The Death of Why?: The Decline of Questioning and the Future of Democracy

by Andrea Batista Schlesinger

Obsessed with answers, we have lost sight of the power and value of questions. Debates over globalization, climate change, health care, and poverty will not be “solved” with simple answers, but that’s what Americans are being trained to expect. Andrea Batista Schlesinger argues that we’re besieged by cultural forces that urge us to avoid critical thinking and independent analysis. The media reduces politics to a spectator sport, standardized tests teach students to fill in the dots instead of opening their minds, and even the Internet promotes habits that discourage looking deeper.
 
But the situation isn’t hopeless. Schlesinger profiles individuals and institutions renewing the practice of inquiry—particularly in America’s youth—at a time when our society demands such activity from us all. Our resilience will depend on our ability to struggle with what we don’t know, to live and think outside comfortable bubbles of sameness, and, ultimately, to ask questions.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

264 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2009

Reviews

[V Addeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I WANTED to like this book but just can't. It started fine. The premise is good but the execution faulty. After the first couple of chapters it becomes bogged down by a political bent that finally forced me to quit around page 90. Nothing turns me off more than being lectured, especially when the lecture is for my own good. Ms Schlesinger may be right in her hypothesis but she's pedantic in her delivery.

[Julio Bonilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether we are infants, members of Congress, or regular citizens, it is encountering the unfamiliar that prompts us to question. 🤓

This book left me thinking...

[CTEP]

Andrea Batista Schlesinger probes an issue of great importance through “The Death of Why,” particularly so to anyone working directly with younger members of our society. After reading the title and the back cover of the book I was reminded of something an old history professor once told me: If you leave this class with more questions than answers, than I have succeeded in teaching you something. Ever since that part of my life, I have valued the power of questioning and the impact it can have. The position that the author takes--that we as a society don’t ask enough questions--is directly linked to power and the ability to effectively engage in a democracy. In her view, power comes from the ability and willingness to ask why, especially when it comes to questioning institutions and larger systems in our society.

In a culture obsessed with answers, Schlesinger illustrates the various causes of our lack of critical thinking and the crutches we turn to perpetuate this problem. With a firm belief that information is given to us while wisdom is earned, she opens the book by discussing the importance of asking questions, why we shouldn't always turn to “experts” for an instant answer, and the impact that incentives in work and school that favor answers over questions (standardized testing, for example) have on us. While we begin a “life of inquiry” in infancy, Schlesinger views our acquiescence into a state of non-inquiry as detrimental to our health as a democracy.

The book is broken into three parts. Part one, focusing on why we don’t value questions like we need to, points to several key causes. The adherence to ideologies, surrounding ourselves with those who have similar beliefs, and avoiding the risk of inquiry are all part of why we find ourselves content without asking why. Similarly the Internet has made it easy for us to access and accept 1-click instant information in such a way that prioritizes obtaining speedy answers over laboring towards a critical analysis of where information is coming from. Part two focuses on the sort of conditioning young people undergo in school as curriculum, testing, and rewards are all geared towards having answers over asking critical questions. As a result, Schlesinger argues that we are not adequately preparing citizens for participation in a democracy. Part three concludes with a look at how critical questions have been all but neutralized in the political process. Citing key presidential debates and campaigns as evidence, Schlesinger demonstrates how questions are used as passive props for candidates to avoid answering questions that truly matter, and how as citizens we often fail to ask tough questions of candidates ourselves.

This book reinforced a mentality that I often prioritize when teaching young people about technology. It made a great case for the importance of digging deeper into every topic issue or topic that is covered in our programming here at the KAYSC. Without understanding, why we learn something new, or why we should prioritize a skill or new way of thinking? Without asking why, the result of our efforts will be little more than the recitation of information without a knowledge of how to apply it.

[Divakaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book with a powerful message. Although I do not agree with all the points the author brings up, I think that there is something that most people can gain from reading this book.

[bookishblonde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting stuff, especially for educators. The author doesn't present many solutions, but she raises many good questions. Viva critical thinking!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part that I read were fine. Need to find some time to finish it.

[Subdee · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://sd.magatsu.net/blog/2011/04/12...