scholarship has become a part of daily conversations around race, gender, and identity. Pluckrose and Lindsay provide a thorough analysis of the evolution of the dogma behind these ideas and its impact on liberal democracy. This book is a clarion call to challenge complacency and shows how often-radical activist scholarship can do more harm than good. It is a must-read for those who want to understand the nuances of how identity politics are playing a role in contemporary society.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Cynical Theories : How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity - And Why this Harms Everybody

Regular price
Unit price
per
Compare to estimated retail price: RM59.00 MYR  
Condition guide

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ISBN: 9781800750326
Publisher: Swift Press
Date of Publication: 2021-05-10
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Philosophy, History, Sociology, Science, Politics
Goodreads rating: 4.12
(rated by 5207 readers)

Description

BOOK OF THE YEAR in The Times, the Sunday Times and the Financial Times Have you heard that language is violence and that science is sexist? Or been told that being obese is healthy, that there is no such thing as biological sex, or that only white people can be racist? Are you confused by these ideas, and do you wonder how they have managed so quickly to challenge the very logic of Western society? Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay document the evolution of the dogma behind these ideas, from its origins in French postmodernism to its refinement within activist academic fields. Today this dogma is recognisable as much by its effects, such as cancel culture and social-media pile-ons, as by its assertions, which are all too often taken as read: knowledge is a social construct; science and reason are tools of oppression; all human interactions are sites of oppressive power play; and language is dangerous. As they warn, the unchecked proliferation of these beliefs present a threat to liberal democracy. While acknowledging the need to challenge the complacency of those who think a just society has been fully achieved, Pluckrose and Lindsay break down how often-radical activist scholarship does far more harm than good, not least to those marginalised communities it claims to champion.
 

Debunking harmful activist academia in readable tones.

"Cynical Theories" is an essential read for those who want to understand how activist scholarship has become a part of daily conversations around race, gender, and identity. Pluckrose and Lindsay provide a thorough analysis of the evolution of the dogma behind these ideas and its impact on liberal democracy. This book is a clarion call to challenge complacency and shows how often-radical activist scholarship can do more harm than good. It is a must-read for those who want to understand the nuances of how identity politics are playing a role in contemporary society.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.