# Is civility a sham?

- Institution: TED
- Department: TED Salon Brightline Initiative
- Speaker: Teresa Bejan
- Year: 2018
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Society and politics
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/teresa_bejan_is_civility_a_sham)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

What exactly is civility, and what does it require? In a talk packed with historical insights, political theorist Teresa Bejan explains how civility has been used as both the foundation of tolerant societies and as a way for political partisans to silence and dismiss opposing views. Bejan suggests that we should instead try for "mere civility": the virtue of being able to disagree fundamentally with others without destroying the possibility of a common life tomorrow. (This talk contains mature language.)

## Lectures

1. [Is civility a sham?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/teresa_bejan_is_civility_a_sham/8ef29d3fdb29), 14 min (TED's player)