The Pseudoscience Wars

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Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226304434
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (263 download)

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Book Synopsis The Pseudoscience Wars by : Michael D. Gordin

Download or read book The Pseudoscience Wars written by Michael D. Gordin and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2012-09-17 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Properly analyzed, the collective mythological and religious writings of humanity reveal that around 1500 BC, a comet swept perilously close to Earth, triggering widespread natural disasters and threatening the destruction of all life before settling into solar orbit as Venus, our nearest planetary neighbor. Sound implausible? Well, from 1950 until the late 1970s, a huge number of people begged to differ, as they devoured Immanuel Velikovsky’s major best-seller, Worlds in Collision, insisting that perhaps this polymathic thinker held the key to a new science and a new history. Scientists, on the other hand, assaulted Velikovsky’s book, his followers, and his press mercilessly from the get-go. In The Pseudoscience Wars, Michael D. Gordin resurrects the largely forgotten figure of Velikovsky and uses his strange career and surprisingly influential writings to explore the changing definitions of the line that separates legitimate scientific inquiry from what is deemed bunk, and to show how vital this question remains to us today. Drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished material from Velikovsky’s personal archives, Gordin presents a behind-the-scenes history of the writer’s career, from his initial burst of success through his growing influence on the counterculture, heated public battles with such luminaries as Carl Sagan, and eventual eclipse. Along the way, he offers fascinating glimpses into the histories and effects of other fringe doctrines, including creationism, Lysenkoism, parapsychology, and more—all of which have surprising connections to Velikovsky’s theories. Science today is hardly universally secure, and scientists seem themselves beset by critics, denialists, and those they label “pseudoscientists”—as seen all too clearly in battles over evolution and climate change. The Pseudoscience Wars simultaneously reveals the surprising Cold War roots of our contemporary dilemma and points readers to a different approach to drawing the line between knowledge and nonsense.

The Pseudoscience Wars

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Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226304426
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (263 download)

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Book Synopsis The Pseudoscience Wars by : Michael D. Gordin

Download or read book The Pseudoscience Wars written by Michael D. Gordin and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2012-09-26 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Pseudoscience Wars "simultaneously reveals the surprising Cold War roots of our contemporary dilemma and points readers to a different approach to drawing the line between knowledge and nonsense.

The Pseudoscience Wars

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Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 9780226101729
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis The Pseudoscience Wars by : Michael D. Gordin

Download or read book The Pseudoscience Wars written by Michael D. Gordin and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2013-08-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Properly analyzed, the collective mythological and religious writings of humanity reveal that around 1500 BC, a comet swept perilously close to Earth, triggering widespread natural disasters and threatening the destruction of all life before settling into solar orbit as Venus, our nearest planetary neighbor. Sound implausible? Well, from 1950 until the late 1970s, a huge number of people begged to differ, as they devoured Immanuel Velikovsky’s major best-seller, Worlds in Collision, insisting that perhaps this polymathic thinker held the key to a new science and a new history. Scientists, on the other hand, assaulted Velikovsky’s book, his followers, and his press mercilessly from the get-go. In The Pseudoscience Wars, Michael D. Gordin resurrects the largely forgotten figure of Velikovsky and uses his strange career and surprisingly influential writings to explore the changing definitions of the line that separates legitimate scientific inquiry from what is deemed bunk, and to show how vital this question remains to us today. Drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished material from Velikovsky’s personal archives, Gordin presents a behind-the-scenes history of the writer’s career, from his initial burst of success through his growing influence on the counterculture, heated public battles with such luminaries as Carl Sagan, and eventual eclipse. Along the way, he offers fascinating glimpses into the histories and effects of other fringe doctrines, including creationism, Lysenkoism, parapsychology, and more—all of which have surprising connections to Velikovsky’s theories. Science today is hardly universally secure, and scientists seem themselves beset by critics, denialists, and those they label “pseudoscientists”—as seen all too clearly in battles over evolution and climate change. The Pseudoscience Wars simultaneously reveals the surprising Cold War roots of our contemporary dilemma and points readers to a different approach to drawing the line between knowledge and nonsense.

