
Episode 144
Grandstanding: the Use and Abuse of Moral Talk | Brandon Warmke & Justin Tosi

Episode 144
Brandon Warmke & Justin Tosi
Grandstanding: the Use and Abuse of Moral Talk | Brandon Warmke & Justin Tosi
summary
In Episode 144 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with philosophers Brandon Warmke and Justin Tosi about the phenomenon of grandstanding, which they define as “the use and abuse of moral talk for the purposes of self-promotion.”
Although moral grandstanding is a spectacle most commonly associated with those on the political left, the practice of grandstanding is an entirely bipartisan phenomenon. Its increased prevalence in public discourse has dangerous implications for politics and society.
For grandstanders, it isn’t the pursuit of virtue that motivates them. They aren’t concerned with doing good; they’re concerned with looking good; they want others to think that they are morally superior, and they’re willing to go to great lengths in order to do it, including using moral talk as a tactic for punishment and intimidation.
The irony is that grandstanders accomplish all of this by free-riding on the moral behavior and good intentions of others. They turn civil discourse into a moral arms race, weaponizing language, and silencing their enemies with threats of doxing and humiliation.
Our society is currently going through a seismic transition. Norms are being radically upended and Americans are experiencing levels of political polarization arguably unseen since at least the 1970s. If we want to make it through this period in one piece, as one nation, undivided we need to reclaim the moral high ground in our discourse. Otherwise, I’m afraid we’re in danger of losing control of our country to the darker forces of our nature, and this would not bode well for the future of our republic.
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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas
Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou
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Episode Recorded on 06/30/2020
bio
Brandon Warmke is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University. A philosopher working on moral and political issues, he is the author of over twenty academic papers on public discourse, forgiveness, and moral responsibility. Warmke has been interviewed on Big Think among other outlets; his work has been featured in The Atlantic, Scientific American, Vox, The Guardian, and HuffPost.
Justin Tosi is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Texas Tech University. He was previously a Junior Faculty Fellow at the Georgetown Institute for the Study of Markets and Ethics in the McDonough School of Business, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Lecturer in the Philosophy Department at the University of Michigan. He works in social, political, legal, and moral philosophy, and especially on state legitimacy, special obligations, and social morality. His work has been published in Philosophy & Public Affairs, Legal Theory, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, and other outlets. In addition to Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk, he has co-authored a second book with Brandon Warmke, Why It’s OK to Mind Your Own Business, that will be published as part of the Routledge series “Why It’s OK: The Ethics of How We Live.”
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Omnes enim iucundum motum, quo sensus hilaretur. Expressa vero in iis aetatibus, quae iam confirmatae sunt. Cur tantas regiones barbarorum pedibus obiit, tot maria transmisit? Si longus, levis dictata sunt. Quae qui non vident, nihil umquam magnum ac cognitione dignum amaverunt. Id enim volumus, id contendimus, ut officii fructus sit ipsum officium. Duo Reges: constructio interrete.
Aliam vero vim voluptatis esse, aliam nihil dolendi, nisi valde pertinax fueris, concedas necesse est. Egone quaeris, inquit, quid sentiam? Cuius quidem, quoniam Stoicus fuit, sententia condemnata mihi videtur esse inanitas ista verborum. Quantum Aristoxeni ingenium consumptum videmus in musicis? Omnia contraria, quos etiam insanos esse vultis. Nondum autem explanatum satis, erat, quid maxime natura vellet. Graecis hoc modicum est: Leonidas, Epaminondas, tres aliqui aut quattuor; Ut necesse sit omnium rerum, quae natura vigeant, similem esse finem, non eundem. Est autem etiam actio quaedam corporis, quae motus et status naturae congruentis tenet; Sic, et quidem diligentius saepiusque ista loquemur inter nos agemusque communiter.
Immo vero, inquit, ad beatissime vivendum parum est, ad beate vero satis. Quid censes in Latino fore? Potius inflammat, ut coercendi magis quam dedocendi esse videantur. An ea, quae per vinitorem antea consequebatur, per se ipsa curabit? Qui-vere falsone, quaerere mittimus-dicitur oculis se privasse; Ad eas enim res ab Epicuro praecepta dantur. Unum est sine dolore esse, alterum cum voluptate.
Prioris generis est docilitas, memoria; Sed quae tandem ista ratio est? Eiuro, inquit adridens, iniquum, hac quidem de re; Quid enim de amicitia statueris utilitatis causa expetenda vides. Quasi ego id curem, quid ille aiat aut neget. Nos autem non solum beatae vitae istam esse oblectationem videmus, sed etiam levamentum miseriarum. Quae hic rei publicae vulnera inponebat, eadem ille sanabat. Potius ergo illa dicantur: turpe esse, viri non esse debilitari dolore, frangi, succumbere. Isto modo ne improbos quidem, si essent boni viri.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Dolere malum est: in crucem qui agitur, beatus esse non potest. Dolere malum est: in crucem qui agitur, beatus esse non potest. Quia dolori non voluptas contraria est, sed doloris privatio. Facillimum id quidem est, inquam. Bonum negas esse divitias, praeposìtum esse dicis? Hanc ergo intuens debet institutum illud quasi signum absolvere. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Sed quid attinet de rebus tam apertis plura requirere?
