The Myth of the Closed Mind: Understanding Why and How People Are Rational

"It's like talking to a brick wall" and "we'll have to agree to disagree" are popular sayings referring to the frustrating experience of debating with people who seem to be beyond the reach of argument. This experience is often used to support a general thesis that people who adhere to systems of belief are somehow able to totally insulate themselves from criticism. Ray Scott Percival argues that any ideology that sets out to convince and recruit people cannot insulate itself from criticism, and he illustrates this by an examination of two ideologies, Marxism and Freudianism, as well as analysis of the arguments of writers like Richard Dawkins, Adolf Hitler, and others. Both wishful and fearful thinking can motivate belief, but the attempt to promote such beliefs, argues Percival, cannot escape the necessity of dealing with criticism.