Taming the Crazy: Lessons from the Science of Mental Immunity

DESCRIPTION: Why are ideologies poisoning public discourse? Why is extremism on the rise? How did we get here, and what can we do about 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, philosopher 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.