Lottomatica Foundation presents “I demoni della mente” by Mattia Ferraresi
New appointment with the series of meetings and book presentations sponsored by Fondazione Lottomatica on the topics of sustainability and current cultural, social and economic issues in Italy and abroad. On Dec. 18 at the Centro Studi Americani, Via Michelangelo Caetani 32 in Rome, the presentation of the book entitled “the demons of the mind” written by journalist Mattia Ferraresi
A new event in the series of meetings and book presentations sponsored by Fondazione Lottomatica was held Wednesday, Dec. 18, at the Centro Studi Americani in Rome. The meeting, dedicated to the issues of sustainability and cultural, social and economic current affairs, featured journalist Mattia Ferraresi with his book Demons of the Mind (Mondadori). After greetings from Lottomatica Foundation President Riccardo Capecchi, Luigi Di Gregorio, professor of Public Communication, Politics and the Digital Sphere at the University of Tuscia, and Sergio Fabbrini, director of the Department of Political Science at Luiss Guido Carli University, spoke with the author. The evening was moderated by Eva Giovannini, journalist for RaiNews24.
In the book, Ferraresi explored a reality marked by uncertainties and doubts, often unfounded but powerful, dwelling on themes such as conspiracy and the “demons of the mind” behind misinformation and the attraction to what is anti-scientific. The author has analyzed in an incisive style five major disappointments related to contemporary society and politics, showing how they have helped radicalize often risky beliefs.
During the presentation, the role of social networks as sources of “no-cost” information, the confusion between science and pseudoscience, and myths such as that of the Kennedy family, among other topics, were discussed. Ferraresi invites us to reflect on an increasingly common trend: not trusting anything, but believing everything. This is an original journey through the contemporary landscape, in which conspiracists of the reactionary right and progressives of the woke left appear surprisingly united by the idea that visible reality is only a facade behind which something deeper is hidden.
The author
Mattia Ferraresi is a journalist for the daily newspaper Domani. For ten years he was a U.S. correspondent for Il Foglio and, between 2018 and 2019, a fellow at Harvard’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism. He regularly contributes to American newspapers such as The New York Times and The Boston Globe. His books include: Obama. The Irresistible Rise of an Illusion (Rubbettino, 2010), American Politics (Luiss, 2016), Trump’s Fever (Marsilio, 2016), The Greve Century (Marsilio, 2017), Beyond Fear (with Massimo Camisasca, Lindau, 2018) and Solitude (Einaudi, 2020).
