In Defense of Nuance
()
About this ebook
We appear to find ourselves in a crisis of polarization and failed communication. What can we do about it?
This essay argues that part of the solution may be to aspire for more nuanced and balanced perspectives, by engaging charitably with many different viewpoints. The essay then turns to some contentious issues — including sex discrimination, intersectionality, and political correctness — in an attempt to identify some ways in which greater nuance might help advance our views and discussions on these matters.
Magnus Vinding
Magnus Vinding is the author of Speciesism: Why It Is Wrong and the Implications of Rejecting It (2015), Reflections on Intelligence (2016), You Are Them (2017), Effective Altruism: How Can We Best Help Others? (2018), Suffering-Focused Ethics: Defense and Implications (2020), Reasoned Politics (2022), and Essays on Suffering-Focused Ethics (2022).He is blogging at magnusvinding.com
Read more from Magnus Vinding
Reflections on Intelligence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Meaning of Life: An Examination of Purpose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoral Truths: The Foundation of Ethics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFree Will: An Examination of Human Freedom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Nature of Mathematics Given Physicalism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEssays on Suffering-Focused Ethics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Simple Case for Going Vegan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Speciesism of Leaving Nature Alone and the Theoretical Case for “Wildlife Anti-Natalism” Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Why "Happy Meat" Is Always Wrong Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInduction Is All We Got Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsInduction Is All We Got: Essays on Epistemology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhat Should We Do?: Essays on Cause Prioritization and Fundamental Values Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReasoned Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to In Defense of Nuance
Related ebooks
In Defense of Nuance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow We Know What Isn't So Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waking Up Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Are Them Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhom Shall I Fear Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIt's All Just a Sales Pitch: Why We Believe What We Believe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Light Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCreating From the Inside Out Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAction in the Moment: Self-Awareness and Intuition for Leaders in Ambiguous Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWoke. An Anesthesiologist's View Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife: from Generation Z Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUncovering New Possibilities: Insights from Our Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCommon Threadz Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTo the Abyss: And How We Lost Touch with Spiritual Living Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Flow: 738+ Words Toward Awareness and Mental Freedom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaring Greatly by Brené Brown (Trivia-On-Books) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhole: 11 Universal Truths For An Inspired Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Code of Human (Civilisation) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBe You: The Science of Becoming the Self You Were Born to Be Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Difficult Arguments & Simple Truths: When Modern Day Afflictions Advance Exposures Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnmask Your Brilliance: Thriving Beyond Workplaces Designed to Hide You Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBreaking Toxic: The Lie's Behind The Truth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Hitch-Hiker's Guide to Eden: Thinking Outside the Box Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiving Well: What You Need to Know to Thrive in Challenging Times Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsViable Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Hole Shamanism Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Light Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOur Binary World: ... and its effect on an Infinite Resolution Species Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Philosophy For You
Daily Stoic: A Daily Journal On Meditation, Stoicism, Wisdom and Philosophy to Improve Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bhagavad Gita (in English): The Authentic English Translation for Accurate and Unbiased Understanding Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Stoicism: Timeless Wisdom to Gain Resilience, Confidence, and Calmness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Loving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Allegory of the Cave Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inward Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bhagavad Gita Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Complete Papyrus of Ani Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Course in Miracles: Text, Workbook for Students, Manual for Teachers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao Te Ching: A New English Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mindfulness in Plain English: 20th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lessons of History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao Te Ching: Six Translations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Buddha's Guide to Gratitude: The Life-changing Power of Everyday Mindfulness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Experiencing God (2021 Edition): Knowing and Doing the Will of God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Courage to Be Happy: Discover the Power of Positive Psychology and Choose Happiness Every Day Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brain Training with the Buddha: A Modern Path to Insight Based on the Ancient Foundations of Mindfulness Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Beyond Good and Evil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for In Defense of Nuance
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
In Defense of Nuance - Magnus Vinding
In Defense of Nuance
Copyright © 2018 Magnus Vinding
In Defense of Nuance
The world is complex. Yet most of our popular stories and ideologies tend not to reflect this complexity. Which is to say that our stories and ideologies, and by extension we, tend to have insufficiently nuanced perspectives on the world.
Indeed, falling into a simple narrative through which we can easily categorize and make sense of the world — e.g. it’s all God’s will
; it’s all class struggle
; it’s all the muslims’ fault
; it’s all a matter of interwoven forms of oppression
— is a natural and extremely powerful human temptation. And something social constructivists get very right is that this narrative, the lens through which we see the world, influences our experience of the world to an extent that is difficult to appreciate.
So much more important, then, that we suspend our urge to embrace simplistic narratives to (mis)understand the world through. In order to navigate wisely in the world, we need to have views that reflect its true complexity — not views that merely satisfy our need for simplicity (and social signaling; more on this below). For although simplicity can be efficient, and to some extent is necessary, it can also, when too much too relevant detail is left out, be terribly costly. And relative to the needs of our time, I think most of us naturally err on the side of being expensively unnuanced, painting a picture of the world with far too few colors.
Thus, the straightforward remedy I shall propose and argue for here is that we need to control for this. We need to make a conscious effort to gain more nuanced perspectives. This is necessary as a general matter, I believe, if we are to be balanced and well-considered individuals who steer clear of self-imposed delusions. Yet it is also necessary for our time in particular. More specifically, it is essential in addressing the crisis that human conversation seems to be facing in the Western world today — a crisis that largely seems the result of an insufficient amount of nuance in our perspectives.
Some Remarks on Human Nature
There are certain facts about the human condition that we need to put on the table and contend with. These are facts about our limits and fallibility that should give us all pause about what we think we know — both about