Earum etiam rerum, quas terra gignit, educatio quaedam et perfectio est non dissimilis animantium. Vitae autem degendae ratio maxime quidem illis placuit quieta. Quae hic rei publicae vulnera inponebat, eadem ille sanabat. Non igitur de improbo, sed de callido improbo quaerimus, qualis Q. Theophrastus mediocriterne delectat, cum tractat locos ab Aristotele ante tractatos? Vitiosum est enim in dividendo partem in genere numerare. Que Manilium, ab iisque M. Sed ea mala virtuti magnitudine obruebantur.
Non igitur de improbo, sed de callido improbo quaerimus, qualis Q. Graecum enim hunc versum nostis omnes-: Suavis laborum est praeteritorum memoria. Quae sequuntur igitur? Quid enim de amicitia statueris utilitatis causa expetenda vides. Quid est, quod ab ea absolvi et perfici debeat? Nulla profecto est, quin suam vim retineat a primo ad extremum. Ergo ita: non posse honeste vivi, nisi honeste vivatur? Quia nec honesto quic quam honestius nec turpi turpius.
Videamus igitur sententias eorum, tum ad verba redeamus. Nunc haec primum fortasse audientis servire debemus. Istam voluptatem perpetuam quis potest praestare sapienti? Res enim se praeclare habebat, et quidem in utraque parte. Qui enim voluptatem ipsam contemnunt, iis licet dicere se acupenserem maenae non anteponere.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Si alia sentit, inquam, alia loquitur, numquam intellegam quid sentiat; Innumerabilia dici possunt in hanc sententiam, sed non necesse est. Qua tu etiam inprudens utebare non numquam. Tum, Quintus et Pomponius cum idem se velle dixissent, Piso exorsus est. Et hercule-fatendum est enim, quod sentio -mirabilis est apud illos contextus rerum. Duo Reges: constructio interrete.
Cur deinde Metrodori liberos commendas? Expressa vero in iis aetatibus, quae iam confirmatae sunt. Sed nimis multa. Quae cum dixisset paulumque institisset, Quid est? Quis non odit sordidos, vanos, leves, futtiles? Si enim ita est, vide ne facinus facias, cum mori suadeas. Illa videamus, quae a te de amicitia dicta sunt.
Non igitur bene. Recte dicis; Atque ego: Scis me, inquam, istud idem sentire, Piso, sed a te opportune facta mentio est. Cum audissem Antiochum, Brute, ut solebam, cum M. Theophrastus mediocriterne delectat, cum tractat locos ab Aristotele ante tractatos?
Dic in quovis conventu te omnia facere, ne doleas. Paulum, cum regem Persem captum adduceret, eodem flumine invectio? Diodorus, eius auditor, adiungit ad honestatem vacuitatem doloris. Quare obscurentur etiam haec, quae secundum naturam esse dicimus, in vita beata; Nihilo beatiorem esse Metellum quam Regulum. Eiuro, inquit adridens, iniquum, hac quidem de re;
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Materiam vero rerum et copiam apud hos exilem, apud illos uberrimam reperiemus. Laelius clamores sofòw ille so lebat Edere compellans gumias ex ordine nostros. Nam quid possumus facere melius? Neutrum vero, inquit ille. Non enim, si omnia non sequebatur, idcirco non erat ortus illinc. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Sic igitur in homine perfectio ista in eo potissimum, quod est optimum, id est in virtute, laudatur. Et quidem, Cato, hanc totam copiam iam Lucullo nostro notam esse oportebit; Verba tu fingas et ea dicas, quae non sentias?
Invidiosum nomen est, infame, suspectum. Saepe ab Aristotele, a Theophrasto mirabiliter est laudata per se ipsa rerum scientia; Aliena dixit in physicis nec ea ipsa, quae tibi probarentur; Idem iste, inquam, de voluptate quid sentit? Qui ita affectus, beatum esse numquam probabis; Occultum facinus esse potuerit, gaudebit; Quis istud possit, inquit, negare?
Ut optime, secundum naturam affectum esse possit. Quodcumque in mentem incideret, et quodcumque tamquam occurreret. Eadem nunc mea adversum te oratio est. Itaque contra est, ac dicitis;
Honesta oratio, Socratica, Platonis etiam. Duo enim genera quae erant, fecit tria. Quae similitudo in genere etiam humano apparet. Sed quid minus probandum quam esse aliquem beatum nec satis beatum? Negat enim summo bono afferre incrementum diem. At iam decimum annum in spelunca iacet. Quod autem in homine praestantissimum atque optimum est, id deseruit. Frater et T.