Cynical Theories: Helen Pluckrose on the Origins of Wokeness

All of us, well the overwhelming majority of people, want to make the world a better place. The best way to achieve this goal differs from person to person, and it’s in the friction of these competing ideas, set against a virtuous ambition, that meaningful and positive change is driven. 

This framework has been the bedrock for the establishment of our liberal, secular societies; systems that promote freedom of religion and freedom from religion, equal opportunities for people regardless of their gender, race, or sexuality, and consider science and reason as the pillars on which “truth” is determined. 

Without it, social justice would not have come as far as it has today, but it’s now under threat by a movement that presumptuously justifies itself as “fighting for social justice”. 

At our fourth and final Free Thought Live event for 2020, liberal humanist, cultural and political writer, editor-in-chief of Areo, and most recently the co-author of the wildly successful book Cynical Theories, Helen Pluckrose will investigate how “Critical Social Justice” is a twisted version of postmodern ideas.

Join Helen as she investigates how popular concepts of “wokeness” ignore the nuances of social issues and paint people with a brush they often don’t resonate with:

“... black people are politically and intellectually diverse... many women reject intersectional concepts of feminism, few LGBT people have even read queer theory, the majority of trans people just want to be left alone to live as feels authentic, and most obese and disabled people have no wish to take this aspect of themselves on as a political identity.” - Helen Pluckrose, An Interview with Jason D. Hill

In celebrating poorly rationalised notions that are made popular based on feelings rather than facts, bad ideas are allowed to thrive and gain momentum rather than die a natural death. Helen seeks to inject science, reason and liberalism back into social discourse, providing a cure for the “broad stroke” concepts that dominate so many of today’s discussions.

Her fear is that by pushing too far to the left without a foundation rooted in sound reasoning, the extreme right are finding a louder voice and are threatening to roll back the amazing advancements made for gender, racial and LGBT equality. 

Maligned by both the far left and the far right, Helen defines herself as a leftist on a mission to fix her ideological base. Quillette is proud to present Helen Pluckrose for a conversation on how to make liberalism, humanism, science and reason the core values of society once again - grab your tickets today!