Impasse Climate Change and the Limits of Progress
“Impasse: Climate Change and the Limits of Progress” by Roy Scranton, published by Stanford University Press in 2025, spans 392 pages and is presented in English. This book addresses the urgent need for a new realism in response to the escalating climate crisis characterized by extreme weather events and ineffective political action. Scranton argues that our current narratives of progress and optimism are inadequate for understanding the profound changes brought about by global warming, suggesting that our cognitive and existential frameworks must evolve to confront these challenges.
Readers will find a thorough exploration of the cognitive and narrative barriers that hinder our ability to respond effectively to climate change. Drawing from diverse fields such as psychology, philosophy, and environmental science, Scranton examines the complexities of communication, justice, and human perception in the context of climate issues. He introduces the concept of ethical pessimism, advocating for a recognition of human limits as a foundation for navigating an uncertain future. This edition invites readers to reconsider their assumptions about progress and to engage with the realities of our environmental predicament.
Official synopsis Publisher
A Next Big Idea Club “Must Read” for August 2025!
We need a new realism in the face of global climate catastrophe.
Extreme heat, fires, floods, and storms are transforming our planet. Yet instead of serious responses from world leaders, we get increasing emissions, divisive politics, and ersatz solutions that offer more of the same: more capitalism, more complexity, more “progress.”
The impasse we face is not only political and institutional, but cognitive, existential, and narrative. We’re incapable of grasping the scale, speed, and impact of global warming. Our brains can’t make sense of how radically our world is changing. And we optimistically cling to a civilizational narrative that promises a better tomorrow if we just keep doing what we’re doing.
It’s well past time, Roy Scranton argues, to free ourselves from our dangerous and dogmatic faith in progress. Such unwarranted optimism will only accelerate our collective disintegration. If we want to have any hope at all for the future, it must be grounded in a recognition of human limits–a view Scranton calls ethical pessimism.
Drawing from psychology, philosophy, history, and politics, as well as film, literature, and personal experience, Scranton describes the challenges we face in making sense of our predicament, from problems in communication to questions of justice, from the inherent biases in human perception to the difficulties of empirical knowledge. What emerges is a challenging but ultimately hopeful proposition: if we have the courage to accept our limits, we may find a way to embrace our unknowable future.
Publisher
Topics
FAQ
What is “Impasse Climate Change and the Limits of Progress” about?
Who is the author of “Impasse Climate Change and the Limits of Progress”?
When was “Impasse Climate Change and the Limits of Progress” published?
What is the ISBN for “Impasse Climate Change and the Limits of Progress”?
What are the book details (language, pages, edition)?
