Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke, "Grandstanding: The Use and Abuse of Moral Talk" (Oxford UP, 2020)
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What is moral grandstanding and why does it matter?
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Hello and thanks for joining us for this episode of New Books in Philosophy, which is part of the New Books Network. I'm Robert Tolice. I am professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. I host the program with Carrie Figner, Alexis McLeod, and Sarah Tyson. My guest today is Brandon Wormkey. Brandon is assistant professor of philosophy at Bowling Green State University. He works primarily in moral philosophy, understood broadly to include moral psychology and the social aspects of morality. His latest book, which he's co authored with Justin Tosi, has just been published with Oxford University Press. Its title is Grandstanding. The use and abuse of moral talk. College courses in ethics tend to focus on theories of the moral rightness or wrongness of actions.
This emphasis sometimes obscures the fact that morality is also a social project. It's something we do together. Парта соціал. is that we uphold standards of conduct. We call out bad behavior, we blame wrongdoers, we praise those who do the right things. We apologize and forgive in public ways. In short. We hold one another responsible. And this is necessary. However We're familiar with the ways in which acts associated with upholding morality can go wrong. For instance. Blame can be excessive. Apologies can be patronizing, like no apologies, and so on. But one way in which things can go wrong is when people wield morality opportunistically. Or self enhancement or aggrandizement. in order to elevate themselves in the eyes of others.
Brandon Wormkey and Justin Tosi call this broad type of moral breakdown grandstand. Their books examine. Their book examines different kinds of grandstanding. demonstrates why grandstanding is morally bad and proposes some tips for avoiding it. So as usual, there's a lot to talk about. But we should begin, as we usually do, with our guest. Hi Brandon.
Hey Bob, thanks for having me. That was a wonderful introduction. I don't know if we need the rest of the interview or not. That was really that was really nice. Should have put that in the book.
I appreciate that. Um, well, there is still a lot to talk about. Uh so you know, but but you know, we usually start this off uh yeah asking the author uh to say a little bit about himself. This is a little bit awkward because you're not the sole author, but still, um maybe you can uh tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into the project.
Sure. Uh well I was I was born in um southern Indiana, a little town called Bedford. Well we actually never lived in Bedford because we We live in a town called Birdseye, which is a population of about four hundred. So I I grew up in a place that affectionately some people call the sticks.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is moral grandstanding and why does it matter?
0:00–8:35
2
How do the authors define grandstanding and what is the basic formula?
8:35–17:50
3
Why is the Harvey Weinstein example a clear case of grandstanding?
17:50–27:28
4
What is the “disappointment test” and how does it help identify grandstanding?
27:28–35:44
5
What are the main types of grandstanding in the book’s taxonomy?
35:44–44:01
6
How does grandstanding contribute to political polarization and policy problems?
44:01–52:26
7
What practical strategies do the authors suggest for reducing personal grandstanding?
52:26–1:01:08
8
How can social norms and institutions be changed to curb grandstanding?
1:01:08–1:07:06
Speakers
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Rivka Weinberg, "The Meaning of It All: Ultimate Meaning, Everyday Meaning, Cosmic Meaning, Death, and Time" (Oxford UP, 2026)
PJ DiPietro, "Sideways Selves Travesti and Jotería, "Struggles Across the Américas" (U Texas Press, 2025)