Bad Beliefs: Why they happen to good people

Bad beliefs - beliefs that blatantly conflict with easily available evidence - are common. Large minorities of people hold that vaccines are dangerous or accept bizarre conspiracy theories, for example. The prevalence of bad beliefs may be politically and socially important, for instance blocking effective action on climate change. Explaining why people accept bad beliefs and what can be done to make them more responsive to evidence is therefore an important project.

Join us for an international symposium on Prof Neil Levy's recent work on Bad Beliefs: why they happen to good people. Chaired by Prof Catarina Dutilh Novaes and Dr Daniel Williams, academics from the universities of Cambridge, Antwerp, Birmingham and Amsterdam will discuss responses to the ideas put forward in Neil's recent book.