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The Rise of Polarization

Affects, Politics, and Philosophy

Manuel Almagro (University of Valencia, Spain)

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Hardback

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English
Routledge
05 March 2025
This book presents a philosophical analysis of affective polarization. It rejects the two-dimensional view of affective polarization and offers a multi-dimensional approach to it. An underlying philosophical issue throughout the book is that our political views are strongly influenced by purely contingent matters.

The widespread approach to affective polarization emphasizes the role played by two key elements: political identities and feelings toward the out-group. However, this picture is incomplete. Affectively polarized societies are also characterized by the existence of two-sided narratives drawn upon politically fraught issues, and by the increased confidence in such narratives. In this book, the author examines affective polarization as a multi-dimensional phenomenon. He carefully analyses the essential features of the phenomenon and distinguishes five dimensions of it: the identity dimension, the emotional dimension, the narrative dimension, the credence dimension, and the linguistic dimension. Along the way, he addresses questions such as: How many types of polarization can be distinguished? What are the conditions for a society to count as affectively polarized? What are political narratives and political identities? What do partisans do when they say that they dislike the outgroup?

The Rise of Polarization will appeal to scholars and advanced students working in political and social philosophy, political and social psychology, political science, political epistemology, political philosophy of language, and political theory.
By:  
Imprint:   Routledge
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 229mm,  Width: 152mm, 
Weight:   440g
ISBN:   9781032509600
ISBN 10:   1032509600
Series:   Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy
Pages:   138
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Primary
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

Manuel Almagro is Assistant Professor at the University of Valencia, Spain. His main areas of research are political epistemology, political philosophy of language, and xphil. His published work has appeared in Hypatia, Metaphilosophy, Synthese, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Philosophy and Social Criticism, International Journal of Philosophical Studies, among others.

Reviews for The Rise of Polarization: Affects, Politics, and Philosophy

“In this engaging book, Manuel Almagro brings desperately needed nuance to our understanding of affective polarization, showing it is more complex than prevailing accounts recognize. Meticulously researched and forcefully argued, Almagro’s book is essential reading for anyone trying to understand polarization’s threats to democracy.” Robert B. Talisse, Vanderbilt University, USA “Political polarization is sometimes portrayed as just the inevitable byproduct of the human tendency to connect convictions to identity. In this incredibly clear, brilliantly argued and exhaustively researched new book, Manuel Almagro shows this to be an oversimplification. Polarization isn’t something that just “happens”—it is often due to the deliberate hijacking of public discourse.” Michael Patrick Lynch, Provost Professor of the Humanities, University of Connecticut, USA “The Rise of Polarization is a compelling book about how we can grow apart from those we love. It provides a fast track to understanding the current state of the art on polarization, making it of interest to philosophers and social scientists, and a must-read for anyone interested in the dynamics of public opinion.” Neftalí Villanueva, University of Granada, Spain


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