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GENERAL INTEREST NEW Conspiracy Theories QUASSIM CASSAM University of Warwick ‘Quassim Cassam has done the world a great service. This short book is not only a compelling read; it is also a much-needed weapon in the war against lies and in the battle for truth. Truth has taken a battering in recent years. Now, thanks to Cassam, the truth is hitting back.’ Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian ‘Quassim Cassam, one of the United Kingdom’s most important philosophers, has put his mind to answering this question: What are conspiracy theories, and why are they so problematic and yet so tempting? This is one of the key texts in the emerging field of propaganda studies.’ Jason Stanley, author of How Propaganda Works ‘This new book by one of philosophy’s clearest and most interesting writers argues for an idea that should be obvious (but isn’t): that conspiracy theories function as political propaganda, and that is what makes them so dangerous.’ Michael Patrick Lynch, author of The Internet of Us Even if there is plenty of evidence to disprove conspiracy theories, people persist in propagating them. Why? Philosopher Quassim Cassam explains how conspiracy theories are different from ordinary theories about conspiracies. He argues that conspiracy theories are forms of propaganda and their function is to promote a political agenda. Series: THINK 190 x 124mm • 144 pages • UK September 2019, US November 2019 HB • 978-1-5095-3582-8 • £35.00 / $45.00 / €42.90 PB • 978-1-5095-3583-5 • £9.99 / $12.95 / €12.90 ebook available Against Hate CAROLIN EMCKE Translated by Tony Crawford ‘With exemplary lucidity, passion and brevity, Carolin Emcke anatomizes a toxic political emotion – and the many insidious, even benign, forms it increasingly assumes in public life. Against Hate is an urgent and necessary book, and all those who seek a way out of our current impasse should read it.’ Pankaj Mishra ‘At a time when, all over the globe, groups have mobilized around hatred of strangers, foreigners, migrants and refugees, Emcke analyses with subtlety and psychological precision the hearts and minds of those who hate. A must-read book for our times.’ Seyla Benhabib, Yale University Racism, extremism, anti-democratic sentiment – our increasingly polarized world is dominated by a type of thinking that doubts others’ positions but never its own. In this powerful counter, Carolin Emcke, one of Germany’s leading intellectuals, argues that to safeguard democracy we must challenge hatred and fight for plurality in our societies. 216 x 138mm • 176 pages • 2019 HB • 978-1-5095-3195-0 • £50.00 / $64.95 / €61.90 PB • 978-1-5095-3196-7 • £15.99 / $19.95 / €19.90 ebook available NEW The Nature of Conspiracy Theories MICHAEL BUTTER University of Tübingen Translated by Sharon Howe Conspiracy theories seem to be proliferating today. Long relegated to a niche existence, conspiracy theories are now pervasive, and older conspiracy theories have been joined by a constant stream of new ones – that the USA carried out the 9/11 attacks itself, that the Ukrainian crisis was orchestrated by NATO, that we are being secretly controlled by a New World Order that keeps us docile via chemtrails and vaccinations. Not to mention the moon landing that never happened. But what are conspiracy theories and why do people believe them? Have they always existed or are they something new, a feature of our modern world? In this book, Michael Butter provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the nature and development of conspiracy theories. Contrary to popular belief, he shows that conspiracy theories are less popular and influential today than they were in the past. Up to the 1950s, the Western world regarded conspiracy theories as a legitimate form of knowledge and it was therefore normal to believe in them. It was only after the Second World War that this knowledge was delegitimized, causing conspiracy theories to be banished from public discourse and relegated to subcultures. The recent renaissance of conspiracy theories is linked to the internet which gives them wider exposure and contributes to the fragmentation of the public sphere. Conspiracy theories are still stigmatized today in many sections of mainstream culture but are being accepted once again as legitimate knowledge in others. It is the clash between these domains and their different conceptions of truth that is fuelling the current debate over conspiracy theories. 216 x 138mm • 210 pages • UK October 2020, US December 2020 HB • 978-1-5095-4081-5 • £50.00 / $64.95 / €61.90 PB • 978-1-5095-4082-2 • £17.99 / $24.95 / €21.90 ebook available NEW When I Say Yes CAROLIN EMCKE Translated by Tony Crawford ‘Part manifesto, part memoir, When I Say Yes is a riveting book. In a prose that is sometimes poetry, sometimes analysis, it takes us to the heart of the experience of exclusion and violence, and shows with elegance and force how deeply abnormal our ordinary sense of normality is.’ Eva Illouz, University of Jerusalem How should we talk about desire, power and equality in the wake of the #MeToo debate? For Carolin Emcke, bestselling author and winner of the German Peace Prize, the debate demonstrates one thing above all: a conversation about abuse and sexuality has emerged that can no longer be stifled. 190 x 124mm • 112 pages • UK March 2020, US May 2020 HB • 978-1-5095-4087-7 • £35.00 / $45.00 / €42.90 PB • 978-1-5095-4088-4 • £9.99 / $12.95 / €12.90 ebook available WWW.POLITYBOOKS.COM 4
