Public discourse is not a vanity project.
We are all guilty of it. We call people terrible names in conversation or online. We vilify those with whom we disagree, and make bolder claims than we could defend. We want to be seen as taking the moral high ground not just to make a point, or move a debate forward, but to look a certain way--incensed, or compassionate, or committed to a cause. We exaggerate. In other words, we grandstand.
Nowhere is this more evident than in public discourse today, and especially as it plays out across the internet. To philosophers Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke, who have written extensively about moral grandstanding, such one-upmanship is not just annoying, but dangerous. As politics gets more and more polarized, people on both sides of the spectrum move further and further apart when they let grandstanding get in the way of engaging one another. The pollution of our most urgent conversations with self-interest damages the very causes they are meant to forward.
Drawing from work in psychology, economics, and political science, and along with contemporary examples spanning the political spectrum, the authors dive deeply into why and how we grandstand. Using the analytic tools of psychology and moral philosophy, they explain what drives us to behave in this way, and what we stand to lose by taking it too far. Most importantly, they show how, by avoiding grandstanding, we can re-build a public square worth participating in.
Translations: Portuguese | Arabic | Korean
Praise for Grandstanding
“ a lively, engaging and informed account of some of the crucial issues and troubling problems that we face...a timely, stimulating and significant book that deserves to be widely read and discussed”
Paul Russell, Times Literary Supplement
“Tosi and Warmke’s book not only illuminates the nature of grandstanding, but it also offers a cogent argument against it…Grandstanding is a lucid field guide to and persuasive case against the abuse of moral talk.”
Los Angeles Review of Books
"Tosi and Warmke keep it short and snappy. Fortunately, they do not write like the philosophers they are. ...Even if this all sounds like common sense, we probably know somebody else who should read this short, lucid and useful little book."
Longview News Journal
“This may be the book of the decade.”
Jason Brennan, Georgetown University
“This excellent book is a must read for anyone interested in civil discourse, moral cognition, or social media.”
Jay Van Bavel, New York University
“Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke have written a great book on a topic that has been underexplored in academic literature.”
Julia Driver, University of Texas, Austin
“Tosi and Warmke have produced something genuinely rare—a work of philosophy that addresses issues of great practical importance with writing that is lucid and accessible.”
Dan Moller, University of Maryland
“[A] timely and sharp new work bridging philosophy with online culture.”
Nicholas Clairmont, The Washington Free Beacon
“Tosi and Warmke are nothing if not insightful. We all need to hear this message."
Scot McKnight, Christianity Today
“I recommend this book to anyone interested in the ethics of discourse. Grandstanding is an accessible and informative introduction to a neglected topic. The book also has a light touch. Whereas delving into moral issues such as abortion and euthanasia can be depressing, grandstanding is an amusing topic to read about, and it's gratifying to see such self-promotion exposed. Tosi and Warmke do a good job of showing how grandstanding connects with issues such as political polarization, honesty, and respect for others. What they say is, by and large, persuasive."
National Review
“Grandstanding is an absolute MUST READ for anybody using social media to discuss the causes they care about."