Why We Think What We Think
The Unexpected Origins of Our Deepest Beliefs
- Published: 14 May 2026
- ISBN: 9781804946794
- Imprint: Penguin
- Format: EBook
- Pages: 320
Fascinating, incredibly valuable and accessible – Munthe knits together the wide and deep influences on our perceptions into a compelling view of why we see the world and each other the way we do
Bobby Duffy, author of The Perils of Perception
Fizzing with insights and ideas that will challenge the foundations of all you think you believe... I loved it
Jenny Kleeman, author of The Price of Life
If you think of yourself as a rational and thoughtful individual, who has spent time, care and energy weighing up the evidence, brace yourself. This book will peel the scales from your eyes. Entertaining as well as erudite, Munthe is the perfect guide to the murky underworld where our beliefs take shape.
Jackie Higgins, author of Sentient
In this lively and indispensable exploration of the origins of our opinions and the nature of our beliefs, Munthe reveals that engaging our differences is essential to human flourishing. A powerful defence of reasoned, civil disagreement
Robert B. Talisse, Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University
In this provocative, wide-ranging, and wonderfully written book -- a delightful marriage of Jared Diamond and Charles Darwin -- Munthe shows that understanding the true source of our views is possible only by incorporating geology, humidity, food preferences, physiology, and genetics
John Hibbing, co-author of Predisposed
What if we hold most of our opinions for no rational reasons? Munthe takes this question head-on in his fun and fearless book, and shows us what to do about it
Alexandre Lefebvre, author of Liberalism as a Way of Life
