Superstition And Society Etc

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Superstition

Author : Robert L. Park
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400828775
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Superstition by : Robert L. Park

Download or read book Superstition written by Robert L. Park and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2008-09-22 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why the battle between superstition and science is far from over From uttering a prayer before boarding a plane, to exploring past lives through hypnosis, has superstition become pervasive in contemporary culture? Robert Park, the best-selling author of Voodoo Science, argues that it has. In Superstition, Park asks why people persist in superstitious convictions long after science has shown them to be ill-founded. He takes on supernatural beliefs from religion and the afterlife to New Age spiritualism and faith-based medical claims. He examines recent controversies and concludes that science is the only way we have of understanding the world. Park sides with the forces of reason in a world of continuing and, he fears, increasing superstition. Chapter by chapter, he explains how people too easily mistake pseudoscience for science. He discusses parapsychology, homeopathy, and acupuncture; he questions the existence of souls, the foundations of intelligent design, and the power of prayer; he asks for evidence of reincarnation and astral projections; and he challenges the idea of heaven. Throughout, he demonstrates how people's blind faith, and their confidence in suspect phenomena and remedies, are manipulated for political ends. Park shows that science prevails when people stop fooling themselves. Compelling and precise, Superstition takes no hostages in its quest to provoke. In shedding light on some very sensitive--and Park would say scientifically dubious--issues, the book is sure to spark discussion and controversy.

Albion's Seed

Author : David Hackett Fischer
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019974369X
Total Pages : 981 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (997 download)

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Book Synopsis Albion's Seed by : David Hackett Fischer

Download or read book Albion's Seed written by David Hackett Fischer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1991-03-14 with total page 981 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating book is the first volume in a projected cultural history of the United States, from the earliest English settlements to our own time. It is a history of American folkways as they have changed through time, and it argues a thesis about the importance for the United States of having been British in its cultural origins. While most people in the United States today have no British ancestors, they have assimilated regional cultures which were created by British colonists, even while preserving ethnic identities at the same time. In this sense, nearly all Americans are "Albion's Seed," no matter what their ethnicity may be. The concluding section of this remarkable book explores the ways that regional cultures have continued to dominate national politics from 1789 to 1988, and still help to shape attitudes toward education, government, gender, and violence, on which differences between American regions are greater than between European nations.

Sociology of Indian Society

Author : CN Shankar Rao
Publisher : S. Chand Publishing
ISBN 13 : 8121924030
Total Pages : 703 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (219 download)

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Book Synopsis Sociology of Indian Society by : CN Shankar Rao

Download or read book Sociology of Indian Society written by CN Shankar Rao and published by S. Chand Publishing. This book was released on 2004-09 with total page 703 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The revision comes 10 years after the first edition and completely overhauls the text not only in terms of look and feel but also content which is now contemporary while also being timeless. A large number of words are explained with the help of examples and their lineage which helps the reader understand their individual usage and the ways to use them on the correct occasion.

Superstitions

Author : Max Cryer
Publisher : Exisle Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781925335170
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (351 download)

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Book Synopsis Superstitions by : Max Cryer

Download or read book Superstitions written by Max Cryer and published by Exisle Publishing. This book was released on 2016-09-01 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some people casually say 'touch wood' when they speak of something they hope will happen. Others won't allow peacock feathers into the house. And almost anyone who finds a four-leafed clover will treasure it and keep it. Why? Some superstitions are so ancient and have been practised for so long that they have come to be regarded as just harmless and widely observed 'customs', without people realising they are basically superstitions. For instance, many people wouldn't bother tossing spilled salt over their left shoulder or avoid walking under a ladder. But they happily continue to wear a wedding ring and blow out candles on a birthday cake. They don't know why - 'it's just a custom'. But both are actually superstitions. In a book full of surprises and revelations, Max Cryer explains the origins of many of the things we commonly say and observe and why we continue to include them in our lives: kissing under the mistletoe, the unlucky number thirteen, the significance of the bridal bouquet, saying 'bless you' after sneezing, the hanging of a horseshoe, 'the Scottish play', the danger in opals, the Leap Year proposal ... so many aspects of our lives are coloured by superstition. Now you can discover the reasons for them in a book that is both witty and informative. Superstitions will provide many 'Eureka' moments and settle many family disputes.

