{"product_id":"9781041346807","title":"Stupidity and Self-Absorption","description":"\u003cp\u003eStupidity and Self-Absorption offers the first full-length philosophical exploration of human stupidity, reinterpreting it as a pervasive existential condition rooted in self-absorption. It argues that stupidity is not merely a cognitive or moral failing but a habitual resistance to reality, where excessive focus on oneself distorts one’s relationship with the world.Drawing on social epistemology, phenomenology, existentialism, and psychology, the author develops a systematic account of stupidity as a breakdown of openness to the world under the gravitational pull of one’s own positionality and propositional horizon. He examines the structural features of the self—interiority, positionality, and propositionality—that enable self-absorption, illustrating how these dimensions coalesce into a retreat from reality. Extending the analysis to collective contexts, he reinterprets phenomena such as propaganda, ideological rigidity, and the tragedy of the commons as expressions of suprapersonal self-absorption. The book culminates in a critical diagnosis of late-stage capitalism, which systematizes and rewards patterns of self-absorption on both individual and collective levels. Engaging with thinkers like Arendt, Gadamer, Heidegger, and Murdoch, it offers a bold and original diagnosis of the epistemic and moral pathologies underpinning contemporary society, urging readers to confront the inevitability of stupidity with wisdom and responsibility.Stupidity and Self-Absorption will appeal to researchers and advanced students working in Continental philosophy, ethics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, political philosophy, psychology, and cultural theory.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Thomas J. Spiegel","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53787369701694,"sku":"9781041346807","price":8443.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4357\/7662\/files\/9781041346807.jpg?v=1781877667","url":"https:\/\/exclusivebooks.co.za\/products\/9781041346807","provider":"Exclusive Books Online","version":"1.0","type":"link"}