Book Review: The Parasitic Mind by Dr. Gad Saad

George Orwell wrote: “In times of deceit, telling the truth will become a revolutionary act.” I feel like, as a society, we have been living in “times of deceit” for a long time. Somewhere along the way, objective truth became inconvenient, uncomfortable, and sadly uncommon.

Dr. Saad’s book sat on my bookshelf for about 2 years before I picked it up. I initially purchased it after hearing him speak on a podcast. His idea that a virus of the mind has nefariously spread throughout the Western world, in particular, intrigued me.

Being able to think, analyze, and debate ideas has been happening for thousands of years. It is a foundational part of philosophy, which I love, but more than that, it is the way humanity flourishes.

Somewhere along the way, we stopped searching for THE truth and developed a concept of ‘my truth,’ which I think contributes greatly to the decline of civilized society. If someone doesn’t think like us, share our beliefs, or God forbid, disagree with us, they are cancelled, cut out of our lives, and made the villain.

I have always been an ardent defender of Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Thought, and personal sovereignty. I think that people should have the right to say, think, and feel whatever they want.

This idea that people need to be protected from being offended, that ideas need to conform to some politically correct standard, or that the governments, of all things, need to step in and police what people say and think, is atrocious to me.

I want to be able to hear from people who disagree with me, who believe differently than I do. How else will I be able to test the validity of my own thoughts, beliefs, and experiences?

The Parasitic Mind is a great book for challenging what has become the norm in Western culture: Suicidal Empathy.

While I don’t agree with every single point in Dr. Saad’s book, the majority of his observations and direct life experience in relation to the mind virus he so poignantly describes, is compelling and makes this book a must-read!