Captive minds : a study of manipulation / Avishai Margalit, Assaf Sharon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Margalit, Avishai, Author.

Sharon, Assaf, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political psychology.

Manipulative behavior--Political aspects.

Manipulative behavior.

Liberty.

Democracy.

Authoritarianism.

Freedom.

freedom.

Medical Subjects:

Freedom.

Authoritarianism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London, England : Harvard University Press, 2026.

System Details:

text file PDF

Summary:

From philosophers Avishai Margalit and Assaf Sharon, an erudite yet approachable inquiry into political manipulation and the grave threat it poses to human freedom today.Manipulation is as old as history itself, yet Aldous Huxley's paraphrase of Churchill rings truer than ever: "never have so many been manipulated so much by so few." Manipulation presents a clear danger to liberal democracy today. Demagogues undermine civic discussion, and propagandists and conspiracy theorists create cognitive traps that erode critical thinking.What exactly is manipulation, and what sets it apart from other forms of influence? How does it differ from convincing, attracting, or nudging? Drawing on examples from mythology, literature, history, and politics, philosophers Margalit and Sharon argue that manipulation is not just a form of deceit and intellectual harm; it is, above all, an exercise of power. Manipulation exploits mental weaknesses and vulnerabilities with the goal of establishing control. Whereas liberal philosophers overlook manipulation, instead treating coercion as the primary form of political domination, Margalit and Sharon argue that manipulation should be seen as coercion's insidious counterpart in undermining human freedom.Public support is fundamental to the legitimacy of government. Today, political manipulation is corrupting the formation and expression of public opinion, making manipulation a driving force of the global crisis of democratic decline. A timely work, but also a work for all times, Captive Minds stands as the definitive study of a pervasive threat to political freedom and the increasingly fragile institutions that sustain it.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Introduction

1 The Lion and the Fox

2 Puppets and People

3 Tyranny of the Mind

4 Mind Games

5 Bending the Will

6 Manipulation and Politics

7 Engineers of the Soul

8 Conspiracy Theories

9 Magicians

10 A Free Society

An Unsatisfying Conclusion

Notes

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (De Gruyter Brill, viewed March 2, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: Margalit, Avishai. Captive minds.

ISBN:

9780674305182

0674305183

OCLC:

1573519912

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license