The 3 elements of stupidity, according to philosophy | Jonny Thomson: Full Interview
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Philosopher Jonny Thomson walks through Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s 3 conditions for the kind of stupidity that destroys societies: Outsourcing your thinking to an authority, willful ignorance, and conformity.
Thomson shows how each one appears today, from AI answering our moral questions to political parties enforcing loyalty over conviction.
0:00 Introduction to philosophical concepts
0:26 Dietrich Bonhoeffer
3:22 3 defining elements of stupidity
9:14 Why stupidity outweighs explicit evil
15:03 Epistemic trespassing and intellectual pride
22:06 Resolving personal and institutional stupidity
27:36 How power structures cultivate stupidity
32:30 Language, bullshitting, and social media
37:44 Cultivating intellectual skepticism and reflection
Read the video transcript ► https://bigthink.com/series/full-interview/philosophy-of-stupidity/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=youtube_description
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Jonny Thomson taught philosophy in Oxford for more than a decade before turning to writing full-time. He’s a columnist at Big Think and is the award-winning, bestselling author of three books that have been translated into 22 languages.
Jonny is also the founder of Mini Philosophy, a social network of around two million curious, intelligent minds. He’s known all over the world for making philosophy accessible, relatable, and fun.
@fancypants-f7b
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
is this.. is this the theory of emergence?..
@gspotmop8242
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
Bit like the democrats in America turning to socialism 😮
@radicalspiritdog
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
The suggestions only work if everyone is able to do these things and I find they are not.
@fdxz2759
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
Well worth the 45 minutes. Outstanding.
@anthonybeaton9823
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
so, for example, if someone suggested a man can become a woman that would be problematic and stupid to accept?
@wedas67
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
How is it possible to exclude Netanyahu & Zionism from the examples of Evil ❗️
@fancypants-f7b
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
If they could think they'd be pretty mad rn
@clarissedacanay8976
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
Ugh thank you for this!!
@adip1704
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
Good video
As a guy who read some hundreds of philosophy books and has a degree in the field, i would point out at least 2 aspects assumed in this video that i realized that i was wrong about:
(1) People don't just get critical skills when they come to biological maturity. Unfortunately, most people that are not raised in intellectually driven families or had a proclivity for knowing things and satisfying their curiosity (so most regular people) are actually really bad at critical thinking and even if they took a course on it (like they know about logical fallacies or sophism lets say), they still apply it like "an algorithm" when they actually do it (mostly selectively) and don't really understand how it works.
(2) Conformity and the rise of clichees and platitudes in language are underrated (basically western societies are completely plagued with this kind of language), it has become the default discourse and what people expect of you. But what is not mentioned here is that it has to do with the dynamics of capitalism, more than with stupidity. Yes there is that stupidity factor, but having a culture where the public discourse is flat, full of clichees and bullshit, is actually very much a consequence of capitalism and how advertising works.
@biounit5
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
Trump
@fancypants-f7b
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
I've never heard of anyone using AI to do the critical thinking for them, but all I'm gonna say is that I wish some people did..
@MegaSudjai
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
You've perfectly encapsulated The Education Department here brother, AKA The Cult of Safety!
Poor kids don't have a chance thanks to their "stupid" parents enabling these factories for minting slaves
@Crash276
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
This has reinforced my belief that democracy is stupid.
@dennisyoung9500
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
"What is your view of the infliction of genocide and starvation on defenseless people? And how do you feel about the proliferation of nuclear bombs and the disastrous raping of both humans and the environment?" According to this dude, I should say, "I don't know." That way, I can earn the respect of a philosopher. And by the way, if there are a few rotten apples in a barrel, there is no way I will throw away all healthy and nutritious ones, as suggested by philosophers who often come up with preposterous, highly questionable, and often destructive ideas.
@guylaineregimbald2914
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
That segment was so interesting. Thanks for explaining the basics. ❤
@Better-myself
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
Also those believe humans have to have at least 3 meals a day to stay healthy , and people think fasting is healthy for your health…
@Better-myself
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
This makes me think of certain religious people who are indoctrinated and hand their freedom as human beings to the people who determine their beliefs, life ….
@soreggie
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
I’m surrounded by stupidity
@JohnyArt
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
❤ exactly what I was looking in my research
@CrackheadOwen
July 27, 2026 at 4:59 am
I am more inspired by Kant's "What is Enlightenment" essay for pro-intellectualism but it's a little antisocial given our current situation. I prefer it to this because i think everyone is guilty of at least willful ignorance 100% of the time, if you think of all the real horror there is to consider
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