Why People Believe Weird Things

Author : Michael Shermer
Publisher : Holt Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 1429996765
Total Pages : 382 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (299 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 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This sparkling book romps over the range of science and anti-science." --Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and Steel 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.

Believing in Magic

Author : Stuart A. Vyse
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 019999692X
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (999 download)

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Book Synopsis Believing in Magic by : Stuart A. Vyse

Download or read book Believing in Magic written by Stuart A. Vyse and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-11 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this fully updated edition of Believing in Magic, renowned superstition expert Stuart Vyse investigates our tendency towards these irrational beliefs.

Magic and Superstition in Europe

Author : Michael David Bailey
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 9780742533875
Total Pages : 296 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (338 download)

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Book Synopsis Magic and Superstition in Europe by : Michael David Bailey

Download or read book Magic and Superstition in Europe written by Michael David Bailey and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2007 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The only comprehensive, single-volume survey of magic available, this compelling book traces the history of magic and superstition in Europe from antiquity to the present. Focusing mainly on the medieval and early modern era, Michael Bailey also explores the ancient Near East, classical Greece and Rome, and the spread of magical systems_particularly modern witchcraft or Wicca_from Europe to the United States. He explains how magic was understood, constructed, and frequently condemned and how magical beliefs and practices have changed over time yet also remain vital even today.

Superstition and Other Essays

Author : Robert G. Ingersoll
Publisher : Prometheus Books
ISBN 13 : 1615924353
Total Pages : 169 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (159 download)

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Book Synopsis Superstition and Other Essays by : Robert G. Ingersoll

Download or read book Superstition and Other Essays written by Robert G. Ingersoll and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2009-12-02 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Civil War veteran, successful lawyer, persuasive spokesman for the Republican Party, spellbinding orator, and controversial iconoclast, Col. Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899) was one of the best-known intellectuals of the 19th century. He rose to national prominence through his gift for oratory, which he publicly displayed on numerous lecture circuit tours. For almost twenty years this dedicated popularizer of progressive thinking and staunch critic of superstition would regularly address huge audiences, opening their minds to ideas that often provoked guarded whispers in private. Ingersoll was a man far ahead of his time, who advocated agnosticism, birth control, voting rights for women, the advancement of science, and civil rights for all races. Though eloquent on a wide variety of topics, he became most famous, and notorious, for his provocative lectures questioning the traditional, Bible-based Christian worldview of the age. In this volume are collected his best-known lectures on religion, the Bible, and related subjects. Included are "Why I Am an Agnostic"; "The Truth"; "What Is Religion?"; "Superstition"; "What Infidels Have Done"; "What Should You Substitute for the Bible as a Moral Guide?"; "Crumbling Creeds"; "The Liberty of Man, Woman, and Child"; and "Love." This outstanding collection is indispensable for freethinkers, humanists, and open-minded people of all persuasions. Note: This volume is available individually or as part of a two-volume set with On the Gods and Other Essays by Robert by Ingersoll: two-volume set (ISBN 1-59102-171-5): $50.

Spinoza's Political Psychology

Author : Justin Steinberg
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1107141303
Total Pages : 253 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Spinoza's Political Psychology by : Justin Steinberg

Download or read book Spinoza's Political Psychology written by Justin Steinberg and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-11 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive and novel interpretation of Spinoza's political writings that reveals the significance of the affects for political life.

Primitive Culture

Author : Sir Edward Burnett Tylor
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 528 pages
Book Rating : 4.A/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Primitive Culture by : Sir Edward Burnett Tylor

Download or read book Primitive Culture written by Sir Edward Burnett Tylor and published by . This book was released on 1891 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

SuperSense

Author : Bruce M. Hood
Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0061867934
Total Pages : 326 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (618 download)

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Book Synopsis SuperSense by : Bruce M. Hood

