“Why We Think What We Think: the unexpected origins of our deepest beliefs”, by me…

Get your copy HERE

Get your copy HERE

“Lively [and] fascinating… a much-needed manifesto for how we should deal with difference in a polarised age” — Julian Baggini, Financial Times

Based on my interviews for the *On Opinion podcast, [Why We Think What We Think](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-We-Think-What-Unexpected/dp/1529153840/)* tries to answer the question in its title.

Reason plays a big part, of course — reading, weighing the evidence, applying logic. So does ‘Socialisation’ — the impact of our friends, family and culture. But that’s only part of the story.

Our deepest values, our most strongly-held beliefs, are shaped by a breathtaking web of hidden forces — from the quirks of distant history, through the geography of where we grew up, even to the lines of our genetic code.

‘This book is always fascinating but frequently mind-blowing’ Marina Hyde, Guardian columnist

I take you through culture, biology, geology, topography, history, psychology, social pressure and more to try to uncover the ‘DNA’ of our opinions.

In it, I explain:

• Why the descendants of rice farmers and grain farmers have such different world views
• How our physical appearance shapes the way we see the world
• How the number of taste buds on your tongue predicts your politics
• How differences in our brain shapes inform our values
• Why ideas are often more useful for what they do than for what they say
• Why hot and humid countries favour authoritarian leaders
• And why drought-prone countries favour authoritarian Gods

“Fascinating, incredibly valuable and *accessible” Prof. Bobby Duffy, *author of The Perils of Perception

I’m interested not just in how we disagree, but why, and what to do about it.

*Why We Think What We Think* is, I hope you’ll find, a full-throated defence of pluralism. We think better when we think in conversation. Our own reasoning is improved by engagement with the other side. Thinking, as I say in the book, is a contact sport.

But free speech is critical to safeguard and promote not just because it WORKS — it improves our societies by allowing the best ideas to thrive — but also because the ability to explore, to challenge ourselves, to go on intellectual adventures is one of life’s great pleasures, which we should think of as a fundamental human right.

“Intriguing… Munthe explains why robust debate is essential for a creative and healthy society” — Prof. Timothy Garton Ash, author of Free Speech

Please buy a copy for yourself, your friends, your family HERE!

The School of Athens, by Raphael: we think best by arguing…