56,000 copies sold so far
An essay on outrage culture, by the acclaimed philosopher and bestselling author
We live in a society where freedom of opinion is legally enshrined, and there are practically endless opportunities to tell others exactly what we think. So why is it that freedom of opinion is increasingly at risk?
While the ‘bourgeois era’ gave us our individuality, the first decades of the twenty-first century have brought about a new fragility that is threatening the very fabric of society. The more we stretch the boundaries of our selfhood and take things personally, the more susceptible we are to feeling offended, humiliated and ignored. Social media, with its ever-looming threat of shitstorm and cancellation, has produced a society increasingly paralysed by fear. How can we possibly come up with bold and decisive policies or create provocative works of art, if there’s always someone somewhere feeling offended?
In “Paralysed by Fear”, Precht argues that we urgently need a renewed equanimity and resilience that can accommodate both our own sensibilities and those of others.
Richard David Precht is a renowned philosopher and author whose books have sold 4.8 million copies so far, and he’s been translated into 40 languages so far.
Table of Contents:
I. An Unprecedented Phenomenon – Why is subjective freedom of expression dwindling?
II. False Fronts – Why it’s not simply about the good guys versus the reactionaries
III. Being Different from the Others – How Our Society Has Changed
IV. Axolotlization – How We Are Becoming Ever More Authentic and Yet More Infantile
V. The Water Lily Dilemma – How Our Sensitivities Mutually Robb Each Other of Their Freedom
VI. Shamelessness and Shame – How Social Media Is Changing Customs and Traditions
VII. Disinformation and Hate Speech – What dangers does politics react to, and which does it thereby create itself?
VIII. Culture of Outrage – How Politics and Mainstream Media Play Along
IX. Untarnished Biographies – How a Completely Unrealistic Puritan Expectation Leads to Constant Accusations
X. Stagnation of Fear – Why Culture and Art Are Capping and Can No Longer Provoke
XI. The Taboo and Its Profiteers – Why It Is Dangerous Not to Confront the Loss of Freedom
XII. Equality, Liberty, No Fraternity – Why We Struggle So Much Today with What Unites Us
XIII. Return to Resilience – How We Can Improve the Climate of Opinion
Acknowledgments