Freethinking: Protecting Freedom of Thought Amidst the New Battle for the Mind

by Simon McCarthy-Jones

We face radical new threats to our freedom of thought – here’s how to retain control

F or humanity to survive there must always be people performing the minute-to-minute miracle of thought.

'Excellent and beyond timely.' A. C. Grayling

Scientific advances and new technologies are letting others manipulate our minds more easily than ever before. Now, those tasked with protecting our minds are finally preparing to fight back. As we speak, the United Nations is seeking to pin down a concrete right to free thought and enshrine it in international law alongside life, education and protest.

But what is thought? And what makes it free? And how can it best be protected? Freethinking explores what an effective right to freedom of thought would look like, and asks how we might build a culture of free thought, and whether that’s even what we want.

In an uncertain and rapidly evolving world, Freethinking shows that there are solutions to the forces buffeting our minds.

416 pages, Hardcover

Published January 9, 2024

Reviews

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Simon’s previous book Spite. I’ve read it three or four times and will most likely read it again. As soon as I heard he had a new book, I immediately grabbed a copy. While it’s nowhere near as good as Spite, in my opinion, it’s still a pretty solid book. For the most part, his main argument is that we should really be regulating how governments and companies “control” our thinking.

Now, what does he mean by “control”? Well, it’s pretty much everything I wish everyone understood about social media and anything else that may be addictive. For decades now, Psychology has been studying how to get people to behave in different ways. These are sometimes called “nudges”, but then there’s also the psychology of behaviorism, which preys on our reward system.

For example, countries that have an opt-out option for organ donation rather than opt-in have many more organ donors. Should that be legal?

Simon doesn’t only discuss behaviorism, he also discusses what the future may hold when it comes to how or minds work and what people can do with our thoughts. It’s pretty interesting and a bit philosophical. If you’ve read a bunch of books on these topics before, this takes a slightly new angle, but a lot is repeat information. If you’re unaware of the ways various entities are trying to control our behaviors, you should definitely check this book out.

[Adil Khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over the next few days, I'll be thinking about what I read. I might come back here and leave a detailed review then.

[Chris Koul · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new bible.