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Mental immunity : infectious ideas, mind-parasites, and the search for a better way to think / Andy Norman ; with a foreword by Steven Pinker.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : Harper Wave, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2021]Edition: First editionDescription: xiii, 397 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780063002982
  • 0063002981
  • 9780063138896
  • 0063138891
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Foreword / by Steven Pinker -- Introduction: Tree of life, seeds of death -- Beyond critical thinking : why existing approaches are failing us -- The cognitive immunology toolbox : naming the problem -- The widening gyre : why mental immune systems collapse -- Six immune-disruptive ideas : ... and their antidotes -- Fighting monsters : ... without becoming one yourself -- The ethics of faith : what is responsible belief? -- Thought police need not apply : how (not) to regulate belief -- Reason's fulcrum : the peculiar magic of reasons -- Reason unhinged : how thinking becomes ideological -- Mind upgrade : can we update the brain's operating system? -- Seductive misconceptions : how rationalism lost its way -- The mind vaccine : rethinking reason's requirements -- Conclusion. Propagating enlightenment : how to bend the arc of history.
Summary: "Philosopher Andy Norman dives into the world of mind-parasites, ideas that cause destructive thinking and extremism, and describes how to inoculate your mind to keep it safe from bad ideas"-- Provided by publisher.Summary: COVID denial persists in the face of overwhelming evidence. Anti-vaxxers compromise public health. American Nazis march openly in the streets. Flat Earth theory is back. Norman shows that these phenomena share a root cause: We live in a time when the so-called "right to your opinion" is thought to trump our responsibilities. Minds and cultures really do have immune systems, and they really can break down. Fortunately, they can also be built up. Norman calls for a rigorous science of mental immune health, and explains how it could revolutionize our capacity for critical thinking. -- adapted from jacket
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 302 N842 Available 33111010521124
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Why do people reject science and believe online conspiracy theories? How are people radicalized online and go on to commit acts of violence? Why is our society so politically polarized?

Astonishingly irrational ideas are spreading. Covid denial persists in the face of overwhelming evidence. Anti-vaxxers compromise public health. Conspiracy thinking hijacks minds and incites mob violence. Toxic partisanship is cleaving nations, And climate denial has pushed our planet to the brink. Meanwhile, American Nazis march openly in the streets, and Flat Earth theory is back. What the heck is going on? Why is all this happening, and why now? More important, what can we do about it?

In Mental Immunity, Andy Norman shows that these phenomena share a root cause. We live in a time when the so-called "right to your opinion" is thought to trump our responsibilities. The resulting ethos effectively compromises mental immune systems, allowing "mind parasites" to overrun them. Conspiracy theories, evidence-defying ideologies, garden-variety bad ideas: these are all species of mind parasite, and each of them employs clever strategies to circumvent mental immune systems. In fact, some of them compromise cultural immune systems - the things societies do to prevent bad ideas from spreading. Norman shows why all of this is more than mere analogy: minds and cultures really do have immune systems, and they really can break down. Fortunately, they can also be built up: strengthened against ideological corruption. He calls for a rigorous science of mental immune health - what he calls "cognitive immunology" - and explains how it could revolutionize our capacity for critical thinking.

Hailed as "a feast for thought," Mental Immunity melds cutting-edge work in science and philosophy into an "astonishingly enlightening and productive" solution to the signature problem of our age. A practical guide to spotting and removing bad ideas, a stirring call to transcend petty tribalism, and a serious bid to bring humanity to its senses.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Foreword / by Steven Pinker -- Introduction: Tree of life, seeds of death -- Beyond critical thinking : why existing approaches are failing us -- The cognitive immunology toolbox : naming the problem -- The widening gyre : why mental immune systems collapse -- Six immune-disruptive ideas : ... and their antidotes -- Fighting monsters : ... without becoming one yourself -- The ethics of faith : what is responsible belief? -- Thought police need not apply : how (not) to regulate belief -- Reason's fulcrum : the peculiar magic of reasons -- Reason unhinged : how thinking becomes ideological -- Mind upgrade : can we update the brain's operating system? -- Seductive misconceptions : how rationalism lost its way -- The mind vaccine : rethinking reason's requirements -- Conclusion. Propagating enlightenment : how to bend the arc of history.

"Philosopher Andy Norman dives into the world of mind-parasites, ideas that cause destructive thinking and extremism, and describes how to inoculate your mind to keep it safe from bad ideas"-- Provided by publisher.

COVID denial persists in the face of overwhelming evidence. Anti-vaxxers compromise public health. American Nazis march openly in the streets. Flat Earth theory is back. Norman shows that these phenomena share a root cause: We live in a time when the so-called "right to your opinion" is thought to trump our responsibilities. Minds and cultures really do have immune systems, and they really can break down. Fortunately, they can also be built up. Norman calls for a rigorous science of mental immune health, and explains how it could revolutionize our capacity for critical thinking. -- adapted from jacket

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