Liberating the Mind

Dr. Linda Elder is an educational psychologist and internationally recognized authority on critical thinking who has taught both psychology and critical thinking at the college level. She has been president of the Foundation for Critical Thinking and the executive director of the Center for Critical Thinking for 25 years. She has a special interest in the relation of thought and emotion, as well as the cognitive and affective and has developed an original theory of the stages of critical thinking development. Elder has coauthored four books on critical thinking, as well as all 23 titles found in the Thinker's Guide Library.

Sociocentrism is a useful concept, embracing a host of ways in which we fail to give sufficient weight to the interests of those beyond the borders of our own group. I hope this book will stimulate readers to think critically about their sociocentric prejudices.

• Foreword by Gerald NosichPrefaceChapter 1: The problem of SociocentrismChapter 2: Manifestations of Sociocentric Thought in Human SocietiesChapter 3: Sociocentric Uses of LanguageChapter 4: Sociocentric Counterfeits of Ethical ReasoningChapter 5: Sociocentric Thinking and Egocentric Thinking in InterrelationshipChapter 6: Envisioning Critical SocietiesAfterword by Richard PaulAppendix A: Some Basic DefinitionAppendix B: The Logic of Sociocentric ThoughtPraise for the book:“In this bracing book, Linda Elder delineates the destructive power of in-group bias and the inabilityto see the world from other points of view, smashing shibboleths along the way. The book offersuseful exercises to help readers think through their own preconceptions as well as those held by theirfamilies, religions, and societies. A practical tool for those looking to free their minds.”—Doug Merlino, author of The Hustle‘Sociocentrism’ is a useful concept, embracing a host of ways in which we fail to give sufficient weightto the interests of those beyond the borders of our own group - whether that group is family, ethnic orreligious group, or our own species. I hope this book will stimulate its readers to think critically abouttheir sociocentric prejudices.”—Peter Singer, author, Writings on an Ethical Life and Animal Liberation“How easy it is to see the corrosive effect of groupthink in others—over history or across borders.Linda Elder wants more from us. She wants us to comprehend, in ourselves and in our own time, justhow much our fragile psyches are built of beliefs and opinions that have value only as signs of groupmembership. Thinking for ourselves may be the most difficult and courageous thing that we can learnto do. The Emancipated Mind is the best guide I’ve read on the topic.”—Ethan Watters, Author of Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche“Human beings are, above all, social animals. On the whole, this is a good thing, but it can also lead tothe kind of groupthink that poet William Blake called ‘mind-forged manacles.’ The Emancipated Mindis a clarion call for independent thinking and critical analysis. Using compelling examples, Linda Elderilluminates the perils of sociocentric thought.“—Mark Pendergrast, author of Victims of Memory and other books“Many people understand the drawbacks of egocentric thought. Less widely known, however, is thedownside at the other extreme: ‘sociocentric’ thought. Yet, as Linda Elder shows so clearly, excessivegroup-orientation can dangerously deform our thoughts, our lives, our planet. Read The EmancipatedMind and then reflect on how sociocentric thought (actually, a failure of thought) has influenced youand those around you. When it comes to counteracting this insidious process, there is nothing betterthan good, clean, honest, hard, serious and probing thought, and The Emancipated Mind is a superbhandbook for precisely this antidote.”— David P. Barash, professor of psychology, University of Washington, and author, most recently,of Homo mysterious: evolutionary mysteries of human nature “The Emancipated Mind: Overcoming Sociocentric Thought, by Linda Elder, provides a detailed andchallenging review and examination of critical thinking, and serves as an effective guide towardcareful and productive thought. Various patterns and pitfalls of common cognitive practices areevaluated. Abundant examples are given of human problems and failures resulting from actionsbased on self-centered and group-centered thinking. Dr. Elder’s many quotations from notablethinkers provide interest and color . . . Linda Elder has done it again. Her latest contribution is a veryworthwhile treatise on the importance of critical thinking. It will (and should) be widely distributedand read.”— Joseph Erwin, primatologist, editor and author of Captivity and Behavior