What Is Mental Immunity and How to Build It w/ Andy Norman

Andy Norman is an award-winning author and public philosopher who has done extensive research on the evolutionary origins of human reasoning and the norms that make dialogue fruitful. He finds his studies of how ideologies short-circuit minds and corrupt moral understanding a particularly relevant topic in today's world.

He also directs the Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University and writes for a number of national magazines.

In this edition of the Going Deep podcast, Andy and Aaron sit down to, among other topics, talk about Andy's newest book Mental Immunity, where he lays out the conceptual foundations of cognitive immunology—the emerging science of mental immune health.

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Time Stamps:
0:00 introduction to cognitive immunology
1:10 mental immune systems
3:23 "viral spread" digitally and socially
6:11 using the Socratic method
7:33 asking the right questions in a culturally healthy way
10:15 testing ideologies as a collaborative effort
13:42 fostering an open mind- "pre-bunk", not debunk
16:48 the Daryl Davis story
19:30 alternatives to "cancel culture"
21:42 healing from a lack of camaraderie
25:25 social ties and truth
28:21 developing mental immunology
30:14 Andy Norman's Martin Luther King story
33:37 breaking down the barrier of expertise
37:35 mindful media consumption
39:34 Accessing Andy Norman's work
40:24 Personal Challenge-- Treat your beliefs as house guests
42:25 Outro