Affective polarization, wholeheartedness, and fanaticism

Tanesini, Alessandra ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6250-471X 2024. Affective polarization, wholeheartedness, and fanaticism. Peels, Rik and Horgan, John, eds. Extreme Belief and Action: Mapping the Terrain, New York: Oxford University Press, Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

: In this chapter I argue that fanaticism is characterized by an orientation to value. I identify three distinctive features of this way of committing to one’s values. First, it is wholehearted. Second, it involves a perception that the values one has chosen are at risk of being rendered unintelligible. Third, the choice of the values to which the fanatic commits wholeheartedly is based on emotional appraisals or moral testimony rather than on reflection. I also argue that these appraisals are often constituted by group-based emotions. Contra Katsafanas (2019), I show that fanaticism is not necessarily a rational failing or a moral pathology. However, fanaticism often exhibits these shortcomings because it is a product of affective polarization by means of emotional contagion. I support this claim by showing that polarizing processes tend to produce emotions that are not fitting.

Item Type:	Book Section
Status:	In Press
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 June 2024
Last Modified:	07 Jun 2024 15:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/168796

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