Minds Wide Shut: How the New Fundamentalisms Divide Us

by Gary Saul Morson, Morton Schapiro

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691214924
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	01/31/2023
Pages:	344
Sales rank:	1,088,833
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Gary Saul Morson is the Lawrence B. Dumas Professor of the Arts and Humanities and professor of Slavic languages and literatures at Northwestern University. Morton Schapiro is the president of Northwestern University and a professor of economics. The authors of many books, Morson and Schapiro are also the coauthors of Cents and Sensibility: What Economics Can Learn from the Humanities (Princeton).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xiii

Preface to the Paperback Edition xv

Preface: Toward Dialogue xxiii

1 Fundamentalism Writ Large 1

The End of Days? 1

Fundamentalism Abounds 4

2 Fundamentalism and Its Alternatives: From Fanaticism to Dialogue 12

Part I: The Fundamentalist Style of Thought 12

Conception and Evolution 12

Fundamentalist Criterion #1: Certainty 22

Negative Fundamentalism 35

Fundamentalist Criterion #2: The Perspicuity of Truth 39

Fundamentalist Criterion #3: Foundational Text or Revelation 47

Part 2: Alternatives 51

Assertion and Dialogue 51

Alternatives: Just in Case 57

Avoiding Extremisms 64

Alternatives: The Wisdom of the Novel 65

Acquiring Wisdom 67

Alternatives: Dialogue and Truth 70

3 Divided We Stand: The Politics of Hate 75

Joined Together by Hatred of the "Other" 75

Tables Turned 78

Fundamentalism and Democracy in Tension 84

Pseudoscience 90

Criticism and the Experience of Others 100

Criticism and Certainty 103

Novels and Utopias 110

Satire and Systems 116

The Silo 121

United by Hatred or Hope? 124

4 Price and Prejudice: Economics and the Quest for Truth 129

Another Kind of Fundamentalism 129

The Economics of Hate? 140

Learning from Objective Analyses 142

Let Justice Be Done, Though the World Perish: Dealing with Climate Change 145

Not Just Climate Change 156

Prejudice and Price 165

A Way Forward Based on Facts? 176

Back to Adam Smith 177

5 Searching for Eternal Truths: Religion and Its Discontents 181

A Rabbi's Parable 181

The Clock and the Dictionary 182

When Standards Become Mere Prejudice 186

Challenging Stories 189

The Relevance of the Timeless 194

Compassion and Holiness 200

Equivalents 206

How Scripture Reads 212

The Difference That Science Makes 215

How Old Is the World? 219

Propositions and Prayer 226

The Great Dialogue 232

Adjusting the Clock 236

6 Literature: How to Ruin It and Why You Shouldn't 239

Alibis for Reading 239

Literature Lost 247

The Need for Stories 257

World Literature 263

Equivalent Centers of Self 265

7 A Path Forward 273

How the New Fundamentalisms Are Connected 275

Return to Dialogue 279

Chekhov with the Final Word 283

Index 291

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“In this crucial and timely book, Morson and Schapiro contrast the tradition of practical reason, going back to Greek philosophy, and a fundamentalism common not only in religion, but in politics and economics as well. They persuasively show an alternative to such dogmatism by examining works of literature, especially socially realistic novels, whose characters learn over time and through dialogue.”—Judith Shapiro, president emerita of Barnard College

"Minds Wide Shut is an antidote to the current epidemic of certainty in politics, scholarship, and culture. At a time when many are just yelling louder, Morson and Schapiro show that real discussion, while difficult, is the only way to achieve peace and stability in a pluralistic society.”—Samuel Goldman, executive director of the Loeb Institute for Religious Freedom, George Washington University

"A plea for moderation and the recognition of complexity in the face of cultural, political, and academic trends that tend toward radicalism and simplification, Minds Wide Shut presents the distilled wisdom of two distinguished scholars, one a professor of literature, the other of economics. The pithy and witty formulations make this a pleasurable read, as well as a profound one."—Jerry Z. Muller, author of The Tyranny of Metrics

“Engaging, thought-provoking, and incisive, Minds Wide Shut makes its convincing analyses and arguments with unfailing good humor, a willingness to consider the truth in opposing positions, and dazzling references to literature, philosophy, and intellectual history. The writing is unfailingly jargon-free, clear, and elegant, and the style of the book exemplifies the values it advances—consideration, dialogue, empathy, and modesty.”—William Mills Todd, III, Harvard University

"Dogmatic economic theories and theological rigidities have led to a fundamentalist refusal to understand those who disagree. But dismissing all knowledge as merely situational is just as harmful. In this wonderful and inspiring book, Morson and Schapiro provide hope that tolerance can be restored."—Daniel Chirot, author of You Say You Want a Revolution? Radical Idealism and Its Tragic Consequences

Editorial Reviews

"A sweeping study of the rise of rigid certainty in politics, economics and literature, and the threat it presents to democracy, which requires open-mindedness and compromise."—-Bill Clinton, The Guardian

"“Morson and Schapiro are surely right to point out that in recent years we have… seen new fundamentalisms generate solidarity through distrust, disinformation and angry resentment. Their book reminds us that we need to aspire to create communities open to learning, to conversation and to recognizing one's own errors. That's what we want, after all, from our campuses and from our democracy.” —Michael Roth, Wall Street Journal"

"Their argument on the whole is compelling, and one can only hope society listens to it."—-Nat Brown, National Review

"Gary Saul Morson and Morton Schapiro are professors at Northwestern University in such disparate fields as Slavic languages and literatures and Economics. The book is a seamless fusion of their learning, observation, analysis, and wisdom. They are experienced collaborators and we are their beneficiaries. ... Defending politics and democracy is difficult although preferable to the alternatives. The same applies to other fields vulnerable to fundamentalism. Moderation is not easy, and thinking is strenuous. However, minds wide shut hurt more. ... Minds Wide Shut ... is solemnly and enthusiastically recommended."—-Linda Quest, International Social Science Review

From the Publisher

"Minds Wide Shut issues a devastating indictment of the ideological extremism so characteristic of fundamentalism."

Chronicles