Gad Saad

The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense

21:25 min

Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Sociology

255 pages, 2020

In The Parasitic Mind, evolutionary psychologist Gad Saad examines how dangerous ideologies threaten Western civilization's core principles of reason and freedom. This short reveals how destructive ideas spread through institutions like universities, replacing scientific inquiry with emotional reasoning and objective truth with ideological conformity. Drawing from his experiences with both Lebanese sectarian violence and Western academia's thought-policing, Saad packs in countless examples of the absurdities that have resulted from ideological indoctrination. Through his background in evolutionary psychology and empirical analysis, he both exposes and coins mechanisms behind postmodernism, radical feminism, and social justice movements that undermine rational discourse.

Gad Saad

Gad Saad, an evolutionary behavioral scientist and professor of marketing at Concordia University, pioneered the application of evolutionary psychology to consumer behavior and marketing. His research examines how biological and evolutionary forces shape human decision-making, particularly in consumer choice and social behavior. Through his academic work and public commentary, Saad has become a prominent voice against ideologically-driven research in social sciences, advocating for scientific thinking based on evolutionary principles.

Chapters

The parallels between religious conflict and academic ideological warfare reveal how tribalism, whether violent or intellectual, inevitably destroys the foundations of rational thought and open dialogue.

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