page 7
GENERAL INTEREST Philosophy: Why It Matters HELEN BEEBEE & MICHAEL RUSH University of Manchester; University of Birmingham ‘Excellent, easy to follow, and informative. Beebee and Rush make a good case for the importance of philosophy in part by demonstrating the joys of engaging in philosophy.’ Derek Matravers, The Open University ‘Philosophy professors and students will find this wonderful little book to be a perfect gift for those who ask them what philosophy is or why philosophy matters.’ Alfred Mele, Florida State University ‘A great recommendation for students who think they may be interested in philosophy but aren’t quite sure what it is ... the work is a delightful and welcoming invitation to a field that is too often perceived as dense and pretentious ...’ Teaching Philosophy Philosophy is a set of tools and techniques for clearly and systematically considering our arguments and uncovering our hidden assumptions, which helps us to make more informed choices about what to believe and how to act. Philosophy is everywhere, and open to everyone. Series: Why It Matters 190 x 124mm • 128 pages • 2019 HB • 978-1-5095-3215-5 • £35.00 / $45.00 / €42.90 PB • 978-1-5095-3216-2 • £9.99 / $12.95 / €12.90 ebook available NEW The Meaning of Thought MARKUS GABRIEL University of Bonn Translated by Alex Englander In this new book, bestselling philosopher Markus Gabriel steps back from the polemics surrounding AI to re-examine the very nature of human thought. He conceives of human thinking as a ‘sixth sense’, a kind of sense organ that is closely tied our biological reality as human beings. 229 x 152mm • 240 pages • UK October 2020, US December 2020 HB • 978-1-5095-3836-2 • £25.00 / $35.00 / €30.90 ebook available See page 22 for more Gabriel titles. NEW Bauman A Biography IZABELA WAGNER University of Warsaw ‘Who was Zygmunt Bauman? The late sociologist, known throughout the world for his path-breaking work on liquid modernity, had a biography. He was a Polish Jew, a soldier, a refugee. He had a whole life before Leeds. Izabela Wagner’s great achievement is to recover this other Bauman. This book will change the way we see Bauman, forever.’ Peter Beilharz, La Trobe University and Sichuan University 229 x 152mm • 484 pages • UK June 2020, US September 2020 HB • 978-1-5095-2686-4 • £25.00 / $35.00 / €30.90 ebook available See website for backlist titles by Bauman. NEW A Left that Dares to Speak Its Name Untimely Interventions SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK Institute of Sociology, Ljubljana With irrepressible humour, Slavoj Žižek dissects our current political and social climate, discussing everything from Jordan Peterson and sex ‘unicorns’ to Greta Thunberg and Chairman Mao. Taking aim at his enemies on left, right and centre, he argues that contemporary society can only be properly understood from a communist standpoint. Why communism? The greater the triumph of global capitalism, the more its dangerous antagonisms multiply: climate collapse, the digital manipulation of our lives, the explosion in refugee numbers, all need a radical solution. That solution is a left that dares to speak its name, to get its hands dirty in the real world of contemporary politics, not to sling its insults from the side-lines or to fight a culture war which is merely a fig leaf over its political and economic failures. As the crises caused by contemporary capitalism accumulate at an alarming rate, the left finds itself in crisis too, beset with competing ideologies and prone to populism, racism and conspiracy theories. A Left that Dares to Speak Its Name is Žižek’s attempt to elucidate the major political issues of the day from a truly radical left position. The first two parts explore the global political situation and the final part focuses on contemporary western culture as Žižek directs his polemic to topics such as wellness, Wikileaks and the rights of sexbots. This collection of wideranging essays provides an ideal introduction to the ideas of one of the most influential radical thinkers of our time. 216 x 138mm • 304 pages • UK March 2020, US April 2020 HB • 978-1-5095-4117-1 • £50.00 / $64.95 / €61.90 PB • 978-1-5095-4118-8 • £14.99 / $19.95 / €18.90 ebook available See page 30 and backlist for more Žižek titles. NEW In the Presence of Schopenhauer MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ Translated by Andrew Brown The work of Michel Houellebecq – one of the most widely read and controversial novelists of our time – is marked by the thought of Schopenhauer. When Houellebecq came across a copy of Schopenhauer’s Aphorisms in a library in his mid-twenties, he was bowled over by it and he hunted down a copy of The World as Will and Representation. Houellebecq found in Schopenhauer a powerful conception of the human condition and of the future that awaits us, and when Houellebecq’s first writings appeared in the early 1990s, the influence of Schopenhauer was everywhere apparent. In the Presence of Schopenhauer is the story of a remarkable encounter between a novelist and a philosopher, and a testimony to the deep and enduring impact of Schopenhauer’s philosophy on one of France’s greatest living writers. 190 x 124mm • 100 pages • UK May 2020, US July 2020 HB • 978-1-5095-4324-3 • £35.00 / $45.00 / €42.90 PB • 978-1-5095-4325-0 • £9.99 / $12.95 / €12.90 ebook available WWW.POLITYBOOKS.COM 5

