Why It's OK to Speak Your Mind

Hrishikesh Joshi

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367141714
• eBook ISBN: 9781000344950
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Mind & Body in Philosophy

Political protests, debates on college campuses, and social media tirades make it seem like everyone is speaking their minds today. Surveys, however, reveal that many people increasingly feel like they're walking on eggshells when communicating in public. Speaking your mind can risk relationships and professional opportunities. It can alienate friends and anger colleagues. Isn't it smarter to just put your head down and keep quiet about controversial topics?

In this book, Hrishikesh Joshi offers a novel defense of speaking your mind. He explains that because we are social creatures, we never truly think alone. What we know depends on what our community knows. And by bringing our unique perspectives to bear upon public discourse, we enhance our collective ability to reach the truth on a variety of important matters.

Speaking your mind is also important for your own sake. It is essential for developing your own thinking. And it's a core aspect of being intellectually courageous and independent. Joshi argues that such independence is a crucial part of a well-lived life.

The book draws from Aristotle, John Stuart Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell, and a range of contemporary thinkers to argue that it's OK to speak your mind.

Key Features

• Shows that we have not just a right but a moral duty to publicly share what we know.
• Argues that discussing your unique ideas with others is essential for developing as a critical thinker.
• Explores the value of intellectual honesty and independence in the writings of John Stuart Mill and Friedrich Nietzsche and connects their thinking to contemporary problems.
• Argues that avoiding cultural blind spots today is important for the fate of future generations.

Index

academia 2, 20-9, 46-7, 51, 57-66, 112, 130-1

ad hominem 27-8, 48-9, 51, 63-4

Andersen, Hans Christian 71-3, 85

Aristotle: on courage 52-3; on the good life 93-6; 102-3; 122

artificial intelligence 98-9, 118

Asch experiments 69-70

bias blind spot 109

Bicchieri, Cristina 12, 72-3

Catholic Church 21, 63, 76, 78, 147

chemistry 22, 27, 61, 98, 112

Chernobyl 10, 17, 32, 149-50

Christianity 123, 133-4

classical liberalism 120

Clifford, W.K. 4-5

climate change 14, 34, 67-8, 147-8

cognitive dissonance 83

confirmation bias 108-10, 136

conformism 70, 117-18, 122, 124, 126, 129-32, 138; aggressive 80-5; and cooperation 17-20; as free riding 31-3, 43, 51, 87; and prudence 91-2; and reference networks 12, 51

contrarianism 19, 42-5, 82, 116, 126

courage 17, 50-3, 85, 90, 119, 127, 132, 145

crusades 147-8

death: fear of 52, 143; as penalty for dissent 37-8, 84, 103-4; what happens after 141-4

demandingness, moral 37-42, 47, 49, 60, 62-3, 146

democracy 10-12, 38, 52-3, 57, 101, 139

division of labor 1-2, 21; cognitive aspect of 1-4, 22, 32, 109-10, 131

dystopia 144-5

Enlightenment 119

epistemic commons: characterization of 2-3; duty to maintain the 39, 43, 46, 49-50, 66, 82, 145; and justification of beliefs 23, 29; threats to the 5-6, 32, 76; tragedy of the 33, 37, 88

epistemic humility 17

ergon 94

evidence: and confirmation bias 108, 136; definition of 44; duty to share 37-40, 42, 44-8, 87, 150; and the ethics of belief 5; and group deliberation 71; and group rationality 8-9, 14-15, 17, 34-7, 66-7; harmful 75-80; in scientific research contexts 24, 27-8, 62, 64; a...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Prologue
• The Epistemic Commons One
• A Duty to Speak Your Mind Two
• Challenges and Temptations Three
• Developing as a Thinker Four
• Independence and the Good Life Five
• Epilogue
• Notes
• References
• Index