[inostia]

Can anyone recommend a book that describes some potential destructive consequences of Cartesian thinking on everyday life in Western civilization (not just in the field of philosophy)? It seems possible to me that choosing the individual "subject" (the mind in mind-body dualism) as the starting point for Enlightenment discourse could have contributed in some way to the modern selfish solipsism we see in society today.

[claudiawerner]

There's quite a strong criticism of how our principle of freedom of speech (as opposed to 'freedom of action') is built upon a Cartesian mind-body dualism written by Susan Brison (no book published, as far as I'm aware) building off the American legal and philosophical theory of Fred Schauer. I don't have links at hand at the moment, but it was an interesting read, as she argues that this 'Cartesian mistake' points out a glaring hole in the justification for a special constitutional amendment to freedom of speech.

Edit: I found a draft from 2018, but the author asks for it not to be cited. It was published earlier this year, as: "Free Speech Skepticism". Susan J. Brison. Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, Volume 31, Number 2, June 2021

[inostia]

Very interesting. I hadn’t actually thought about the _legalistic_ consequences of Cartesian dualism, but it’s a fascinating thought. Applied to free speech that’s a very unique problem - I’ll have to take a look. Thanks.