Hello, all.

The complete text of my new book, Dialogues concerning Natural Politics: A Modern Philosophical Dialogue about Policymaker Ignorance, is now available for free. The book can be found on:

  *   PhilPapers (https://philpapers.org/rec/SCHDCN-3)
  *   Academia,edu (https://www.academia.edu/96106454/Dialogues_Concerning_Natural_Politics)
  *   ResearchGate: (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367665406_DIALOGUES_CONCERNING_NATURAL_POLITICS_A_Modern_Philosophical_Dialogue_about_Policymaker_Ignorance)
  *   SSRN (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4344719)
  *   My free Substack page, The Problem of Policymaker Ignorance (https://policymakerignorance.substack.com/p/dialogues-concerning-natural-politics-35e)

In his famous Dialogues concerning Natural Religion, David Hume concluded that the assumption of an all-knowing and all-powerful God was neither necessary nor sufficient to explain natural phenomena. Dialogues concerning Natural Politics tries to do for social science what Hume did for natural science. Both books challenge the assumption that some epistemically privileged being – God in the case of natural phenomena and God-like politicians in the case of social phenomena – must be invoked to explain relevant phenomena.

If you teach courses in political economy, political philosophy, or social science methodology, you might consider adopting Dialogues concerning Natural Politics as a teaching text. The book is free to all teachers and students for whatever use.

  *   The book is designed to promote in-class discussion. Each chapter of the book addresses a distinct topic or problem of political analysis. Many of the topics raised are purposely left unresolved, leaving room for further discussion and debate.
  *   Each chapter concludes with suggestions for further reading and a set of discussion questions that might be either assigned as homework, employed as exam questions, or used to promote further dialogue and debate in the classroom.
  *   The book carefully avoids partisan stances on substantive political matters. Indeed, the book is critical, in about equal measure, of both the left and right endpoints of the political spectrum.
  *   Dialogues offers a model of civil discourse concerning various fraught political controversies. In an era of political polarization, the book offers a reminder of what genuine civic (and civil) discourse looks like.

Perhaps against my better judgment, I sucked it up and started a Twitter account. If you're on Twitter, follow me @pmignorance1

Best,

Scott Scheall, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Arizona State University
College of Integrative Sciences and Arts
Faculty of Social Science

Subscribe to my Substack, The Problem of Policymaker Ignorance: https://policymakerignorance.substack.com
Follow The Problem of Policymaker Ignorance on Twitter: @pmignorance1