The 3 elements of stupidity, according to philosophy | Jonny Thomson: Full Interview

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Philosopher Jonny Thomson walks through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s 3 conditions for the kind of stupidity that destroys societies: Outsourcing your thinking to an authority, willful ignorance, and conformity.

Thomson shows how each one appears today, from AI answering our moral questions to political parties enforcing loyalty over conviction.

0:00 Introduction to philosophical concepts
0:26 Dietrich Bonhoeffer
3:22 3 defining elements of stupidity
9:14 Why stupidity outweighs explicit evil
15:03 Epistemic trespassing and intellectual pride
22:06 Resolving personal and institutional stupidity
27:36 How power structures cultivate stupidity
32:30 Language, bullshitting, and social media
37:44 Cultivating intellectual skepticism and reflection

Read the video transcript ►

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Jonny Thomson taught philosophy in Oxford for more than a decade before turning to writing full-time. He’s a columnist at Big Think and is the award-winning, bestselling author of three books that have been translated into 22 languages.

Jonny is also the founder of Mini Philosophy, a social network of around two million curious, intelligent minds. He’s known all over the world for making philosophy accessible, relatable, and fun.

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