Religious zeal, suicide terrorism, passionate commitment to ideologies, and the results of various psychological tests are often cited to show that humans are fundamentally irrational. The author examines all such supposed examples of irrationality and argues that they are compatible with rationality. Rationality does not mean absence of error, but the possibility of correcting error in the light of criticism. In this sense, all human beliefs are rational: they are all vulnerable to being abandoned when shown to be faulty.

The fundamental phenomenon of human closed-mindedness is treated in this volume. Prior psychological treatments of closed-mindedness have typically approached it from a psychodynamic perspective and have viewed it in terms of individual pathology. By contrast, the present approach stresses the epistemic functionality of closed-mindedness and its essential role in judgement and decision-making. Far from being restricted to a select group of individuals suffering from an improper socialization, closed-mindedness is something we all experience on a daily basis. Such mundane situational conditions as time pressure, noise, fatigue, or alcoholic intoxication, for example, are all known to increase the difficulty of information processing, and may contribute to one's experienced need for nonspecific closure. Whether constituting a dimension of stable individual differences, or being engendered situationally - the need for closure, once aroused, is shown to produce the very same consequences. These fundamentally include the tendency to 'seize' on early, closure-affording 'evidence', and to 'freeze' upon it thus becoming impervious to subsequent, potentially important, information. Though such consequences form a part of the individual's personal experience, they have significant implications for interpersonal, group and inter-group phenomena as well. The present volume describes these in detail and grounds them in numerous research findings of theoretical and 'real world' relevance to a wide range of topics including stereotyping, empathy, communication, in-group favouritism and political conservatism. Throughout, a distinction is maintained between the need for a nonspecific closure (i.e., any closure as long as it is firm and definite) and needs for specific closures (i.e., for judgments whose particular contents are desired by an individual). Theory and research discussed in this book should be of interest to upper level undergraduates, graduate students and faculty in social, cognitive, and personality psychology as well as in sociology, political science and business administration.

Discover the essential thinking tools you’ve been missing with The Great Mental Models series by Shane Parrish, New York Times bestselling author and the mind behind the acclaimed Farnam Street blog and “The Knowledge Project” podcast. This first book in the series is your guide to learning the crucial thinking tools nobody ever taught you. Time and time again, great thinkers such as Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett have credited their success to mental models–representations of how something works that can scale onto other fields. Mastering a small number of mental models enables you to rapidly grasp new information, identify patterns others miss, and avoid the common mistakes that hold people back. The Great Mental Models: Volume 1, General Thinking Concepts shows you how making a few tiny changes in the way you think can deliver big results. Drawing on examples from history, business, art, and science, this book details nine of the most versatile, all-purpose mental models you can use right away to improve your decision making and productivity. This book will teach you how to: Avoid blind spots when looking at problems. Find non-obvious solutions. Anticipate and achieve desired outcomes. Play to your strengths, avoid your weaknesses, … and more. The Great Mental Models series demystifies once elusive concepts and illuminates rich knowledge that traditional education overlooks. This series is the most comprehensive and accessible guide on using mental models to better understand our world, solve problems, and gain an advantage.

The brilliant, controversial, bestselling critique of American culture that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times)—now featuring a new afterword by Andrew Ferguson in a twenty-fifth anniversary edition. In 1987, eminent political philosopher Allan Bloom published The Closing of the American Mind, an appraisal of contemporary America that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times) and has not only been vindicated, but has also become more urgent today. In clear, spirited prose, Bloom argues that the social and political crises of contemporary America are part of a larger intellectual crisis: the result of a dangerous narrowing of curiosity and exploration by the university elites. Now, in this twenty-fifth anniversary edition, acclaimed author and journalist Andrew Ferguson contributes a new essay that describes why Bloom’s argument caused such a furor at publication and why our culture so deeply resists its truths today.

This book gives new insight on many common questions about meditation and offers useful guidelines on how to practice, interspersed with subtly humorous stories. It clarifies the nuances of mantra meditation and, almost uniquely for a book of this kind, gives us a glimpse into the social dimensions of genuine spirituality.

Andre Allen presents a very concise powerful framework that will give you much-needed insight to become self-aware. Giving each reader the unique opportunity to conceive several dreams that would change the way they live their lives and empower themselves to set goals and fulfill them. Open Thoughts for a Closed Mind has been created to help today’s youth and adults to address the ongoing issues that they face on a day-to-day basis and share the possibilities that are to consider in one’s life, along with the ability to create a different point of view of themselves. This book is filled with fruitful quotes and practical principles that will uplift you spiritually and mentally, causing you to become aware of your responsibilities and realizing that there is a higher purpose for life, your success, and your health. The insightful words of wisdom that Andre provides are eloquent and beautifully redemptive. If you place a higher value on life, you will discover the great value of your own life as well as that of others. This sense of significance is a powerful impetus for overcoming life’s difficult challenges. A lot of times, our lack of appreciation can be hard in our complaints of “If only I had this” or “If only I could do that.” These and similar statements reveal the selfish nature that lacks appreciation for life divine gift of life to us. Open Thoughts for a Closed Mind has been designed to increase the chances to reach out to today’s youth and share the possibilities that are to consider in one’s life along with the ability to create a different point of view of themselves and how to live their lives in general. To also know that the insight and words of wisdom that it shares with each of them is to understand that there is more to gain from these moments. This is all “just 4 us.” Visit us at www.just4us.com. Books coming soon: The Walking of Who I Am and Street Justice/Along with Street Justice the Movie.

Dominque never thought she'd see the day this particular dream of hers actually came to fruition. She once lived life as a constant pessimist, unhappy, depressed, and solemn. Then one day, like a light switch being flicked upward, her life changed dramatically. She became the person her thoughts always knew she could be. She is imperfect, yet joy-filled and HAPPY. This body of work shows her spiral; her ups, downs, and inbetweens. It took her own experiences, along with inspiration from others around her, to create this labor of love. She gives to you her heart: boundless, excited, and renewed. Come take this ride with her. The voyage shall bring sweet victory in the end.