When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People: How Philosophy Can Save Us from Ourselves

“A significant portion of [America’s] population are not thinking reasonably and responsibly,” warn philosophy professors Nadler (Think Least of Death) and Shapiro (Embodied Cognition) in this well-meaning but flawed call for reason. The authors take aim at conspiracy theories and the “bad thinking” behind them (here, that’s thinking defined as holding beliefs that are both unjustified and provably wrong), and write that the best way for such thinking to be “recognized and treated” is with history and philosophy. To that end, they provide intellectually sound ways for the average person to discern the difference between knowledge and belief, highlight how much collective “bad thinking” comes down to the clash of oppositional concepts such as “epistemic stubbornness” and “evidentialism,” and break down the importance of living an “examined life” of reflection. It all boils down to the idea that in order to avoid bad thinking, it’s necessary to weigh the evidence for the truth in equal measure with evidence against the veracity of one’s beliefs. It’s a reasonable enough proposition, though it’s tough to imagine that those who would benefit from this book the most will be the ones to pick it up. While readers looking for vindication that conspiracy thinking runs rampant in America will find it, this seems unlikely to change minds. (Aug.)