Curtis Bryant

When I heard there was a book titled How to Argue with Fundamentalists without Losing Your Mind, my ears perked up. Unfortunately, the reviewer explained, the title was misleading. It turns out that the book actually recommends avoiding arguments with religious fundamentalists and secular ideologues because ideologies cannot be refuted that way; their adherants find an answer to every objection. The author, Austrian philosopher Hubert Schleichert, who died in 2020, traces arguments among Christian thinkers about whether or not a variety of beliefs should be tolerated. [Read More]

English Wer an extremistischen Bewegungen wie der AfD teilnimmt, fühlt sich oft stark und berauscht. Solche Bewegungen üben auch leider eine Anziehungskraft auf Menschen aus, die es genießen, andere Mitglieder fanatisch als nicht gut genug einzustufen oder sie zu beschuldigen, die Bewegung irgendwie verraten zu haben. Je mehr es der Bewegung gelingt, die Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit zu untergraben, desto schlimmer können die Auswirkungen für diejenigen sein, die also von den Fanatiker*innen ins Visier genommen werden. [Read More]

English Ein längst verlorener Text zum Thema politisches Mobbing wurde neulich wieder entdeckt und zum ersten Mal veröffentlicht: eine Aufnahme eines Vortrags des Soziologen Theodor W. Adorno, der 1967 vor einem Studentenverein gehalten wurde. Die Studierenden hatten um Ratschlag gebeten, wie sie mit einer neuen rechtsextremistischen Partei (die NPD) in Deutschland umgehen sollen. Die Ansicht Adornos bleibt immer noch relevant, zum Beispiel: Die Partei wurde von Katastrophenvorstellungen geleitet (S. 11). Sie durften sich weder in der Öffentlichkeit darüber äußern, woran sie wirklich glaubten, noch was sie eigentlich wollten. [Read More]

Deutsch Part of the appeal of extremist movements is that they make their followers feel powerful. Unfortunately, they also attract fanatics who love to judge fellow members as not committed enough. The more successful the movements become in depriving their supporters of democracy and the rule of law, the more dire the consequences of being judged not MAGA enough can be. It’s important to warn people about this curse because they probably haven’t thought about it–because they’re intoxicated, not because they’re stupid. [Read More]

Deutsch A long-lost resource for understanding political bullying was recently found, transcribed, and published for the first time: a recording of a 1967 lecture by sociologist Theodor W. Adorno. He spoke to a group of college students who wanted to know what to do about the rise of a new far-right party in Germany. Several points Adorno made about 1960s Germany sound like they could have been made in a TED Talk yesterday–about either Germany or the USA. [Read More]

Free Speech or Bullying? What is political bullying? Like other bullies, political bullies try to dominate others. This is different from wanting their party or candidates to defeat their rivals in an election or enjoying friendly competition. Bullies hate and sometimes fear their targets and view them as enemies to be destroyed, not as neighbors or fellow citizens. How can we tell when political argument is sportsmanlike, legitimate disagreement (fair fighting) or bullying? [Read More]

Responding to Trolling, Online or IRL In his 1967 speech “Aspects of the New Right-Wing Extremism,” researcher Theodor Adorno recommends the following: Learn the rhetorical tricks used by movements against democracy. Name them–the more specifically, the better. Point out how democracy and the society you want will benefit them, too. This good will is the greatest difference between supporters and opponents of democracy, so let it shine! While Adorno does list some tricks, the list below is my expansion of itHere is a list of common rhetorical tricks that trolls and bullies use to try to avoid honest discussion by silencing or provoking others: [Read More]

In 1967, a group of college students who were worried about the rise of right-wing extremism invited German sociologist and philosopher Theodor Adorno to talk to them about how to respond to this threat. Adorno explained that the greatest weakness of right-wing extremism is that its supporters dare not talk in public about what they really believe and want. Instead, almost everything they say in public is an evasion. In the talk, Adorno recommended this three-step program: [Read More]