"The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times": Robin Reames in conversation with Alexis Papazoglou скачать в хорошем качестве

"The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times": Robin Reames in conversation with Alexis Papazoglou

Alexis Papazoglou’s The Philosopher and the News is back as a monthly event in the “On Philosophy” series! How did Trump become President in 2016? By using words. More specifically, by using words in ways that mesmerise people’s minds, short-circuiting their critical faculties and tapping into the emotional, primal side that we all carry inside us. Rhetoric is the art of knowing how to use words in this way, as well as the art of knowing how to recognise it when you see it. Its power is so great that it can disrupt the political order, undermine and ultimately destroy healthy democracies. The Sophists did it to Athens in antiquity, and Trump, along with another handful of populist politicians, has been attempting to do the same in today’s word. With the US Presidential election looming the question is: will Trump manage to do it again? And how can we defend ourselves against this destructive power of words? Robin Reames is the Culbertson Chair of English at Indiana University, specializing in rhetorical theory and the history of ideas. Her latest book is The Ancient Art of Thinking For Yourself: The Power of Rhetoric in Polarized Times (Basic Books, 2024) Alexis Papazoglou is Managing Editor of the LSE British Politics and Policy blog. He was previously senior editor for the Institute of Arts and Ideas, and a philosophy lecturer at Cambridge and Royal Holloway. He is also host of the podcast, “The Philosopher and the News”.