Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and a Better Way to Think-Andy Norman

Philosopher Andy Norman answers the important questions impacting the world today. Why are ideologies poisoning public discourse? Why is extremism on the rise? How did we get here? What can we do about all of it? It turns out some influential assumptions are suppressing our culture’s “immune response” to dangerous ideas. These assumptions prevent us from normalizing critical thinking, and leave us vulnerable to mind-parasites. Fortunately, there’s a cure. In this talk, Andy Norman will isolate an idea with a long history of inoculating people against the worst forms of ideological contagion, and argue that we can fashion it into a mind vaccine. Andy Norman directs the Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University. He studies how ideologies short-circuit minds and corrupt moral understanding. Then he develops tools that help people reason together in more fruitful ways. In his book Mental Immunity, he lays out the conceptual foundations of cognitive immunology—the emerging science of mental immune health. You can learn more about Andy and his new book, Mental Immunity at his website https://andynorman.org/