Description
Book SynopsisIf we are to solve global problems, then we need a new kind of thinking that experts and citizens alike can share through participatory forms of democratic dialogue. That new thinking is dialectical thinking, and it heralds breakthroughs in individual and collective consciousness as our identities expand to include all of humanity.
Trade ReviewThis is an innovative and intriguing book. If our time is ushering in a global conversation of humankind, then Crittenden is offering a conversation about this conversation. -- Fred Dallmayr, University of Notre Dame
Calls for 'dialogue' have become commonplace, but what if we truly engaged in such talk across the globe? Jack Crittenden imagines such a dialogue, literally, by using a fictional dialogue for the book's style, and in doing so shows how it would transform us to truly listen and honestly engage with one another's experiences and viewpoints. Part philosophy, part social psychology, part literary performance art, Wide as the World opens a conversation about how we might understand our shared world if we could only understand each other. -- John Gastil, Senior Scholar at the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, Penn State University
Writing in an accessible style, Crittenden calls on a number of major thinkers and traditions to explore some of the most vital issues of our day. He shows how cosmopolitan identity and democratic dialogue simultaneously contribute to and benefit from an approach to politics that affirms and includes while taking differences into account. Highly recommended. -- Michael E. Zimmerman, professor of philosophy, University of Colorado at Boulder
This is an important book on an equally important topic—the democratic process itself. Simple yet profound, it touches on all the major issues with new and compelling insight. Highly recommended! -- Ken Wilber,
The Integral Vision
Table of Contents
1 Acknowledgements 2 Introduction 3 First Encounter: Cosmopolitanism 4 Second Encounter: Nationality and National Identity 5 Third Encounter: Cosmopolitan Identity 6 Fourth Encounter: Integral Politics 7 Fifth Encounter: Integral Epistemology 8 Sixth Encounter: Democratic Dialogue and Cosmopolitan Practices 9 Seventh Encounter: Institutionalizing Democratic Dialogue 10 Epilogue 11 Bibliography
