From the publisher: “There is an epidemic of bad thinking in the world today. An alarming number of people are embracing crazy, even dangerous ideas. They believe that vaccinations cause autism. They reject the scientific consensus on climate change as a ‘hoax.’ And they blame the spread of COVID-19 on the 5G network or a Chinese cabal. Worse, bad thinking drives bad acting—it even inspired a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol. In this book, Steven Nadler and Lawrence Shapiro argue that the best antidote for bad thinking is the wisdom, insights, and practical skills of philosophy. ‘When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People’ provides an engaging tour through the basic principles of logic, argument, evidence, and probability that can make all of us more reasonable and responsible citizens.”
Nadler is the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he is the director of the Institute for Research in the Humanities. His books include “Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die” and (with Ben Nadler) “Heretics!: The Wondrous and Dangerous Beginnings of Modern Philosophy” (both Princeton University Press).
Shapiro is the Berent Enç Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His books include “Zen and the Art of Running: The Path to Making Peace with Your Pace” and “The Miracle Myth: Why Belief in the Resurrection and the Supernatural Is Unjustified.”
This event was recorded on September 30, 2021.