Vol. 3 No. 2 (2025):
Artículos

The essence of “pathological polarization” in postmodern society

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  • Ana María Ruiz-Ruano García,
  • Jorge López Puga
Ana María Ruiz-Ruano García
Universidad de Granada, España
Jorge López Puga
Universidad de Granada, España
DOI: https://doi.org/10.51896/easc.v3i2.1078

Published 2025-12-18

Keywords

  • Social conflict,
  • politics,
  • education,
  • well-being,
  • democracy,
  • reasoning,
  • attitudes,
  • beliefs
    • ...More
    Less

How to Cite

Ruiz-Ruano García, A. M., & López Puga, J. (2025). The essence of “pathological polarization” in postmodern society. Revista Internacional De Educación Y Análisis Social Crítico Mañé, Ferrer & Swartz, 3(2), 324–359. https://doi.org/10.51896/easc.v3i2.1078
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Polarization is one of the most pressing challenges facing democratic societies today. While not inherently harmful, polarization becomes detrimental when it crosses certain thresholds—disrupting social cooperation, escalating conflict, and ultimately leading to the dehumanization of public discourse. This paper explores the concept of pathological polarization, understood as a toxic form of societal clustering that undermines social harmony. Two speculative yet potentially fruitful ideas are introduced to inspire future research. First, the gregariousness/individualism tension (GIT) is proposed as a psychological framework for understanding the emergence of polarized identities. Second, overconfidence in inductive reasoning is examined as a cognitive source of bias that may reinforce polarized thinking. Finally, the paper outlines preliminary proposals for mitigating pathological polarization, with the aim of fostering epistemically successful and socially harmonious communities.

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