Turi Munthe

Fascinating, incredibly valuable and accessible – Munthe knits together the wide and deep influences on our perceptions into a compelling view of why we see the world and each other the way we do

Bobby Duffy, author of The Perils of Perception

Fizzing with insights and ideas that will challenge the foundations of all you think you believe... I loved it

Jenny Kleeman, author of The Price of Life

If you think of yourself as a rational and thoughtful individual, who has spent time, care and energy weighing up the evidence, brace yourself. This book will peel the scales from your eyes. Entertaining as well as erudite, Munthe is the perfect guide to the murky underworld where our beliefs take shape.

In this lively and indispensable exploration of the origins of our opinions and the nature of our beliefs, Munthe reveals that engaging our differences is essential to human flourishing. A powerful defence of reasoned, civil disagreement

Robert B. Talisse, Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University

In this provocative, wide-ranging, and wonderfully written book -- a delightful marriage of Jared Diamond and Charles Darwin -- Munthe shows that understanding the true source of our views is possible only by incorporating geology, humidity, food preferences, physiology, and genetics

What if we hold most of our opinions for no rational reasons? Munthe takes this question head-on in his fun and fearless book, and shows us what to do about it

Alexandre Lefebvre, author of Liberalism as a Way of Life

The Unexpected Origins of Our Deepest Beliefs

‘Fascinating, incredibly valuable and accessible – a compelling view of why we see the world and each other the way we do’ 
Bobby Duffy, author of The Perils of Perception 
 
Without knowing it, almost all our opinions – whether we believe in God or in ghosts, our views on sex or animal rights or immigration, our basic sense of what’s right – are shaped by an astounding web of hidden forces. The age-old idea that our views are forged by reason and evidence alone is wrong: we are influenced by everything from the quirks of distant history, through the lines of our genetic code, to the geology of where we grew up. 
 
This eye-opening book takes us through culture, biology, geography, history, psychology and much more to uncover the hidden DNA of our opinions. It reveals: 
<ul><li>Why the descendants of rice farmers have fundamentally different social values to the descendants of grain farmers</li><li>How our physical appearance shapes the way we see the world – and why conventionally attractive people tend to support the free market</li><li>Why liberals are more likely than conservatives to think pineapple should go on pizza – and why conservatives prefer smooth peanut butter to crunchy</li><li>Why hot and humid countries favour authoritarian leaders</li></ul> 
 
Packed with surprising stories and counterintuitive discoveries, Why We Think What We Think does more than reveal how our beliefs are formed. By showing where our beliefs really come from, it invites us to step outside our own assumptions – and learn how to think more clearly, and more generously, about the world we all share.

Turi Munthe

Praise for Why We Think What We Think

Fascinating, incredibly valuable and accessible – Munthe knits together the wide and deep influences on our perceptions into a compelling view of why we see the world and each other the w ...

Fizzing with insights and ideas that will challenge the foundations of all you think you believe... I loved it

If you think of yourself as a rational and thoughtful individual, who has spent time, care and energy weighing up the evidence, brace yourself. This book will peel the scales from your eyes. Entertaining as w ...

Fascinating, incredibly valuable and accessible – Munthe knits together the wide and deep influences on our perceptions into a compelling view of why we see the world and each other the w ...

Fizzing with insights and ideas that will challenge the foundations of all you think you believe... I loved it

If you think of yourself as a rational and thoughtful individual, who has spent time, care and energy weighing up the evidence, brace yourself. This book will peel the scales from your eyes. Entertaining as w ...

Fascinating, incredibly valuable and accessible – Munthe knits together the wide and deep influences on our perceptions into a compelling view of why we see the world and each other the w ...

Fizzing with insights and ideas that will challenge the foundations of all you think you believe... I loved it

If you think of yourself as a rational and thoughtful individual, who has spent time, care and energy weighing up the evidence, brace yourself. This book will peel the scales from your eyes. Entertaining as w ...

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