The Soulcraft of Political Depolarization

Restricted Attendance: The event is technically members-only, but we have a coupon code for free registration for BA members: braver-ii-angels
Local Focus: Washington, DC

NOTE: THIS IS AN IN-PERSON EVENT IN WASHINGTON, DC AND IT WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE VIA ZOOM.

Join Braver Angels’ Director of Debates Jessie Mannisto, BA’s Publius Fellow for Public Discourse Luke Nathan Phillips, and Interintellect founder Anna Gát in this inaugural event in the partnership between Interintellect and Braver Angels to explore how political depolarization could succeed and what we can learn from philosophy, literature, and the arts when working toward it.

Is it all just about being civil to one another? About being a centrist? Or is there more to it than that? What actually happens deep inside a person when he or she commits to a project of “depolarization?” And does it have anything to do with the sort of seeking that brings people to Interintellect? Some guiding questions for the conversation might include:

• Why do people come to Interintellect and Braver Angels, and what do they find when they arrive?
• What does “depolarization” mean? What is the goal?
• How can we approach politically polarizing topics?
• How can we take ancient and modern wisdom in the form of literature, philosophy, religious studies, and so on to support a culture of depolarization?
• What is the difference between the broader idea of civility and what Jessie and Luke refer to as “soulcraft,” and how does it relate to our project of depolarization?

** This event is open to the media upon approval. Media contact: Ciaran O’Connor, ciaran@braverangels.org