On the Fringe

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0197555780
Total Pages : 122 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (975 download)

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Book Synopsis On the Fringe by : Michael D. Gordin

Download or read book On the Fringe written by Michael D. Gordin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-03-23 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everyone has heard of the term "pseudoscience", typically used to describe something that looks like science, but is somehow false, misleading, or unproven. Many would be able to agree on a list of things that fall under its umbrella-- astrology, phrenology, UFOlogy, creationism, and eugenics might come to mind. But defining what makes these fields "pseudo" is a far more complex issue. It has proved impossible to come up with a simple criterion that enables us to differentiate pseudoscience from genuine science. Given the virulence of contemporary disputes over the denial of climate change and anti-vaccination movements--both of which display allegations of "pseudoscience" on all sides-- there is a clear need to better understand issues of scientific demarcation. On the Fringe explores the philosophical and historical attempts to address this problem of demarcation. This book argues that by understanding doctrines that are often seen as antithetical to science, we can learn a great deal about how science operated in the past and does today. This exploration raises several questions: How does a doctrine become demonized as pseudoscientific? Who has the authority to make these pronouncements? How is the status of science shaped by political or cultural contexts? How does pseudoscience differ from scientific fraud? Michael D. Gordin both answers these questions and guides readers along a bewildering array of marginalized doctrines, looking at parapsychology (ESP), Lysenkoism, scientific racism, and alchemy, among others, to better understand the struggle to define what science is and is not, and how the controversies have shifted over the centuries. On the Fringe provides a historical tour through many of these fringe fields in order to provide tools to think deeply about scientific controversies both in the past and in our present.

Worlds in Collision

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780899667850
Total Pages : 401 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (678 download)

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Book Synopsis Worlds in Collision by : Immanuel Velikovsky

Download or read book Worlds in Collision written by Immanuel Velikovsky and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience

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Author :
Publisher : Springer Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 0826194265
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (261 download)

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Book Synopsis Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience by : Caleb W. Lack, PhD

Download or read book Critical Thinking, Science, and Pseudoscience written by Caleb W. Lack, PhD and published by Springer Publishing Company. This book was released on 2016-03-08 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique text for undergraduate courses teaches students to apply critical thinking skills across all academic disciplines by examining popular pseudoscientific claims through a multidisciplinary lens. Rather than merely focusing on critical thinking grounded in philosophy and psychology, the text incorporates the perspectives of biology, physics, medicine, and other disciplines to reinforce different categories of rational explanation. The book is also distinguished by its respectful approach to individuals whose ideas are, according to the authors, deeply flawed. Accessible and engaging, it describes what critical thinking is, why it is important, and how to learn and apply skillsóusing scientific methods--that promote it. The text also examines why critical thinking can be difficult to engage in and explores the psychological and social reasons why people are drawn to and find credence in extraordinary claims. From alien abductions and psychic phenomena to strange creatures and unsupported alternative medical treatments, the text uses examples from a wide range of pseudoscience fields and brings evidence from diverse disciplines to critically examine these erroneous claims. Particularly timely is the text's examination of how, using the narrative of today's "culture wars," religion and culture impact science. The authors focus on how the human brain, rife with natural biases, does not process information in a rational fashion, and the social factors that prevent individuals from gaining an unbiased, critical perspective on information. Authored by a psychologist and a philosopher who have extensive experience teaching and writing on critical thinking and skeptical inquiry, this work will help students to strengthen their skills in reasoning and debate, become intelligent consumers of research, and make well-informed choices as citizens. Key Features: Addresses the foundations of critical thinking and how to apply it through the popular activity of examining pseudoscience Explains why humans are vulnerable to pseudoscientific claims and how critical thinking can overcome fallacies and biases Reinforces critical thinking through multidisciplinary analyses of pseudoscience Examines how religion and culture impact science Enlightens using an engaging, entertaining approach Written by experienced and innovative scholar/educators well known in the skeptic community Features teaching resources including an Instructor's Guide and Powepoint slides

Why People Believe Weird Things

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Author :
Publisher : Holt Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 9781429996761
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (967 download)

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Book Synopsis Why People Believe Weird Things by : Michael Shermer

