Political Desaturation: How to Thrive Before, During, and After the 2024 Election
On October 15th, 2024, Baylor in Washington hosted a panel the problem of “hyper-politicization.” Panelists explained this problem from social, psychological, and theological perspectives while offering concrete strategies for “desaturation.”
Panelists:
Robert B. Talisse is W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. A native of New Jersey, Talisse earned his PhD in Philosophy at the City University of New York Graduate School in 2001. His research focuses on democracy. Specifically, Talisse writes about how a democratic political order can assist and complicate our efforts to acquire knowledge, share ideas, understand what is of value, and address our disagreements. He engages questions about public discourse, popular political ignorance, partisan polarization, and the ethics of citizenship. Talisse has lectured throughout the world. He is the author of over one hundred scholarly articles and fifteen books.
Curt Thompson, MD, is a board certified psychiatrist, author, speaker, and co-host of The Being Known Podcast. He has been in private practice for over 30 years in Falls Church, Virginia, graduated from Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine, and completed his psychiatric residency at Temple University Hospital. He strives to help patients develop flourishing lives by telling their stories more truly, in order to become more deeply known, for the purpose of creating beauty and goodness in the world. With conviction and humor, he trains clinicians and speaks at workshops, retreats and conferences, integrating neuroscience, human relationships and Christian faith. He and his wife Phyllis are the parents of two adult children and live in Northern Virginia.
Elizabeth Oldfield hosts The Sacred podcast and is the former director and now senior fellow of the think tank Theos. She appears across the media, including BBC Radio and television, UnHerd, the Financial Times, and beyond. Oldfield is also a contributing editor at Comment magazine, chair of Larger Us, and a coach and consultant working with purpose-driven individuals and organizations. She lives in an intentional community in South London with her husband and children.
Moderator:
David Corey is Professor of Political Philosophy in the Honors College at Baylor University and an affiliated faculty member in the departments of Political Science and Philosophy. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and book chapters, as well as two books, The Just War Tradition (with J. Daryl Charles, ISI Books, 2012) and The Sophists in Plato’s Dialogues (SUNY Press, 2015).