According to the NOMINATE Index, the last time the US was this polarized was just before and during the Civil War. So, how did we get here? And what can the philosophy of public reason liberalism teach us about living together—even when we don’t agree on much?

Dr. Kevin Vallier is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green University and author of Trust in a Polarized Age and Must Politics Be War? Restoring Trust in the Open Society. On this episode of Reversing Climate Change, Dr. Vallier joins Ross to discuss the doom loop between falling distrust and growing polarization and address how we can learn to disagree in more a productive way.

Dr. Vallier explains liberalism in general and public reason liberalism specifically, describing how we might build a shared doctrine that appeals to multiple reasonable perspectives. Listen in for Dr. Vallier’s public reason argument for restricting carbon emissions and learn what we can do to rebuild trust in our institutions and each other.