Arguing for a Better World

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Arianne Shahvisi is a Kurdish-British writer and academic philosopher. Raised in Lancashire and Essex, she studied astrophysics and philosophy at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, and now teaches

Can you be racist to a white person? Does cancel culture exist? Is it ever okay to laugh at jokes that rely on racist, sexist or homophobic stereotypes? Is it sexist to say 'men are trash'? These questions tap into some of today's most divisive issues, and finding an answer can often lead to confusion and resentment. Political and generational divides often dictate how questions such as these are answered, and when asked most people give automatic answers that roughly align with the broader position they believe is right - though many flounder when asked to detail their reasoning. This creates cultural and political tribes, makes people nervous about engaging at all, or leads to the issues to be trivialised or attributed to the excessive sensitivity of 'snowflakes' to 'identity politics'. You Can't Say Anything Anymore cuts right to the heart of these tensions, with the aim of demonstrating the importance of rigorous definitions and distinctions, revealing the arguments that break the stalemates, and equipping readers with the tools to identify and defend their positions. Drawing on Shahvisi's work as a philosopher, and using live controversies, well-known case studies, and personal anecdotes, this book reveals and analyses the power relations that shape our social world, and offers powerful ways to challenge them.

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