Think Better

“Love the truth. Seek it passionately. Affirm the truths you’re confident you’ve grasped. Defend them. Live by them. Do not, however, become dogmatic or arrogant. Remember that you are fallible—and could be wrong. So be open to challenge, to criticism, to changing your mind in light of new evidence or compelling arguments. Treat honest and fair-minded people with whom you disagree as partners in the truth-seeking enterprise, not as enemies to be defeated and destroyed. Learn from your critics, whether or not they persuade you to revise your opinions. Honor and respect them despite your disagreements. Cornel West and I, in our work together, have proclaimed these principles. Now Ulrich Lehner has provided a manual—a how-to guide—for implementing them in one’s life. It’s a book that intellectually and morally serious people of all ages will want to read.”—Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University

“Against the deranged and destructive expressions of post-truth and brazen public lying in recent years, Ulrich Lehner insists that we all can and must improve our thinking and accountability to truth—and in this highly accessible text he tells us how. The issues addressed here are of utmost importance. Individual people, churches, society, and the world will be much better off if this book has the impact that it deserves.”—Christian Smith, University of Notre Dame

“Professor Lehner has written an engaging and deeply humane guide to human thought that addresses the practical problem of how to think better by engaging in philosophical reflection into the nature of thought itself. Accessible, witty, and wise, I can only hope this book makes its way into every freshman dorm room in America.”—Jennifer Frey, associate professor of philosophy, University of South Carolina

“This is a fresh and wondrous introduction to philosophical thinking, a true delight, a cool and restorative oasis in what’s too often a vast desert of dry pedantic texts. Ulrich Lehner shares his own enthusiasm for rational thought in a manner that’s both endearing and contagious. Philosophy is a way of living in the world that requires both humility and confidence, wonder and reason. This book beautifully shows us that path and can help us all walk it better. It will have a powerful, positive effect in our precise cultural moment and long into the future.”—Tom Morris, author of Plato’s Lemonade Stand and The Oasis Within

“Our nation suffers from a rationality deficit. We feel, we don’t think. Emotivism rules the day. Ulrich Lehner has produced a beautiful response. Think Better explains why reasoning is so important, and how we all can exercise our rational capabilities better. A mix of history, philosophy, practical advice, and personal experience, this book is perfect for the introductory college classroom and the lay reader looking to, well, think better. Warmly recommended.”—Ryan T. Anderson, president, Ethics and Public Policy Center