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GENERAL INTEREST

NEW

Conspiracy Theories QUASSIM CASSAM University of Warwick ‘Quassim Cassam has done the world a great service. This short book is not only a compelling read; it is also a much-needed weapon in the war against lies and in the battle for truth. Truth has taken a battering in recent years. Now, thanks to Cassam, the truth is hitting back.’ Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian ‘Quassim Cassam, one of the United Kingdom’s most important philosophers, has put his mind to answering this question: What are conspiracy theories, and why are they so problematic and yet so tempting? This is one of the key texts in the emerging field of propaganda studies.’ Jason Stanley, author of How Propaganda Works ‘This new book by one of philosophy’s clearest and most interesting writers argues for an idea that should be obvious (but isn’t): that conspiracy theories function as political propaganda, and that is what makes them so dangerous.’ Michael Patrick Lynch, author of The Internet of Us Even if there is plenty of evidence to disprove conspiracy theories, people persist in propagating them. Why? Philosopher Quassim Cassam explains how conspiracy theories are different from ordinary theories about conspiracies. He argues that conspiracy theories are forms of propaganda and their function is to promote a political agenda. Series: THINK 190 x 124mm • 144 pages • UK September 2019, US November 2019 HB • 978-1-5095-3582-8 • £35.00 / $45.00 / €42.90 PB • 978-1-5095-3583-5 • £9.99 / $12.95 / €12.90 ebook available

Against Hate CAROLIN EMCKE Translated by Tony Crawford ‘With exemplary lucidity, passion and brevity, Carolin Emcke anatomizes a toxic political emotion – and the many insidious, even benign, forms it increasingly assumes in public life. Against Hate is an urgent and necessary book, and all those who seek a way out of our current impasse should read it.’ Pankaj Mishra ‘At a time when, all over the globe, groups have mobilized around hatred of strangers, foreigners, migrants and refugees, Emcke analyses with subtlety and psychological precision the hearts and minds of those who hate. A must-read book for our times.’ Seyla Benhabib, Yale University Racism, extremism, anti-democratic sentiment – our increasingly polarized world is dominated by a type of thinking that doubts others’ positions but never its own. In this powerful counter, Carolin Emcke, one of Germany’s leading intellectuals, argues that to safeguard democracy we must challenge hatred and fight for plurality in our societies. 216 x 138mm • 176 pages • 2019 HB • 978-1-5095-3195-0 • £50.00 / $64.95 / €61.90 PB • 978-1-5095-3196-7 • £15.99 / $19.95 / €19.90 ebook available

NEW

The Nature of Conspiracy Theories MICHAEL BUTTER University of Tübingen Translated by Sharon Howe Conspiracy theories seem to be proliferating today. Long relegated to a niche existence, conspiracy theories are now pervasive, and older conspiracy theories have been joined by a constant stream of new ones – that the USA carried out the 9/11 attacks itself, that the Ukrainian crisis was orchestrated by NATO, that we are being secretly controlled by a New World Order that keeps us docile via chemtrails and vaccinations. Not to mention the moon landing that never happened. But what are conspiracy theories and why do people believe them? Have they always existed or are they something new, a feature of our modern world? In this book, Michael Butter provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the nature and development of conspiracy theories. Contrary to popular belief, he shows that conspiracy theories are less popular and influential today than they were in the past. Up to the 1950s, the Western world regarded conspiracy theories as a legitimate form of knowledge and it was therefore normal to believe in them. It was only after the Second World War that this knowledge was delegitimized, causing conspiracy theories to be banished from public discourse and relegated to subcultures. The recent renaissance of conspiracy theories is linked to the internet which gives them wider exposure and contributes to the fragmentation of the public sphere. Conspiracy theories are still stigmatized today in many sections of mainstream culture but are being accepted once again as legitimate knowledge in others. It is the clash between these domains and their different conceptions of truth that is fuelling the current debate over conspiracy theories. 216 x 138mm • 210 pages • UK October 2020, US December 2020 HB • 978-1-5095-4081-5 • £50.00 / $64.95 / €61.90 PB • 978-1-5095-4082-2 • £17.99 / $24.95 / €21.90 ebook available

NEW

When I Say Yes CAROLIN EMCKE Translated by Tony Crawford ‘Part manifesto, part memoir, When I Say Yes is a riveting book. In a prose that is sometimes poetry, sometimes analysis, it takes us to the heart of the experience of exclusion and violence, and shows with elegance and force how deeply abnormal our ordinary sense of normality is.’ Eva Illouz, University of Jerusalem How should we talk about desire, power and equality in the wake of the #MeToo debate? For Carolin Emcke, bestselling author and winner of the German Peace Prize, the debate demonstrates one thing above all: a conversation about abuse and sexuality has emerged that can no longer be stifled. 190 x 124mm • 112 pages • UK March 2020, US May 2020 HB • 978-1-5095-4087-7 • £35.00 / $45.00 / €42.90 PB • 978-1-5095-4088-4 • £9.99 / $12.95 / €12.90 ebook available

WWW.POLITYBOOKS.COM 4

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