Fuel for debate about the semantic and emotional injuries inherent in personal relationships and social marginalization.
A philosopher’s consideration of the broader implications of the toxic behavior known as gaslighting.
“Gaslighters chip away at people’s sense that they can trust their own judgment,” writes Abramson, a professor of philosophy at Indiana University. Since the term has “entered the colloquial lexicon,” she writes, “there’s been a commensurate surge in academic theorizing about gaslighting,” first in psychoanalytic literature as a form of “projective identification.” The author argues that, contrary to some recent discourse, gaslighting is “best understood as a form of interpersonal interaction rather than as a feature of social structures. To put it a bit starkly, people gaslight, social structures don’t.” While arguing against such a structural redefinition, she maintains that gaslighting is generally perpetrated by men, and that marginalized groups are most likely to be gaslit. “Sexist and racist norms can frame gaslighting [and] be employed as leverage by the gaslighter,” writes Abramson. Over seven scholarly chapters, the author focuses on the essential qualities of gaslighting and the tools and motivations of the gaslighter, while limning differences between other “awful” behaviors—e.g., simple manipulation or lying—in order to emphasize “moral reasons to distinguish gaslighting from other morally problematic ways of interacting.” Abramson suggests it is scarily ubiquitous in contemporary relationships, since gaslighters rely on emotional tools including love and empathy and, whether as intimate partners, abusive parents, or unethical bosses, wish “to destroy even the possibility of disagreement.” Abramson capably references related fields like psychoanalysis and gender studies. Her approach to this hot-button issue is thoughtful, yet the academic nature of her discussion might lose lay readers, as it often relies on repetition for emphasis and wanders through long, jargony passages based on a limited number of case studies or cultural references.
Fuel for debate about the semantic and emotional injuries inherent in personal relationships and social marginalization.Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9780691249384
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Princeton Univ.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2024
An incisive, urgently relevant analysis of—and call to action on—America’s foundational ideal.
An examination of how the U.S. can revitalize its commitment to freedom.
In this ambitious study, Snyder, author of On Tyranny, The Road to Unfreedom, and other books, explores how American freedom might be reconceived not simply in negative terms—as freedom from coercion, especially by the state—but positive ones: the freedom to develop our human potential within sustaining communal structures. The author blends extensive personal reflections on his own evolving understanding of liberty with definitions of the concept by a range of philosophers, historians, politicians, and social activists. Americans, he explains, often wrongly assume that freedom simply means the removal of some barrier: “An individual is free, we think, when the government is out of the way. Negative freedom is our common sense.” In his careful and impassioned description of the profound implications of this conceptual limitation, Snyder provides a compelling account of the circumstances necessary for the realization of positive freedom, along with a set of detailed recommendations for specific sociopolitical reforms and policy initiatives. “We have to see freedom as positive, as beginning from virtues, as shared among people, and as built into institutions,” he writes. The author argues that it’s absurd to think of government as the enemy of freedom; instead, we ought to reimagine how a strong government might focus on creating the appropriate conditions for human flourishing and genuine liberty. Another essential and overlooked element of freedom is the fostering of a culture of solidarity, in which an awareness of and concern for the disadvantaged becomes a guiding virtue. Particularly striking and persuasive are the sections devoted to eviscerating the false promises of libertarianism, exposing the brutal injustices of the nation’s penitentiaries, and documenting the wide-ranging pathologies that flow from a tax system favoring the ultrawealthy.
An incisive, urgently relevant analysis of—and call to action on—America’s foundational ideal.Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9780593728727
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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