#403 Christopher Freiman - Why It's OK to Ignore Politics
RECORDED ON DECEMBER 2nd 2020.
Dr. Christopher Freiman is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the College of William & Mary. His research interests include democratic theory, distributive justice, and immigration. He’s the author of two books, Unequivocal Justice, and the most recent one, Why It’s OK to Ignore Politics. His work has appeared in venues such as the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, The Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, and The Oxford Handbook of Political Philosophy.
In this episode, we focus on Why It’s OK to Ignore Politics. In the first part of the interview, we discuss voting behavior (why people decide to vote, and to abstain from voting); how difficult it is for people to have enough knowledge to make good political decisions (including politicians and scientific experts); politically motivated thinking; the social costs of political participation; and local politics. We address some challenges to Dr. Freiman’s position. Toward the end, we talk about the therapeutic benefits of ignoring politics, libertarianism, and effective altruism.
Time Links:
Voting behavior
Learning enough to make informed decisions
Politically motivated thinking
The social costs of political participation
Local politics
Some challenges – everyone opting out of politics; political abstention as privilege; the sacrifices people made for you to have the right to vote; the right to complain
The therapeutic benefits of ignoring politics
Libertarianism
Effective altruism
Follow Dr. Freiman’s work!
Follow Dr. Freiman’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/33BghTK
Website: https://bit.ly/37xioce
200-Proof Liberals: https://bit.ly/2VrzZN4
PhilPeople page: https://bit.ly/2JskG4y
Books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/36uDc4O
Why It’s OK to Ignore Politics: https://amzn.to/3mr8X4t