Book excerpt: Liberal education is nothing other then the aquistion of a free mind. Unfortunately, too many of us have a mind shackled by ideologies and moved by outside forces. We're pulled and pushed by trends and the prevailing culture. Higher education has become ridiculously expensive and is producing graduates whose minds are anything but free, filled as they are with the prejudices of their teachers. Only when we break these shackles and habitually exercise a free mind can we call ourselves liberally educated. In How to Keep from Losing Your Mind, Deal Hudson will show you how to avoid the false open-mindedness and groupthink of the modern "-isms" promoted by the PC arbiters of our cultural milieu. Instead you'll learn to: Form the habit of reconsideration, the key to a truly open mind Entertain doubts about your own immediate opinions Argue coherently from first principles, instead of repeating ideological talking points Recognize prejudice and propaganda Avoid sloganeering and engage in real thought This book will enable every person to rise above the shouting, the name-calling, and the brutal incivility of public discourse and rediscover the pleasure and benefit of contemplating the meaning and noble aims of human life.