Download or read book SuperSense written by Bruce M. Hood and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-04-01 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A neuroscientist examines the science behind humanity’s beliefs in the supernatural. The majority of the world’s population is religious or believes in supernatural phenomena. In the United States, nine out of every ten adults believe in God, and a recent Gallup poll found that about three out of four Americans believe in some form of telepathy, déjà vu, ghosts, or past lives. Where does such supernatural thinking come from? Are we indoctrinated by our parents, churches, and media, or do such beliefs originate somewhere else? In SuperSense, award-winning cognitive scientist Bruce M. Hood reveals the science behind our beliefs in the supernatural. Superstitions are common. Many of us cross our fingers, knock on wood, step around black cats, and avoid walking under ladders. John McEnroe refused to step on the white lines of a tennis court between points. Wade Boggs insisted on eating a chicken dinner before every Boston Red Sox game. President Barack Obama played a game of basketball the morning of his victory in the Iowa primary and continued the tradition on every subsequent election day. Supernatural thinking includes loftier beliefs as well, such as the sentimental value we place on photos of loved ones, wedding rings, and teddy bears. It also includes spiritual beliefs and the hope for an afterlife. But in this modern, scientific age, why do we hold on to these behaviors and beliefs? It turns out that belief in things beyond what is rational or natural is common to humans and appears very early in childhood. In fact, according to Hood, this “super sense” is something we're born with to develop and is essential to the way we learn to understand the world. We couldn’t live without it! Our minds are designed from the very start to think there are unseen patterns, forces, and essences inhabiting the world, and it is unlikely that any effort to get rid of supernatural beliefs, or the superstitious behaviors that accompany them, will be successful. These common beliefs and sacred values are essential in binding us together as a society because they help us to see ourselves connected to each other at a deeper level.

Popular Belief in Contemporary China

Author : Monika Gaenssbauer
Publisher : Projekt Verlag
ISBN 13 : 3897333783
Total Pages : 175 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (973 download)

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Book Synopsis Popular Belief in Contemporary China by : Monika Gaenssbauer

Download or read book Popular Belief in Contemporary China written by Monika Gaenssbauer and published by Projekt Verlag. This book was released on 2015-10-19 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Topic of this publication is "popular belief in contemporary China". It focuses on the positions of participants in the Chineselanguage discourse rather than taking the current state of research in the Western world as the starting point for its exploration. This study lays open the discursive thread in the People’s Republic of China about indigeneity and the critical reception by Chinese academics of Western research approaches. Many Chinese authors have begun to question the ability of Western theories to adequately explain phenomena in China. This book also deals with discursive strategies of Chinese academics aimed at the legitimation of popular belief and in support of a scientific treatment of popular belief in the People’s Republic of China. The author gives a comprehensive overview of the broad range of positions within this rapidly unfolding social and academic sphere.

God and Man at Yale

Author : William F. Buckley
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1596988037
Total Pages : 188 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (969 download)

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Book Synopsis God and Man at Yale by : William F. Buckley

Download or read book God and Man at Yale written by William F. Buckley and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-02-06 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "For God, for country, and for Yale... in that order," William F. Buckley Jr. wrote as the dedication of his monumental work—a compendium of knowledge that still resonates within the halls of the Ivy League university that tried to cover up its political and religious bias. In 1951, a twenty-five-year-old Yale graduate published his first book, which exposed the "extraordinarily irresponsible educational attitude" that prevailed at his alma mater. The book, God and Man at Yale, rocked the academic world and catapulted its young author, William F. Buckley Jr. into the public spotlight. Now, half a century later, read the extraordinary work that began the modern conservative movement. Buckley's harsh assessment of his alma mater divulged the reality behind the institution's wholly secular education, even within the religion department and divinity school. Unabashed, one former Yale student details the importance of Christianity and heralds the modern conservative movement in his preeminent tell-all, God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of "Academic Freedom."

