Deficiencies in self-knowledge can sometimes be a collective matter.
Philip Kitcher shows that people around the world are suffering from a collective delusion. Many citizens feel that their leaders are not responding to their needs. In consequence, they are strongly tempted to follow flamboyant figures who promise them that they will do something entirely different. This points to deeper problems: widespread misunderstanding of political and economic forces, and the dominance of simplified narratives, make rational reflection and ethical judgment difficult. How do these patterns constrain policymaking and hinder effective responses to urgent global challenges?
Philip Kitcher is the John Dewey Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus, at Columbia University, and an Honorary Fellow of Christ’s College Cambridge.
His most recent book is The Rich and the Poor (2025). Among his awards are the Prometheus Prize (for work expanding the fields of science and philosophy), the Rescher Medal (for systematic philosophy), the Hempel Award (for philosophy of science), and the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award for work in the Humanities.