Download or read book Why People Believe Weird Things written by Michael Shermer and published by Holt Paperbacks. This book was released on 2002-09-01 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revised and Expanded Edition. In this age of supposed scientific enlightenment, many people still believe in mind reading, past-life regression theory, New Age hokum, and alien abduction. A no-holds-barred assault on popular superstitions and prejudices, with more than 80,000 copies in print, Why People Believe Weird Things debunks these nonsensical claims and explores the very human reasons people find otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories, and cults so appealing. In an entirely new chapter, "Why Smart People Believe in Weird Things," Michael Shermer takes on science luminaries like physicist Frank Tippler and others, who hide their spiritual beliefs behind the trappings of science. Shermer, science historian and true crusader, also reveals the more dangerous side of such illogical thinking, including Holocaust denial, the recovered-memory movement, the satanic ritual abuse scare, and other modern crazes. Why People Believe Strange Things is an eye-opening resource for the most gullible among us and those who want to protect them.

Nonsense on Stilts

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 0226667871
Total Pages : 340 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (266 download)

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Book Synopsis Nonsense on Stilts by : Massimo Pigliucci

Download or read book Nonsense on Stilts written by Massimo Pigliucci and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2010-05-15 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent polls suggest that fewer than 40 percent of Americans believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution, despite it being one of science’s best-established findings. More and more parents are refusing to vaccinate their children for fear it causes autism, though this link can been consistently disproved. And about 40 percent of Americans believe that the threat of global warming is exaggerated, despite near consensus in the scientific community that manmade climate change is real. Why do people believe bunk? And what causes them to embrace such pseudoscientific beliefs and practices? Noted skeptic Massimo Pigliucci sets out to separate the fact from the fantasy in this entertaining exploration of the nature of science, the borderlands of fringe science, and—borrowing a famous phrase from philosopher Jeremy Bentham—the nonsense on stilts. Presenting case studies on a number of controversial topics, Pigliucci cuts through the ambiguity surrounding science to look more closely at how science is conducted, how it is disseminated, how it is interpreted, and what it means to our society. The result is in many ways a “taxonomy of bunk” that explores the intersection of science and culture at large. No one—not the public intellectuals in the culture wars between defenders and detractors of science nor the believers of pseudoscience themselves—is spared Pigliucci’s incisive analysis. In the end, Nonsense on Stilts is a timely reminder of the need to maintain a line between expertise and assumption. Broad in scope and implication, it is also ultimately a captivating guide for the intelligent citizen who wishes to make up her own mind while navigating the perilous debates that will affect the future of our planet.

Philosophy of Pseudoscience

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Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022605182X
Total Pages : 479 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (26 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy of Pseudoscience by : Massimo Pigliucci

Download or read book Philosophy of Pseudoscience written by Massimo Pigliucci and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2013-08-16 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A remarkable contribution to one of the most vexing problems in science: the ‘demarcation’ problem, or how to distinguish science from nonscience.” —Francisco J. Ayala, author of Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion What sets the practice of rigorously tested, sound science apart from pseudoscience? In this volume, the contributors seek to answer this question, known to philosophers of science as “the demarcation problem.” This issue has a long history in philosophy, stretching as far back as the early twentieth century and the work of Karl Popper. But by the late 1980s, scholars in the field began to treat the demarcation problem as impossible to solve and futile to ponder. However, the essays that Massimo Pigliucci and Maarten Boudry have assembled in this volume make a rousing case for the unequivocal importance of reflecting on the separation between pseudoscience and sound science. Moreover, the demarcation problem is not a purely theoretical dilemma of mere academic interest: it affects parents’ decisions to vaccinate children and governments’ willingness to adopt policies that prevent climate change. Pseudoscience often mimics science, using the superficial language and trappings of actual scientific research to seem more respectable. Even a well-informed public can be taken in by such questionable theories dressed up as science. Pseudoscientific beliefs compete with sound science on the health pages of newspapers for media coverage and in laboratories for research funding. Now more than ever the ability to separate genuine scientific findings from spurious ones is vital, and The Philosophy of Pseudoscience provides ground for philosophers, sociologists, historians, and laypeople to make decisions about what science is or isn’t. “A manual to overcome our natural cognitive biases.” —Corriere della Sera (Italy)

