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Published: May 6, 2021, 7 p.m.

New Socratic Method

Socrates used direct questioning to make ancient Athenians reflect critically on their views, which often made people look foolish. The New Socratic Method is a kinder, gentler version that can actually change people\u2019s minds without resentment. Clarifying questions can reveal why ideas are bad without antagonism. The New Socratic Method can be used to strengthen mental immunity and root out bad ideas.

Reason\u2019s Fulcrum

Reason\u2019s Fulcrum is a key part of the mind\u2019s mental immunity. It states that if two people have differing points of view, the one with the best reasons supporting their argument will \u201cwin\u201d and the loser must reflect and change their mind. When Reason\u2019s Fulcrum is used, good reasons can change people\u2019s minds. When it isn\u2019t working, people lose the sense that speech and actions have accountability, and it becomes very difficult to change minds.

Substantive Collaborative Dialogue

One of the best ways to strengthen mental immunity in yourself and others is to have the difficult conversations you might otherwise shy away from. Asking hard and often philosophical questions like \u201cWhat is a bad idea?\u201d or engaging with family and friends who hold bad ideas can actually boost your mental immunity. Collaborative reasoning and exchanging honest dialogue is the best way to spread good ideas and build mental immunity.

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Andy Norman, Ph.D., directs the Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University. A public philosopher and award-winning author, he is developing the conceptual foundations of cognitive immunology\u2014the emerging science of mental immunity. He thinks this science explains how demagogues short-circuit minds and how ideologies corrupt moral understanding. In his book Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think, he identifies several mental immune disorders and develops the kind of mind-vaccine that could inoculate future generations against the worst outbreaks of viral nonsense.

You can follow him on Twitter @DrAndyNo.