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

by Steven Nadler, Lawrence Shapiro

Overview

Why the tools of philosophy offer a powerful antidote to today’s epidemic of irrationality

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.

When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People shows how we can more readily spot and avoid flawed arguments and unreliable information; determine whether evidence supports or contradicts an idea; distinguish between merely believing something and knowing it; and much more. In doing so, the book reveals how epistemology, which addresses the nature of belief and knowledge, and ethics, the study of moral principles that should govern our behavior, can reduce bad thinking. Moreover, the book shows why philosophy’s millennia-old advice about how to lead a good, rational, and examined life is essential for escaping our current predicament.

In a world in which irrationality has exploded to deadly effect, When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People is a timely and essential guide for a return to reason.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691227955
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	04/25/2023
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	1,038,588
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Steven Nadler is Vilas Research Professor and the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His books include Think Least of Death: Spinoza on How to Live and How to Die (Princeton). Lawrence Shapiro is the Berent Enç Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His books include The Miracle Myth: Why Belief in the Resurrection and the Supernatural Is Unjustified

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction: Our Epistemological Crisis 1

1 Thinking, Bad and Good 13

2 How to Be Reasonable 60

3 Thinking and Explaining 81

4 When Bad Thinking Becomes Bad Behavior 113

5 Wisdom 143

6 The Philosophical Life 162

Conclusion: Thinking Responsibly 201

Notes 205

Bibliography 213

Index 219

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“People believe all sorts of weird and harmful things. Stop thinking of them as stupid or evil. Instead, follow Nadler and Shapiro in looking at the problem as a matter of responsible thinking and ethical duty. Not just on the part of others, but on yours as well.”—Massimo Pigliucci, author of How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life

“An effective antidote to bad thinking, When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People is a compelling argument for why the philosopher’s tools are so critical to combating disinformation, epistemic stubbornness, and other ills. Rather than demonize bad thinking, the book explains why it happens and how we can become better thinkers ourselves.”—Jennifer M. Morton, author of Moving Up without Losing Your Way: The Ethical Costs of Upward Mobility

“Conspiracies and misinformation are not new, and in this highly readable and lively book, Nadler and Shapiro remind us that some of our best strategies for dealing with them aren't either. Drawing on philosophy and its history, they give us some much-needed practical lessons for wise thinking.”—Michael Patrick Lynch, author of Know-It-All Society: Truth and Arrogance in Political Culture

Editorial Reviews

"Approaching the topic from a logical and argument-based position, [Nadler and Shapiro] show how to avoid flawed arguments and unreliable information. . . . Clearly written and well organized, this is a valuable examination of why bad thinking occurs and what people can do to make themselves better thinkers.

"

Choice

08/02/2021

“A significant portion of 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.)

Publishers Weekly

"Nadler and Shapiro do an excellent job of showing off philosophy's tools for better reasoning. For anyone not already skilled in using those tools, their book is a clear and readable primer. . . . [A] heartfelt and lucid advocacy of a more reasoned approach to life."—-Julian Baggini, Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher