Throughout the book, he often humorously suggests ways for the soldiers of reason to fight back so that they can win this battle of ideas and freedom.
The author is a freethinker who teaches at Concordia University in Montreal. He holds the Research Chair in Evolutionary Behavioral Science and Darwinian Consumption and is the author of numerous books. Since 2013, he has hosted The Saad Truth podcast, which has 200,000 subscribers. His guests include well-known personalities Dave Rubin, Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson.
The questions posed immediately catapult us to the heart of the matter: how do the ideological locks of the left come into place, how has this infectious disease infected academia in particular? What ecosystem is conducive to their evolution? How can we protect our minds against its deleterious effects?
His sharp eye, his talent for popularization, his fluid and colorful style dissect and investigate political correctness, the thought police, victim culture and its eternal offended, social constructivism, radical feminism and transgender theories. The boxer Saad is in the ring, he frames his opponent, sharpens his hooks and puts him out of the fight.
Without complacency, the author relates a number of real-life experiences, illustrating his words with amusing anecdotes. He emphasizes that the pursuit of truth in science should not be based on ideological preferences or personal beliefs, but on verifiable facts.
This book helps us understand how the parasitic mind prevents us from functioning with clarity. It denies or rejects reality and protects itself from it by fabricating a network of connected ideas between different imaginary variables, as a pseudoscientist did when he attributed an Islamist attack in 2015 in Paris to climate change…
He virulently denounces the tyranny of cancel culture, worthy offspring of Maoism and Stalinism. He attacks progressivism, this intellectual terrorism with hollow and incomprehensible language, far from reality and repeating ad nauseam that there is no objective truth, but only emotions. But one cannot see clearly with eyes full of tears, wrote Milan Kundera.
The fraudulent practice of the ideas of diversity, inclusion, and equity also takes its toll. Students at some universities must meet these criteria to receive a scholarship. How can they apply to science studies? It is better for a society to ensure that every human being is given opportunities to succeed based on their work, merit and skills rather than privileges based on gender, race or position on the victim list.
You can’t think outside of words, said the philosopher Wittgenstein. To allow words to be imposed is to allow a way of thinking to be imposed.
Among the solutions offered by the author: do not hesitate to express your ideas! Know that you have a voice, do not censor yourself.
If you are a student and your professor is spouting progressive gibberish, challenge him or her politely in a constructive way. Don’t give any more money to a university that doesn’t respect free speech. Offer alternative views. Don’t be afraid to lose your Facebook friends. Stand up for your ideas and don’t compromise.
It’s about reviving that freedom of speech and conscience we used to take for granted. Dare to hold politicians accountable for open borders, condemn political Islam without being called Islamophobic, racist or intolerant and without fear of being excluded from political, academic, friendship, family or cultural circles.
As Saad says, any attack on freedom of thought and expression can only weaken the strong values of Western thought at the expense of everything that still gives it meaning and lead it to self-destruction.
The Parasitic Mind is a breviary on the art of repartee and self-expression. It is a work that fights against the ambient gloom. The whole is read with a renewed pleasure on each page. It is a vaccine against ignorance.
Quebec could be enriched by Gad Saad’s stimulating reading, just as the rest of Canada would benefit from knowing Mathieu Bock-Côté. These two solitudes together would make us stronger.
The book is currently a best seller on Amazon… and still available!
