Philosophy

Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think

Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think

  • Downloads：4872
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-28 12:30:56
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Andy Norman
  • ISBN：1665077484
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Chris Boutté ，

This book is a must-read， and my concern is that I won’t be able to explain how incredible it is within this short review。 Andy Norman is a philosopher that has been teaching his students how to build mental immunity for years。 So， what is mental immunity？ Like viruses， bad ideas can spread， and there are a lot of misconceptions about our ideas and beliefs。 We feel that we’re entitled to our beliefs or others are entitled to theirs， and sometimes we fall into the trap that all things are morally This book is a must-read， and my concern is that I won’t be able to explain how incredible it is within this short review。 Andy Norman is a philosopher that has been teaching his students how to build mental immunity for years。 So， what is mental immunity？ Like viruses， bad ideas can spread， and there are a lot of misconceptions about our ideas and beliefs。 We feel that we’re entitled to our beliefs or others are entitled to theirs， and sometimes we fall into the trap that all things are morally subjective。 The reality is that there are consequences when bad ideas spread， which is why we need to have better conversations and challenge bad ideas in a healthy way。 Mental Immunity will help you to not only have better conversations with people you disagree with， but it assists you in practicing some intellectual humility and challenging your own thoughts and beliefs as well。 I think the best analogy from the book is when Norman describes having ideas like weeds growing in a community garden。 If it was just our garden and we didn’t clear out the weeds， that’s fine， but ideas and beliefs aren’t like that。 Bad ideas are like weeds in a community garden， and if we don’t keep them in check， they can harm others。 So， get this book and share it with others。 Once my son is a little bit older， this is definitely going to be a book I have him read so he can grow and hopefully help decrease the spread of bad ideas while also encouraging healthy conversations。 。。。more

Regan ，

I was stoked to receive this book as an ARC。 The blurb made it sound like it’d explore a timely and important topic。 It may well do just that， but the manner of presentation of that topic made it a laborious read。The writing style struck me as defensive， bordering on bitter。 It consistently perpetuates an us-vs。-them mentality。 The author seems to legitimately believe he’s merely an observer of the phenomenon he calls “parasitic ideas。” His aggressive style demonstrates pretty plainly， though， t I was stoked to receive this book as an ARC。 The blurb made it sound like it’d explore a timely and important topic。 It may well do just that， but the manner of presentation of that topic made it a laborious read。The writing style struck me as defensive， bordering on bitter。 It consistently perpetuates an us-vs。-them mentality。 The author seems to legitimately believe he’s merely an observer of the phenomenon he calls “parasitic ideas。” His aggressive style demonstrates pretty plainly， though， that he feels he has skin in the game。There were bits I probably would have found worthy of discussion， many of whose premises I even agreed with。 But the author seemed more interested in gotcha！ moments and in being right than in solutions and understanding。 It reminded me of any given online argument between strangers， devolving into ad hominem jabs。This book won’t change any minds， unfortunately。 DNF after about 50%。Thanks again to Goodreads for providing me with an ARC， Kindle edition。 。。。more

Andrea Wenger ，

Drawing on his experience as a philosophy professor， the author offers new ways to evaluate information in an increasingly post-fact society。 While the book is largely theoretical， I found it fascinating。 It covers the history of philosophy and the search for truth going back to Socrates。 It discusses some of the reasons for the current breakdown in rational discourse， from confirmation bias to the dubious notion that "everyone is entitled to their opinion。" Told from a humanist perspective， it Drawing on his experience as a philosophy professor， the author offers new ways to evaluate information in an increasingly post-fact society。 While the book is largely theoretical， I found it fascinating。 It covers the history of philosophy and the search for truth going back to Socrates。 It discusses some of the reasons for the current breakdown in rational discourse， from confirmation bias to the dubious notion that "everyone is entitled to their opinion。" Told from a humanist perspective， it imagines a world where people are taught as a matter of course to question everything they believe。 Overall， I found the book to be mostly balanced and inclusive。 There are a few areas where I think this work could be expanded on， either by this author or someone else。 First， most people aren't as interested in logical discourse as this author is。 Most people base their decisions on emotion rather than on rationality， even if they convince themselves otherwise。 Second， like many humanists， the author doesn't seem to understand the human impulse toward religion。 Spirituality isn't about logic—it's about mystery。 It's about joy and awe and wonder。 There doesn't seem to be any place for mystery in the vision the author describes。 Third， how will these ideas be put to work？ These ideas won't go anywhere unless they're incorporated into school curricula， business training， and public policy organizations。 We could all benefit from the ideas in this book。 The next step is to put them into action。 Thanks， NetGalley， for the ARC I received。 This is my honest and voluntary review。 。。。more