Cynical theories

: How activist scholarship made everything about race, gender, and identity - and why this harms everybody

by Helen Pluckrose;James Lindsay

10th May, 2021

£10.99 ~~£10.99~~ Save 0% | Paperback

Qty

Add to Wish List

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.

Helen Pluckrose is a liberal political and cultural writer and speaker. She is the editor of Areo Magazine and the author of many popular essays on postmodernism, critical theory, liberalism, secularism, and feminism. A participant in the Grievance Studies Affair probe, which highlighted problems in social justice scholarship, she is today an exile from the humanities, where she researched late medieval and early modern religious writing by and for women. She lives in England and can be found on Twitter @HPluckrose.

Details & Specs

Author: Helen Pluckrose James Lindsay

Publisher: Swift Press

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781800750326

Publication Date: 10th May, 2021

Pages: 352

Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 33 mm

Availability: Available, usually dispatched within 4 days

Customer Reviews

There are currently no reviews for this book. Be the first to review by clicking below!

Review this book...

This website uses cookies. More info. Okay