Mere Civility
eBook - PDF

Mere Civility

Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration

  1. English
  2. PDF
  3. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Mere Civility

Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration

About this book

A New Statesman Best Book of the Year
A Church Times Book of the Year

We are facing a crisis of civility, a war of words polluting our public sphere. In liberal democracies committed to tolerating active, often heated disagreement, the loss of this virtue appears critical.

Most modern appeals to civility follow arguments by Hobbes or Locke by proposing to suppress disagreement or exclude views we deem "uncivil" for the sake of social harmony. By comparison, mere civilityā€”a grudging conformity to norms of respectful behaviorā€”as defended by Rhode Island's founder, Roger Williams, might seem minimal and unappealing. Yet Teresa Bejan argues that Williams's outlook offers a promising path forward in confronting our own crisis, one that challenges our fundamental assumptions about what a tolerantā€”and civilā€”society should look like.

"Penetrating and sophisticated."
ā€”James Ryerson, New York Times Book Review

"Would that more of us might learn to look into the past with such gravity and humility. We might end up with a more (or mere) civil society, yet."
ā€”Los Angeles Review of Books

"A deeply admirable book: original, persuasive, witty, and eloquent."
ā€”Jacob T. Levy, Review of Politics

"A terrific bookā€”learned, vigorous, and challenging."
ā€”Alison McQueen, Stanford University

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Yes, you can access Mere Civility by Teresa M. Bejan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Political Philosophy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Citations and Abbreviations
  7. Introduction: Wars of Words
  8. Chapter 1. ā€œPersecution of the Tongueā€: Toleration and the Rise of Religious Insult
  9. Chapter 2. ā€œSilver Alarumsā€: Roger Williamsā€™s Mere Civility
  10. Chapter 3. ā€œIf It Be without Contentionā€: Hobbes and Civil Silence
  11. Chapter 4. ā€œA Bond of Mutual Charityā€: Locke and the Quest for Concord
  12. Conclusion: The Virtue of Mere Civility
  13. Epilogue: Free Speech Fundamentalism
  14. Notes
  15. References
  16. Acknowledgments
  17. Index