Overconfident philosophers
And Anne Garvey consider two contrasting learned theories and the efficacy of the self-awareness they advocate
When Bad Thinking Happens to Good People: How Philosophy Can Save Us from Ourselves
Princeton University Press, £20
IN THIS book, by drawing on their subject, the pair of philosophy professors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison who wrote it seek to combat a dangerous intellectual epidemic they claim is currently plaguing the planet.
This epidemic is, according to the two authors, evident in the proliferation of a set of wildly erroneous beliefs held in the face of overwhelming evidence of their insubstantiality, and often with actual or potential harmful consequences. Instances of the “crazy and dangerous ideas”, our authors claim, are held by “an alarming number of citizens, in America and around the world” — such ideas as the belief that vaccinations cause autism; that climate change is no more than a hoax; and that Donald Trump was the true victor of the 2020 American presidential election.
The wilder reaches of this derangement include the belief in a secret conspiracy by a small coterie of supra-nationalist globalists to bring the world under their control through a plethora of nefarious means that include incorporating secret tracking and controlling devices within Covid vaccines; staging fake massacres to persuade Americans to relinquish the right to bear arms; and a belief that the Covid virus was created and disseminated to provide governments with an excuse to introduce restrictions on individual liberty that are here to stay.
Needless to say, it is a coterie of “Jewish bankers” who are often supposed by those harbouring such conspiratorial fantasies to be secretly at work orchestrating this assortment of diabolical schemes to gain world control.
What accounts for the tenacity with which such absurd beliefs are held, according to our authors, is a character defect that they term “intellectual stubbornness”, which becomes a morally blameworthy trait when it preserves erroneous beliefs whose consequences are or can be harmful to others.
An example is when the belief the MMR vaccine causes autism prevents a parent from allowing their child to receive an MMR jab, thereby placing the child and others at risk.
Beyond explaining the therapeutic benefits of acquaintance with the tenets of logic and epistemology to those suffering from intellectual stubbornness, Nadler and Shapiro extol the benefits of the philosophical life as exemplified by the daily examination of his own and others’ preconceptions and values undertaken by Socrates, whom our authors cast as hero of their book.
While their book contains much of interest, there is also much to question.
First, not all the beliefs our authors deem “crazy and dangerous” seem on a par in terms of absence of supporting evidence. For example, against the notion the MMR vaccine can cause autism our authors cite just a single Danish study that several qualified doctors and researchers claim is methodologically flawed and compromised by conflicts of interest. And the suggestion that everybody could equally benefit from a Socratic life of self-examination seems exaggerated, if not downright untrue.
Philosophy seems but one of several valuable ways people can lead their lives. It is no more for everyone than are mathematics or sculpture.
There’s much of interest in their book but also much to question
David Conway is the author of several philosophy books including ‘The Rediscovery of Wisdom’