Reviews • Preface • Excerpt • Behind the Scenes

by Jerry Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., Professor emeritus of International Business and Marketing, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona)

Hardcover $34.95, Softcover $16.95, Ebook $6.99

Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound

Ebook: Kindle, Apple Books, B&N Nook, Kobo, or Smashwords

Libraries: Ingram or Baker & Taylor

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Silver Winner, Psychology, IBPA Ben Franklin Awards - Judges' Comments

Design: "Consistent - clearly defined content. Good use of footnotes and references. Helpful index."

Editorial: "Interesting and (as the title says) introspective. Lots of backup references."

Editorial: "An absolute read for anyone with low self-esteem. This book provides essential tools for developing independent judgment and overcoming an incessant need to be accepted. In other words, this book helps one stand on [his or her] own two feet and [to] live comfortably in [his or her] own skin. Interesting revelation that humans can form and hold both positive and negative core evaluations as toddlers and carry those perceptions throughout life. When this thought alone is considered, it is not at all impossible to change your perspective. Writing is clear. Book jacket is appropriate. No obvious mechanical writing issues.

Post-Publication Reviews

"Kirkpatrick presents in some detail how much is involved in the process of change that is not included in the phrase 'choose to think.' One must be willing to make the effort, spend the time (which can be considerable), and endure the difficult emotions that will be triggered....This book is a significant step forward in identifying and describing how Rand's thought can be used by people to flourish."

—Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, vol. 20, no. 1, 2020.

"Kirkpatrick argues that a truly free society is impossible without an independent citizenry. . . . A wide-ranging defense of robust individualism . . . a powerful, provocative critique of educational systems that discourage creative thought and contribute to an authoritarian mindset."

—Kirkus Reviews, October 22, 2019*

"Well-researched with numerous examples and references . . . highly informative, factual and thought provoking."

—Carol Hoyer, Reader Views, September 19, 2019

"If you're seeking deeper insight into what is going wrong in people's heads that's leading to this crazy world, Dr. Jerry Kirkpatrick gets to the heart of the issue with this tour-de-force." Continue reading.

—Barry Linetsky, on Amazon, November 26,2019

* Compare this review to the backcover copy of Independent Judgment and Introspection

Pre-Publication Comments

“The concentrated essence of what the world needs to learn right now: a recommitment to facts and logic together with a radically new recognition of the constant free will and complexity involved in developing healthy, unique individual psychologies, and the connection of both of these principles to a fully free society.”

—Linda Reardan, Lecturer in Philosophy, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

“Jerry Kirkpatrick has taken a giant leap into the future of education with his insightful and beautifully written new book, Independent Judgement and Introspection. Any educator who wants to understand how to most effectively reach students and  prepare them for the challenges they will face in the world of the future will find powerful ideas and strategies in this book. How to prepare young people with the skills to make choices that will help them create a free society and improve the world they will inherit is clearly explained in this book. Every person alive today would benefit from developing independent judgement and introspection. Kirkpatrick's brilliant book is a gift to all readers.”

—Carleen Glasser, MA, CTRTC, William Glasser, Inc., www.wglasserbooks.com

“Drawing from a wide literature in examining the complex relationships between psychology, pedagogy, education, and social systems, Kirkpatrick argues that the cultivation and nurturing of emotional and psychological health is fundamental both to the emergence of the independent mind and the creation of a genuinely free society. This book will challenge its readers to think deeply about the broader context that is required for the achievement and sustenance of human freedom.”

—Chris Matthew Sciabarra, author, Total Freedom: Toward a Dialectical Libertarianism

"Jerry Kirkpatrick argues that robust freedom existentially depends on robust independence cognitively. His new book is an important treatise and meditation on children’s healthy development of their own capacities for independent thinking and action. Kirkpatrick integrates and applies the work of many theorists—Ayn Rand, Edith Packer, Maria Montessori, William Glasser, Alice Miller, and others. I learned from this compact volume and recommend Independent Judgment and Introspection to parents and teachers who have taken on the profound responsibility of creating the conditions that encourage this most fundamental human trait in young people. "

—Stephen Hicks, Professor of Philosophy and Executive Director, Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship, Rockford University

"In his informative and enlightening new book, Jerry Kirkpatrick masterfully explores the nature of independent judgment and introspection and their inextricable relationship with a free society. This easy-to-read yet scholarly work derives from, and builds upon, Ayn Rand’s philosophy and the psychological ideas of Nathaniel Branden and Edith Packer. I recommend this book wholeheartedly!"

—Edward W. Younkins, Professor of Accountancy and Executive Director, Institute for the Study of Capitalism and Morality, Wheeling Jesuit University

"A singular job of distilling more than a half century of work by the late Dr. Yochelson and myself."

—Stanton E. Samenow, PhD, author, Inside the Criminal Mind

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