Mark Kingwell is one of the most prominent voices in Canada calling for the openness of civil conversation. He shows how our discourse has been changing and why key gains, like justice, need a fresh consideration. And we examine some of the modes of conversation today that steer us off course, like addiction to conviction, community identities, and slogans. It’s not just MAGA! But the risks loom large when we don't communicate with each other with civility, from empty thoughts to physical harms, and even fostering conditions for tyranny.
Mark Kingwell is professer of philosophy at University of Toronto.
We refer to his works: A Civil Tongue (1995) and Question Authority (2024).
Mark recommends... the novel Love Always by Anne Beattie, set in the eighties with references to ‘The Second Coming’ by William Butler Yeats.
Photo credit: Claire Foran
