Tact is often considered a quaint little virtue: nice to have, commendable but not required. Yet over the past century, philosophers thought about tact as crucial when humanity was threatened by war, pernicious ideologies, or violence in the bloody aftermath of revolutions. So what is the place of tact in our polarized society? How is it different from political correctness, or from a “woke” attitude? Can one be tactful when one is in a position or situation of inferiority? Can one be tactful all the time? What alternatives might we have?
DEPARTMENT of GERMAN STUDIES