Can We Still Reason Together? Yi-ting Lien on Rationality in the Digital Age
In this thought-provoking essay, Co-Director Yi-ting Lien examines whether citizens can still reason rationally about politics in an age shaped by polarization, misinformation, and algorithmic echo chambers. Drawing on research in political psychology and communication, she shows how cognitive biases—especially motivated reasoning—undermine democratic dialogue, even among well-informed individuals. Yet, Lien also points to promising interventions, such as well-designed information environments and institutional innovations, that can help restore meaningful public reasoning.
This piece was originally published in English by Oxford Political Review (Issue 10), and in Chinese by 菜市場政治學(WhoGoverns.tw), an online media platform dedicated to popularizing political science for the public.
