Assholes : A Theory

In the spirit of the mega-selling On Bullshit , philosopher Aaron James presents a theory of the asshole that is both intellectually provocative and existentially necessary. What does it mean for someone to be an asshole? The answer is not obvious, despite the fact that we are often personally stuck dealing with people for whom there is no better name. Try as we might to avoid them, assholes are found everywhere—at work, at home, on the road, and in the public sphere. Encountering one causes great difficulty and personal strain, especially because we often cannot understand why exactly someone should be acting like that . Asshole management begins with asshole understanding. Much as Machiavelli illuminated political strategy for princes, this book finally gives us the concepts to think or say why assholes disturb us so, and explains why such people seem part of the human social condition, especially in an age of raging narcissism and unbridled capitalism. These concepts are also practically useful, as understanding the asshole we are stuck with helps us think constructively about how to handle problems he (and they are mostly all men) presents. We get a better sense of when the asshole is best resisted, and when he is best ignored—a better sense of what is, and what is not, worth fighting for. **In the spirit of the mega-selling __On Bullshit__, philosopher Aaron James presents a theory of the asshole that is both intellectually provocative and existentially necessary.**What does it mean for someone to be an asshole? The answer is not obvious, despite the fact that we are often personally stuck dealing with people for whom there is no better name. Try as we might to avoid them, assholes are found everywhere—at work, at home, on the road, and in the public sphere. Encountering one causes great difficulty and personal strain, especially because we often cannot understand why exactly someone should be __acting like that__.Asshole management begins with asshole understanding. Much as Machiavelli illuminated political strategy for princes, this book finally gives us the concepts to think or say why assholes disturb us so, and explains why such people seem part of the human social condition, especially in an age of raging narcissism and unbridled capitalism. These concepts are also practically useful, as understanding the asshole we are stuck with helps us think constructively about how to handle problems he (and they are mostly all men) presents. We get a better sense of when the asshole is best resisted, and when he is best ignored—a better sense of what is, and what is not, worth fighting for. In the New York Times bestseller Nick Hornby calls “helpful, stimulating, and very timely” (The Believer), philosopher Aaron James presents a theory of the asshole that is both intellectually provocative and existentially necessary. What does it mean for someone to be an asshole? The answer is not obvious, despite the fact that we are often personally stuck dealing with people for whom there is no better name. Try as we might to avoid them, assholes are found everywhere and in multiple iterations: smug assholes, royal assholes, the presidential asshole, corporate assholes, reckless assholes. The list goes on. Asshole management begins with asshole understanding. Much as Machiavelli illuminated political strategy for princes, this book finally gives us the concepts to think or say why assholes disturb us so, and explains why such people seem part of the human social condition, especially in an age of raging narcissism and unbridled capitalism. These concepts are also practically useful, as understanding the asshole we are stuck with helps us think constructively about how to handle problems he (and they are mostly all men) presents. We get a better sense of when the asshole is best resisted, and when he is best ignored—a better sense of what is, and what is not, worth fighting for Title Page......Page 2 Copyright......Page 3 Dedication......Page 4 Epigraph......Page 5 Contents......Page 6 1: A Theory......Page 7 2: Naming Names......Page 23 3: Newer Asshole Styles......Page 39 4: Gender, Nature, Blame......Page 51 5: Asshole Management......Page 67 6: Asshole Capitalism......Page 80 7: Accepting the Given......Page 95 Letter to an Asshole......Page 103 Acknowledgments......Page 110 Appendix: A Game Theory Model of Asshole Capitalism......Page 112 About the Author......Page 116 Other Books by This Author......Page 117 Don't take this personally*, but assholes seem to be everywhere lately, and we need a rigorous theory to account for and deal with them. In the spirit of the mega-selling On Bullshit , philosopher Aaron James has done just that, providing us all** (in Aristotelian terms) with some much-needed catharsis. *Unless you happen to be Donald Trump or Kanye West or Dick Cheney, in which case you may take it personally. **Unless you are a real asshole yourself. A philosophy professor describes the elements that can combine to make someone behave in an unbelievably disturbing and stress-causing manner and offers practical concepts to help develop constructive ways of dealing with these people and the problems they pose A theory Naming names Newer asshole styles Gender, nature, blame Asshole management Asshole capitalism Accepting the given Coda: letter to an asshole. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202103911/http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/assholes-a-theory/