People

Andy Norman

Andy Norman

Formal First Name
Andrew (Andy)
Location

Andy Norman is an award-winning author and public philosopher who has developed and managed innovative education-related projects for over 30 years. Andy is Director of the Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University, and Founder of the Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative (CIRCE), a global think-tank leading the effort to inoculate humanity against cognitive contagion. Throughout his career, Andy has founded successful businesses, developed scalable learning technologies, and led project teams. He has done research on the evolutionary origins of human reasoning and the norms that make dialogue fruitful. He works to clarify the foundations of responsible thinking about what matters, and illuminates the workings of the mind’s immune system. He also champions the emerging science of mental immunity as the antidote to disinformation, propaganda, hate, and division. Andy is the author of Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think, a book that demonstrates how we can inoculate our minds against the worst forms of ideological contagion.

RESEARCH

  • Andy's research centers on reasoning and the role it plays in overcoming deep differences.

  • He conducts original research in a range of domains, with a special interest in how reasoning works.

  • He studies how ideologies short-circuit minds and corrupt moral understanding, and develops tools that help people think together in more fruitful ways.

  • His work explores cognitive immunology, mattering theory, critical thinking, and the foundations of morality.

  • His research also involves reason and faith, how reason evolved, how dialogue works, and how to bridge our ideological differences.


MENTAL IMMUNITY

  • The author lays out the conceptual foundations of cognitive immunology—the emerging science of mental immune health.

  • The book is a practical guide to spotting and removing bad ideas, and a serious bid to bring humanity to its senses.


MEDIA & APPEARANCES

  • Andy engages audiences on topics related to science and human values.

  • He writes for national magazines such as Free Inquiry, Skeptic, and The Humanist.

  • His work has appeared in Scientific American, Psychology Today, Psychiatric Times, Skeptic, Free Inquiry, and The Humanist. 

  • He has appeared on NPR, The Joe Rogan Experience, and the BBC’s Naked Scientist.