Anatomy of Foolishness: The Overlooked Problem of Risk-Unawareness - Softcover

Greenspan, Stephen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0761871624 ISBN 13: 9780761871620

Publisher: Hamilton Books, 2019

Synopsis

Just days after publishing his first book on the theory of foolishness, Stephen Greenspan learned that he had been hoodwinked by Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, or more accurately the Madoff “feeder” fund he invested in. Greenspan published a featured essay on the topic in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks later, and that essay was widely cited and attracted great interest for Greenspan’s ideas about gullibility and in the United States and many other countries. Greenspan’s new book, The Anatomy of Foolishness, explains why and how individuals (of all ages and levels of intelligence) and organizations act in ways that undermine their interests and even their continued existence. He examines three types of foolishness, using vivid examples to illustrate each, including the many foolish actions of US President Donald Trump. Greenspan presents a multidimensional theory of foolishness that contributes to the literature on human competence, and this book is likely to attract broad interest in the fields of psychology, sociology, economics, political science, and psychiatry as well as among those members of the general public (basically everyone) who have acted foolishly or know someone who has acted in a way that went against their own interests.

About this title

About the Author

Stephen Greenspan is professor emeritus of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut. He serves often as an expert forensic witness in criminal and civil cases where social-cognitive impairment is a mitigating or explanatory factor. He writes a blog for Psychology Today on the topic of human incompetence.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hamilton Books
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0761871624
• ISBN 13: 9780761871620
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 267