Stargazers and Gravediggers

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Author :
Publisher : Paradigma Ltd
ISBN 13 : 190683377X
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (68 download)

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Book Synopsis Stargazers and Gravediggers by : Immanuel Velikovsky

Download or read book Stargazers and Gravediggers written by Immanuel Velikovsky and published by Paradigma Ltd. This book was released on with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Immanuel Velikovsky, in his unmistakably clear and unique style, relates both the writing of and the reaction to the publication of his epochal work Worlds in Collision. Through authentic letters, we experience at first hand the beginning and unfolding of the Velikovsky Affair - from the boycotting of his publisher by leading American scientists and universities to the emotional and highly unscientific campaign to discredit the author and his work. We also get to read Velikovsky's rebuttals to the attacks and accusations, which were mostly denied publication by relevant journals and magazines. Especially today, with the power and societal influence of science at an all-time high, this book is of fundamental importance for our understanding of science and its practioners.

The Velikovsky Affair

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Author :
Publisher : New Hyde Park, N.Y. : University Books
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis The Velikovsky Affair by : Alfred De Grazia

Download or read book The Velikovsky Affair written by Alfred De Grazia and published by New Hyde Park, N.Y. : University Books. This book was released on 1966 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Consists of papers published in the September, 1963, issue of the American behavioral scientist, together with new material. Includes bibliographies.

Scientific Babel

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022600032X
Total Pages : 424 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (26 download)

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Book Synopsis Scientific Babel by : Michael D. Gordin

Download or read book Scientific Babel written by Michael D. Gordin and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2015-04-13 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: English is the language of science today. No matter which languages you know, if you want your work seen, studied, and cited, you need to publish in English. But that hasn’t always been the case. Though there was a time when Latin dominated the field, for centuries science has been a polyglot enterprise, conducted in a number of languages whose importance waxed and waned over time—until the rise of English in the twentieth century. So how did we get from there to here? How did French, German, Latin, Russian, and even Esperanto give way to English? And what can we reconstruct of the experience of doing science in the polyglot past? With Scientific Babel, Michael D. Gordin resurrects that lost world, in part through an ingenious mechanism: the pages of his highly readable narrative account teem with footnotes—not offering background information, but presenting quoted material in its original language. The result is stunning: as we read about the rise and fall of languages, driven by politics, war, economics, and institutions, we actually see it happen in the ever-changing web of multilingual examples. The history of science, and of English as its dominant language, comes to life, and brings with it a new understanding not only of the frictions generated by a scientific community that spoke in many often mutually unintelligible voices, but also of the possibilities of the polyglot, and the losses that the dominance of English entails. Few historians of science write as well as Gordin, and Scientific Babel reveals his incredible command of the literature, language, and intellectual essence of science past and present. No reader who takes this linguistic journey with him will be disappointed.

Climatology versus Pseudoscience

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 283 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (16 download)

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Book Synopsis Climatology versus Pseudoscience by : Dana Nuccitelli

Download or read book Climatology versus Pseudoscience written by Dana Nuccitelli and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-03-03 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains the science of climate change in plain language and shows that the 2 to 4 percent of climate scientists who are skeptical that humans are the main cause of global warming are a fringe minority—and have a well-established history of being wrong. Although some politicians, pundits, and members of the public do not believe it, global warming predictions by mainstream climate scientists have been remarkably accurate while those made by climate deniers have not. And if mainstream global warming predictions continue to prove correct, the window of opportunity to prevent a climate catastrophe is quickly closing. This book is the first to illustrate the accuracy—and inaccuracy—of global warming predictions made by mainstream climate scientists and by climate contrarians from the 1970s to the present day. Written in simple, non-technical language that provides an accessible explanation of key climate science concepts, the book will appeal to general audiences without previous knowledge about climate science. Author Dana Nuccitelli, an environmental scientist and risk assessor, discusses some key climate discoveries dating back to the 19th century and debunks myths such as the idea that climate scientists and climate models have grossly over-predicted global warming. He addresses recent findings of a 97-percent consensus in the peer-reviewed scientific literature that humans are causing global warming—a nearly unanimous agreement that formed in the early 1990s and has grown through the present day. Nuccitelli also discusses what the future climate might look like if current trends continue unabated, and what we as a global society need to do to prevent a climate catastrophe.

Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190944447
Total Pages : 145 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction by : Michael D. Gordin

Download or read book Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction written by Michael D. Gordin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-03-24 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everyone has heard of the term "pseudoscience>," typically used to describe something that looks like science, but is somehow false, misleading, or unproven. Many would be able to agree on a list of things that fall under its umbrella - astrology, phrenology, UFOlogy, creationism, and eugenics might come to mind. But defining what makes these fields "pseudo" is a far more complex issue. It has proved impossible to come up with a simple criterion that enables us to differentiate pseudoscience from genuine science. Given the virulence of contemporary disputes over the denial of climate change and anti-vaccination movements - both of which display allegations of "pseudoscience" on all sides - there is a clear need to better understand issues of scientific demarcation. Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction explores the philosophical and historical attempts to address this problem of demarcation. This book argues that by understanding doctrines that are often seen as antithetical to science, we can learn a great deal about how science operated in the past and does today. This exploration raises several questions: How does a doctrine become demonized as pseudoscientific? Who has the authority to make these pronouncements? How is the status of science shaped by political or cultural contexts? How does pseudoscience differ from scientific fraud? Michael D. Gordin both answers these questions and guides readers along a bewildering array of marginalized doctrines, looking at parapsychology (ESP), Lysenkoism, scientific racism, and alchemy, among others, to better understand the struggle to define what science is and is not, and how the controversies have shifted over the centuries. Pseudoscience: A Very Short Introduction provides a historical tour through many of these fringe fields in order to provide tools to think deeply about scientific controversies both in the past and in our present.

Cultural Boundaries of Science

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Author :
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 9780226292618
Total Pages : 422 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (926 download)

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Book Synopsis Cultural Boundaries of Science by : Thomas F. Gieryn

Download or read book Cultural Boundaries of Science written by Thomas F. Gieryn and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1999-01-15 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text argues that an explanation for the cultural authority of science lies where scientific claims leave laboratories and enter boardrooms and living rooms. Here, one uses "maps" to decide who to believe - cultural maps demarcating "science" from pseudoscience, ideology, faith, or nonsense.

War of the Worldviews

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Publisher : Harmony
ISBN 13 : 0307886905
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (78 download)

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Book Synopsis War of the Worldviews by : Deepak Chopra, M.D.

Download or read book War of the Worldviews written by Deepak Chopra, M.D. and published by Harmony. This book was released on 2011-10-04 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two bestselling authors first met in a televised Caltech debate on “the future of God,” one an articulate advocate for spirituality, the other a prominent physicist. This remarkable book is the product of that serendipitous encounter and the contentious—but respectful—clash of worldviews that grew along with their friendship. In War of the Worldviews these two great thinkers battle over the cosmos, evolution and life, the human brain, and God, probing the fundamental questions that define the human experience. How did the universe emerge? What is the nature of time? What is life? Did Darwin go wrong? What makes us human? What is the connection between mind and brain? Is God an illusion? This extraordinary book will fascinate millions of readers of science and spirituality alike, as well as anyone who has ever asked themselves, What does it mean that I am alive?

Theory and Reality

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Publisher : University of Chicago Press
ISBN 13 : 022677113X
Total Pages : 412 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Theory and Reality by : Peter Godfrey-Smith

Download or read book Theory and Reality written by Peter Godfrey-Smith and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2021-07-16 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does science work? Does it tell us what the world is “really” like? What makes it different from other ways of understanding the universe? In Theory and Reality, Peter Godfrey-Smith addresses these questions by taking the reader on a grand tour of more than a hundred years of debate about science. The result is a completely accessible introduction to the main themes of the philosophy of science. Examples and asides engage the beginning student, a glossary of terms explains key concepts, and suggestions for further reading are included at the end of each chapter. Like no other text in this field, Theory and Reality combines a survey of recent history of the philosophy of science with current key debates that any beginning scholar or critical reader can follow. The second edition is thoroughly updated and expanded by the author with a new chapter on truth, simplicity, and models in science.