Book Review: Reasoning: A Social Picture, by Anthony Simon Laden

• Published date: 01 August 2014
• Date: 01 August 2014
• DOI: 10.1177/0090591714535033
• Author: Jonathan Havercroft
• Subject Matter: Book Reviews

Book Reviews 501

clear with respect to the alleged neutralists who would disable the state in

both its regulatory and its advocacy role. In two early footnotes, he mentions

Bruce Ackerman, Ronald Dworkin, and Alexander Meiklejohn, but they are

the only names he associates with neutralism, and none have come close to

subscribing to the view that the state in its expressive mode cannot take posi-

tions about equality in the service of what Brettschneider accurately calls

“value democracy.” One does occasionally find traces of strong neutrality in

some libertarian positions, but only as part of a larger view that the state

should not do much at all, no less take positions (and spend money) on con-

tested matters of philosophy and social policy. But within the domain of mod-

ern non-libertarian liberalism, it is difficult to locate supporters of the view

that an alleged neutralism is a barrier to active governmental non-restrictive

support for egalitarian positions.

There are interesting empirical questions to be asked about the conse-

quences of non-governmental hate speech and governmental anti-hate advo-

cacy, but in a work of political theory it is no fault of Brettschneider’s to have

elided them. Still, we are prompted to ask whether hate speech is as inconse-

quential as some supporters of the American approach would have it, and

whether governmental anti-hate advocacy, funding, and education is as likely

consequential as Brettschneider and others appear to assume. In a world of

seeming increasing distrust of government and of increasingly powerful non-

governmental actors, relying on governmental opposition to counter the

effects of hate speech may be an overly optimistic approach. But on these

matters we need more assistance from sociologists, public opinion special-

ists, and social psychologists than one generally finds in the legal, philo-

sophical, or political theory literature. That is too bad, but in no way

Brettschneider’s problem. His conclusions may fit closer to existing American

doctrine and policy than he fully acknowledges, but he offers a defense of

that doctrine and policy that represents a substantial obstacle for anyone dis-

agreeing with his positions or those doctrines and policies to overcome.

Reasoning: A Social Picture, by Anthony Simon Laden. Oxford, UK: Oxford University

Press, 2012. pp. 283.

Reviewed by: Jonathan Havercroft, University of Southampton

DOI: 10.1177/0090591714535033

Much of the language we use to describe the activity of philosophy is quite

violent. We talk about the force of the better argument. We discuss how one

compels an interlocutor to concede a point. We describe arguments as strong