Overview

This witty yet thoughtful book examines stupidity and idiocy, and their most dangerous incarnation: stupid idiocy – the unthinking embrace of flawed thinking. While philosophers chase wisdom, this book takes a humbler route, asking instead how we might think just a little less badly. Drawing sharp distinctions between not thinking and thinking poorly, and doubling down on bad thought, it reveals how deeply these failings are tied to our mental habits. With clarity and humour, it considers how stupidity shapes everyday life and public discourse. Within its pages is a chapter on politics and a pointed critique of Donald Trump, ‘stupid idiot supreme’. This is an accessible philosophical guide for anyone who wants to better understand – and perhaps reduce – their own foolishness.

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9781836391777

Table of Contents

Reviews

""There may be no greater clear and present danger to our society, our health, and our environment--indeed, to our very existence--than the current contagion of stupidity and idiocy. Svendsen's serious but accessible and entertaining book is thus a timely and essential tool both for identifying the threat and for finding a way to save ourselves from the epistemological epidemic and restore some rationality to the world.""--Steven Nadler, Vilas Research Professor and William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin-Madison

There may be no greater clear and present danger to our society, our health, and our environment – indeed, to our very existence – than the current contagion of stupidity and idiocy. Svendsen’s serious but accessible and entertaining book is thus a timely and essential tool both for identifying the threat and for finding a way to save ourselves from the epistemological epidemic and restore some rationality to the world. * Steven Nadler, Vilas Research Professor and William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin-Madison *

Author Information

Lars Svendsen is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bergen, Norway. He has written fifteen books, including A Philosophy of Fear (2008), A Philosophy of Loneliness (2017), A Philosophy of Lying (2022) and A Philosophy of Hope (2024), all published by Reaktion.

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