About the Book
An illuminating exploration of the psychology of false belief that lies at the root of science denialism, political polarization, and rampant belief in misinformation and disinformation. Microchips in our vaccines, stolen elections, climate change denialDLin the face of a bewildering range of misbeliefs that stem from mistrust of informational sources, exposure to misinformation and disinformation, and partisan polarization,
it's easy to dismiss those who disagree with us as "delusional", "psychotic", or merely "ignorant". But what if none of these judgments are supported by how we really come to believe things, and the truth is that we are
all prone to false beliefs? What can we do to protect ourselves in this post-truth world? Drawing on decades of experience as a psychiatrist and clinical professor, Joe Pierre invites readers to journey with him through the normal quirks of brain functioningDLsuch as "heuristics", cognitive biases, motivated reasoning, cognitive dissonance, and bullshit receptivityDLthat create the cognitive vulnerabilities to false belief innate within us all. With a cross-disciplinary
approach, False illuminates the psychology of false belief that lies at the root of contemporary media mistrust, science denialism, and political polarization, and highlights that contrary to popular
opinion, deficits of intelligence and mental health are usually not to blame. With a refreshingly unbiased lens, Pierre suggests an antidote to false beliefs and makes the case for softening our convictions, viewing our ideological opponents with compassion, and mending the rifts in our relationships as individuals and societies alike.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Chapter 1: Delusions, Distortions, and Misbeliefs, Oh My!
Chapter 2: The Psychology of Overconfidence
Chapter 3: Confirmation Bias on Steroids
Chapter 4: The Flea Market of Opinion
Chapter 5: The Disinformation Industrial Complex
Chapter 6: Conspiracy Theories Gone Wild
Chapter 7: Falling for Bullshit
Chapter 8: Divided States
Chapter 9: We Are Not Our Beliefs
Chapter 10: A Prescription for a Post-Truth World
Bibliography
About the Author :
Joe Pierre MD is a Health Sciences Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco. As a full-time clinician, he has extensive experience treating people with psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, delusional disorder, and substance-induced psychosis. His academic work focuses on the grey area between psychopathology and normality, with an emphasis on delusion-like
beliefs including conspiracy theories. He also serves as an expert witness consultant in forensic cases involving the intersection of psychosis, religion, and ideological belief. He has been featured in over 100 news
articles and media interviews, appearing in The New York Times, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Slate, and the award-winning documentary Behind the Curve as well as on CNN, BBC, NPR, and VICE News. His blog Psych Unseen has attracted over 3 million views.
Review :
The most consequential riddle in human psychology is why so many people believe such incredibly wrong and dangerous things. Joe Pierre, master of this mystery, has written a fascinating book that best describes and explains the seductive appeal of lies, misinformation, and conspiracy theory. Only by plumbing the depths of gullibility can we hope to neutralize its increasingly corrosive effects on our ever more fragile democracy
As a psychiatrist, Pierre brings a fresh perspective to the problems of fake news and misinformation, and why people can be led to believe things that are false or misleading. From delusions to faith, and science and probabilities, Pierre takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the kaleidoscopic diversity of human belief formation and its pitfalls.
Many books address our common fallacies, biases, and cognitive errors, but Pierre's False shows how these psychological quirks have fueled many of our contemporary delusions, including 'Pizzagate', QAnon, flat Earth belief, and the Covid lab leak and anti-vaccination conspiracies. The writing is lively, accessible, and filled with illustrative examples drawn from our contemporary world. Highly recommended.
In this up-to-date research on the increasing amount of disinformation plaguing society, psychiatrist and cognitive scientist Pierre (Univ. of California) makes a compelling case for the view that susceptibility to misinformation is not confined to people with a low IQ or low social rank.
