猫咪社区

Defying the conventional wisdom that we get along best by avoiding public talk about religion or politics, Robert Jensen asks, 鈥淲hat else is there of interest to discuss?鈥� In Arguing For Our Lives: A User鈥檚 Guide to Constructive Dialog he proposes that restoring our lost faith in 鈥渢he possibility of honest argumentation in public鈥� requires honing our critical thinking skills and putting them to more frequent use. Democracy, he reminds us, begins in conversation.

Jensen offers a lucid account of critical thinking as a basis for reviving our democracy.

Jensen envisions a society in which ordinary people routinely face the issues that threaten to discourage, divide, or even destroy us, by discussing them, critically and publicly. The book provides clear, 鈥渟imple but not simplistic鈥� frameworks for engaging in more constructive dialog about the issues that matter most. To do so, we must question assumptions, define key terms, and present evidence.

Take religion. For Jensen, it is 鈥渁 vehicle for struggling with those basic questions about what it means to be a human being.鈥� Defined in these inclusive terms, we cannot treat religion solely as a private matter, or as a privileged source of dogmatic answers to questions of public policy.

This leads Jensen to pose a question we typically avoid, because it may seem disrespectful or irreligious: Is fundamentalism compatible with critical thinking?

Defining fundamentalism as an 鈥渁pproach to the world, rooted in the mistaking of limited human knowledge for complete wisdom,鈥� Jensen recognizes that not all religions are fundamentalist and he observes that fundamentalism is not unique to religion. He models how critical discussion might challenge not only religious but also national, technological, or economic versions of fundamentalism.

Arguing for Our Lives is admirably brief and accessible but also rewardingly nuanced and challenging. At a time when many find fault with U.S. public life, Jensen offers a lucid account of critical thinking as a basis for reviving our democracy and a practical guide to engaging in that vital activity.

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Andy Lee Roth is the associate director of Project Censored, where he coordinates the Campus Affiliates Program. He has coedited eleven editions of the Project Censored yearbook, including State of the Free Press 2021, published by Seven Stories Press in December 2020. Roth has previously written for 猫咪社区! Magazine about Eduardo Galeano's legacy and the Baltimore Algebra Project鈥檚 revolutionary model of high school education.

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