Robert B. Talisse, "Civic Solitude: Why Democracy Needs Distance" (Oxford UP, 2024)
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What is Civic Solitude and why does democracy need distance?
Hi everyone, this is Marshall Poe. I'm the founder of the New Books Network and I'm also a historian. I used to be a history professor and I love maps, so I'm especially happy to tell you that this episode is sponsored by What's Your Map, which was the winner of the Best Education Podcast at the 2025 British Podcast Awards. What's Your Map is hosted by historian and prize-winning author Professor Jerry Broughton. In each episode, he invites a guest to share a map close to their heart and unfurl the ideas, inspirations, and stories behind it. I can tell you I've listened and it's fascinating. The podcast is in its sixth series and is enjoyed by audiences around the globe. You can explore all the maps in the podcast online.
at oculi-mundi.com while you listen. Jerry's guests include Zakiya Suwel, who's an English broadcaster and writer on Finding Albion, Jo Schmidt, who's the head of maps at the Zurich Central Library, Pat Seed, a U.S. historian on Ptolemy's World Map, John Romero, who's a legendary video game producer on The Doom Game Creator, Elif Sharak, a well-known Turkish-British novelist, and Chet Van Duser, Welcome to the New Books Network.
I'm Caleb Zacharin, editor of the New Books Network. Today I'm speaking with Robert Talese, political theorist and professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. We're discussing his latest book, Civic Solitude, Why Democracy Needs Distance. In Civic Solitude, Robert looks at an aspect of democracy that is crucially important, though often neglected, in favor of a collective approach to democracy, often referred to as democracy in the streets. While civic engagement is an important component of democracy, it can also produce greater polarization and animosity towards those who do not share our political outlooks. I think Robert's work is extremely necessary for our time because it provides readers with a way to think about how self-reflection away from political friends and enemies can help us become better citizens.
Robert, thanks for joining me today on the New Books Network.
Caleb, I'm really happy to be here. Thanks for having me and for that wonderful encapsulation of the book.
Of course. You know, this was a book where I found myself, and I don't find this often, but I really found myself nodding along the entire time. I think, you know, for whatever reason, you definitely have written a book that I just inherently agree with the argument. So I apologize to readers in advance if I seem a little deferential. But before jumping into the book, I was wondering if you'd just tell us a little about yourself and your background.
Sure. So, as you mentioned, I'm a professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. I have been a professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, since 2001. Some listeners might be able to detect from the sound of my voice that I am not originally from Nashville, Tennessee. So I grew up in New Jersey, in North Jersey, and right outside the Lincoln Tunnel. And, you know, did my Ph.D. at the City University of New York in Midtown Manhattan, finished, defended my dissertation. I think I finished I defended my dissertation on the very day that this is being recorded on November 20th, back in 2000, 2000, the year 2000. And, you know, went on the job market, not expecting, you know, bracing myself for, you know, having to spend a year or at least, you know, piecing together, you know, teaching gigs.
But got out of graduate school, went on the job market, got a job offer from Vanderbilt, took it, and I've been here ever since. My work is... primarily, you know, within political philosophy, focused mainly in democratic theory. And in addition to that, another sort of avenue that I work in is in pragmatist philosophy, so American pragmatism. the philosophical tradition that is associated, as some listeners might recognize, with John Dewey, William James, Charles Peirce, and that crowd of sort of 20th century, end of the 19th, early 20th century philosophers around Columbia and Harvard.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is Civic Solitude and why does democracy need distance?
0:00–18:20
2
How does Robert Talisse’s personal background shape his view of democratic citizenship?
18:20–36:25
3
What is the writing process behind the Civic Solitude trilogy and how did the ideas evolve?
36:25–59:32
4
How does Talisse define and critique belief‑polarization and group dynamics?
59:32–1:31:09
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from New Books in Philosophy
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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)