Nervous States: Democracy and the Decline of Reason

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Civics, Politics, Economic Conditions, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political
Cover of the book Nervous States: Democracy and the Decline of Reason by William Davies, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: William Davies ISBN: 9780393635393
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: February 26, 2019
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: William Davies
ISBN: 9780393635393
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: February 26, 2019
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

In this age of intense political conflict, we sense objective fact is growing less important. Experts are attacked as partisan, statistics and scientific findings are decried as propaganda, and public debate devolves into personal assaults. How did we get here, and what can we do about it?

In this sweeping and provocative work, political economist William Davies draws on a four-hundred-year history of ideas to reframe our understanding of the contemporary world. He argues that global trends decades and even centuries in the making have reduced a world of logic and fact into one driven by emotions—particularly fear and anxiety. This has ushered in an age of “nervous states,” both in our individual bodies and our body politic.

Eloquently tracing the history of accounting, statistics, science, and human anatomy from the Enlightenment to the present, Davies shows how we invented expertise in the seventeenth century to calm the violent disputes—over God and the nature of reality—that ravaged Europe. By separating truth from emotion, scientific, testable facts paved a way out of constant warfare and established a basis for consensus, which became the bedrock of modern politics, business, and democracy.

Informed by research on psychology and economics, Davies reveals how widespread feelings of fear, vulnerability, physical and psychological pain, and growing inequality reshaped our politics, upending these centuries-old ideals of how we understand the world and organize society. Yet Davies suggests that the rise of emotion may open new possibilities for confronting humanity’s greatest challenges. Ambitious and compelling, Nervous States is a perceptive and enduring account of our turbulent times.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this age of intense political conflict, we sense objective fact is growing less important. Experts are attacked as partisan, statistics and scientific findings are decried as propaganda, and public debate devolves into personal assaults. How did we get here, and what can we do about it?

In this sweeping and provocative work, political economist William Davies draws on a four-hundred-year history of ideas to reframe our understanding of the contemporary world. He argues that global trends decades and even centuries in the making have reduced a world of logic and fact into one driven by emotions—particularly fear and anxiety. This has ushered in an age of “nervous states,” both in our individual bodies and our body politic.

Eloquently tracing the history of accounting, statistics, science, and human anatomy from the Enlightenment to the present, Davies shows how we invented expertise in the seventeenth century to calm the violent disputes—over God and the nature of reality—that ravaged Europe. By separating truth from emotion, scientific, testable facts paved a way out of constant warfare and established a basis for consensus, which became the bedrock of modern politics, business, and democracy.

Informed by research on psychology and economics, Davies reveals how widespread feelings of fear, vulnerability, physical and psychological pain, and growing inequality reshaped our politics, upending these centuries-old ideals of how we understand the world and organize society. Yet Davies suggests that the rise of emotion may open new possibilities for confronting humanity’s greatest challenges. Ambitious and compelling, Nervous States is a perceptive and enduring account of our turbulent times.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book Narrative Practice: Continuing the Conversations by William Davies
Cover of the book Wheels, Clocks, and Rockets: A History of Technology by William Davies
Cover of the book The Dynamics of Disaster by William Davies
Cover of the book The Unquiet Earth: A Novel by William Davies
Cover of the book Mess: One Man's Struggle to Clean Up His House and His Act by William Davies
Cover of the book The History of Love: A Novel by William Davies
Cover of the book One Hundred Names for Love: A Memoir by William Davies
Cover of the book Attachment-Focused Parenting: Effective Strategies to Care for Children by William Davies
Cover of the book The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques Workbook (Second) by William Davies
Cover of the book What Are They Thinking?!: The Straight Facts about the Risk-Taking, Social-Networking, Still-Developing Teen Brain by William Davies
Cover of the book A Labyrinth of Kingdoms: 10,000 Miles through Islamic Africa by William Davies
Cover of the book Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms by William Davies
Cover of the book Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America by William Davies
Cover of the book Almost Human: Making Robots Think by William Davies
Cover of the book A Map to the Next World: Poems and Tales by William Davies
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy