The Poisoning of the American Mind
Edited by Lawrence M. Eppard, Jacob L. Mackey, and Lee Jussim
What would you have to believe in order to dress up as a shaman, paint your face, and storm the U.S. Capitol? What could possibly lead somebody to claim that it upholds white supremacy to encourage hard work, self-reliance, rational thinking, punctuality, and politeness?
Such behaviors would have been unimaginable only a few years ago. And yet here we are, witnessing millions of people across the political spectrum displaying these clear indications of an epistemically poisoned mind. Both red America and blue America are retreating into their own information bubbles, seceding from a common reality. Both consume far too much misinformation and disinformation, developing worldviews that can sometimes be unintelligible to others.
This book explores these disturbing developments and what they mean for our society and implores us all to recover a shared sense of what is true.
The Poisoning of the American Mind showcases a much needed and erudite collective defense of truth and critical thinking, two concepts that have become endangered in contemporary America. It should be on the bookshelf of anyone interested in maintaining and enhancing a free and civil democracy.- Erec Smith, Associate Professor at York College of Pennsylvania and President of Free Black Thought
This unique and balanced set of readings is not an easy thing to put together, but they got it right. It presents problems on both the political left and right, would be an excellent book for classroom discussion, and points the way forward to possible solutions.- Michael Jindra, Boston University
Lawrence M. Eppard is Associate Professor of Sociology at Shippensburg University. He is author of Rugged Individualism and the Misunderstanding of American Inequality.Jacob L. Mackey is Associate Professor of Comparative Studies in Literature and Culture at Occidental College and author of Belief and Cult: Rethinking Roman Religion. Lee Jussim is Professor of Social Psychology at Rutgers University and author of Social Perception and Social Reality: Why Accuracy Dominates Bias and Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.
OVERVIEW
Chapter 1: Golden Age of Information
Chapter 2: Epistemic Crisis
Chapter 3: Ideological Silos & Epistemic Secession
PART I: DEFENDING TRUTH
Chapter 4: The Constitution of Knowledge
Chapter 5: Why Should We Trust Science?
Chapter 6: Understanding Science
Chapter 7: How Science Works
Chapter 8: A Skeptical Manifesto
Chapter 9: Common Tactics of Science Denialism
Chapter 10: There is Plenty of Trustworthy Journalism
Chapter 11: Identifying Reliable News Sources
Chapter 12: How NewsGuard Works
Chapter 13: How the Media Bias Chart is Created
Chapter 14: The Harper’s Letter
PART II: PROBLEMS IN RIGHT-WING SILOS
Chapter 15: Deceit and the Danger to Democracy
Chapter 16: A Fire Hose of Dishonesty
Chapter 17: Fox’s Pander-for-Profit Business Model
Chapter 18: Please Lie to Me, Tucker Carlson
Chapter 19: How We Know Recent Elections Were Not Stolen
Chapter 20: Truth and Consequences
Chapter 21: The “Great Replacement” and the “Big Lie”
Chapter 22: The “Ground Zero Mosque” Presaged Today’s GOP
Chapter 23: Anti-Immigrant Lies
Chapter 24: QAnon and the Satanic Panics of Yesteryear
Chapter 25: How Industry Undermines Public Health
Chapter 26: I Was an Exxon-funded Climate Scientist
Chapter 27: The Alt-Right and Moral Righteousness
PART III: PROBLEMS IN LEFT-WING SILOS
Chapter 28: Virtuous Lies
Chapter 29: Universities Must Choose One Telos
Chapter 30: Defining “Wokeness”
Chapter 31: Ideology and the Social Sciences
Chapter 32: Attacks on Reality from the Left
Chapter 33: Bad Behavioral Science Exposed
Chapter 34: The Questionable Science of Microaggressions
Chapter 35: Problems with the IAT
Chapter 36: The Gender Identity Debate
Chapter 37: The Alt-Left and Moral Righteousness
PART IV: I DON’T KNOW—THEREFORE, ALIENS
Chapter 38: Common Traits of Conspiracy Thinkers
Chapter 39: Flat Earthers and Disinformation
Chapter 40: QAnon, Descartes, and Brains in Vats
Chapter 41: Anatomy of a Viral Conspiracy Theory
Chapter 42: Fighting Conspiracy Theories with Evidence
PART V: PARTING THOUGHTS
Chapter 43: In Defense of Merit in Science
Chapter 44: The Importance of Facts and Expertise
Chapter 45: What Caused the Alt-Left and Alt-Right?
Chapter 46: Disinformation, Democracy, and the Rule of Law
Chapter 47: Strengthening Information Ecosystems
Chapter 48: We Need a Shared Reality
Chapter 49: The Epistemological Conditions of a Liberal Democratic Republic
Chapter 50: Searching for Answers
Chapter 1: Golden Age of Information
Chapter 2: Epistemic Crisis
Chapter 3: Ideological Silos & Epistemic Secession
PART I: DEFENDING TRUTH
Chapter 4: The Constitution of Knowledge
Chapter 5: Why Should We Trust Science?
Chapter 6: Understanding Science
Chapter 7: How Science Works
Chapter 8: A Skeptical Manifesto
Chapter 9: Common Tactics of Science Denialism
Chapter 10: There is Plenty of Trustworthy Journalism
Chapter 11: Identifying Reliable News Sources
Chapter 12: How NewsGuard Works
Chapter 13: How the Media Bias Chart is Created
Chapter 14: The Harper’s Letter
PART II: PROBLEMS IN RIGHT-WING SILOS
Chapter 15: Deceit and the Danger to Democracy
Chapter 16: A Fire Hose of Dishonesty
Chapter 17: Fox’s Pander-for-Profit Business Model
Chapter 18: Please Lie to Me, Tucker Carlson
Chapter 19: How We Know Recent Elections Were Not Stolen
Chapter 20: Truth and Consequences
Chapter 21: The “Great Replacement” and the “Big Lie”
Chapter 22: The “Ground Zero Mosque” Presaged Today’s GOP
Chapter 23: Anti-Immigrant Lies
Chapter 24: QAnon and the Satanic Panics of Yesteryear
Chapter 25: How Industry Undermines Public Health
Chapter 26: I Was an Exxon-funded Climate Scientist
Chapter 27: The Alt-Right and Moral Righteousness
PART III: PROBLEMS IN LEFT-WING SILOS
Chapter 28: Virtuous Lies
Chapter 29: Universities Must Choose One Telos
Chapter 30: Defining “Wokeness”
Chapter 31: Ideology and the Social Sciences
Chapter 32: Attacks on Reality from the Left
Chapter 33: Bad Behavioral Science Exposed
Chapter 34: The Questionable Science of Microaggressions
Chapter 35: Problems with the IAT
Chapter 36: The Gender Identity Debate
Chapter 37: The Alt-Left and Moral Righteousness
PART IV: I DON’T KNOW—THEREFORE, ALIENS
Chapter 38: Common Traits of Conspiracy Thinkers
Chapter 39: Flat Earthers and Disinformation
Chapter 40: QAnon, Descartes, and Brains in Vats
Chapter 41: Anatomy of a Viral Conspiracy Theory
Chapter 42: Fighting Conspiracy Theories with Evidence
PART V: PARTING THOUGHTS
Chapter 43: In Defense of Merit in Science
Chapter 44: The Importance of Facts and Expertise
Chapter 45: What Caused the Alt-Left and Alt-Right?
Chapter 46: Disinformation, Democracy, and the Rule of Law
Chapter 47: Strengthening Information Ecosystems
Chapter 48: We Need a Shared Reality
Chapter 49: The Epistemological Conditions of a Liberal Democratic Republic
Chapter 50: Searching for Answers