Superstition

Author : David Ambrose
Publisher : Hachette+ORM
ISBN 13 : 044655412X
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (465 download)

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Book Synopsis Superstition by : David Ambrose

Download or read book Superstition written by David Ambrose and published by Hachette+ORM. This book was released on 2008-12-01 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parapsychologist Sam Towne believes that ghosts come from the human mind, not from "beyond". To prove his theory, he invites eight volunteers, including skeptical reporter Joanna Cross, to take part in an experiment. In a series of seances they invent "Adam Wyatt," a tragic Revolutionary War hero, and are thrilled when he starts rapping on tables and spelling out messages. But when members of the group begin dying in horrifying ways, it becomes clear that Adam has taken on a strange and dangerous life of his own -- one feeding on their very thoughts and emotions. Now Sam and Joanna must destroy Adam before he destroys everything in their world -- and even the love they have found for each other turns into an endless, terrifying, inescapable nightmare...From cult classic author David Ambrose comes a story based on the true case of an experiment into the paranormal, a story that will change forever the way you feel about...

A Magical World

Author : Derek K Wilson
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1681777061
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (817 download)

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Book Synopsis A Magical World by : Derek K Wilson

Download or read book A Magical World written by Derek K Wilson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spanning some of the most vibrant and fascinating eras in European history, Cambridge historian Derek Wilson reveals a society filled with an ardent desire for knowledge and astounding discoveries—and the fantastic discoveries that flowered from it. Thinkers were drew from surprising intellectual traditions: some from folk religion, which in its turn had deep roots in a pagan past; others referred to spirits or tapped into stores of ancient wisdom and herbal remedies. This was the world of wise women, witches, necromancers, potions and incantations. Even the mighty Catholic Church, which permeated all elements of life, had its own "magical" traditions.In 1663, the Royal Society in London received its charter. Just three years later, the French Academy of Sciences was founded, and other European capitals rapidly followed suit. In 1725, the word "science" was at last defined as "a branch of study concerned either with a connected body of demonstrated truths or with observed facts systematically classified." Yet just nine years before, the last witch had been executed in Britain. Fascinating and thought-provoking, A Magical World is a reminder of humanity's paradoxical nature—our passionate pursuit of knowledge alongside deep-rooted fears, superstitions, and traditions.

50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True

Author : Guy P. Harrison
Publisher : Prometheus Books
ISBN 13 : 1616144963
Total Pages : 460 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (161 download)

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Book Synopsis 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True by : Guy P. Harrison

Download or read book 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True written by Guy P. Harrison and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2012-01-03 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “What would it take to create a world in which fantasy is not confused for fact and public policy is based on objective reality?" asks Neil deGrasse Tyson, science popularizer and author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry. "I don't know for sure. But a good place to start would be for everyone on earth to read this book." Maybe you know someone who swears by the reliability of psychics or who is in regular contact with angels. Or perhaps you're trying to find a nice way of dissuading someone from wasting money on a homeopathy cure. Or you met someone at a party who insisted the Holocaust never happened or that no one ever walked on the moon. How do you find a gently persuasive way of steering people away from unfounded beliefs, bogus cures, conspiracy theories, and the like? This down-to-earth, entertaining exploration of commonly held extraordinary claims will help you set the record straight. The author, a veteran journalist, has not only surveyed a vast body of literature, but has also interviewed leading scientists, explored "the most haunted house in America," frolicked in the inviting waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and even talked to a "contrite Roswell alien." He is not out simply to debunk unfounded beliefs. Wherever possible, he presents alternative scientific explanations, which in most cases are even more fascinating than the wildest speculation. For example, stories about UFOs and alien abductions lack good evidence, but science gives us plenty of reasons to keep exploring outer space for evidence that life exists elsewhere in the vast universe. The proof for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster may be nonexistent, but scientists are regularly discovering new species, some of which are truly stranger than fiction. Stressing the excitement of scientific discovery and the legitimate mysteries and wonder inherent in reality, this book invites readers to share the joys of rational thinking and the skeptical approach to evaluating our extraordinary world.

Democracy and Education

Author : John Dewey
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 456 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Democracy and Education by : John Dewey

Download or read book Democracy and Education written by John Dewey and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 1916 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: . Renewal of Life by Transmission. The most notable distinction between living and inanimate things is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. A stone when struck resists. If its resistance is greater than the force of the blow struck, it remains outwardly unchanged. Otherwise, it is shattered into smaller bits. Never does the stone attempt to react in such a way that it may maintain itself against the blow, much less so as to render the blow a contributing factor to its own continued action. While the living thing may easily be crushed by superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it into means of its own further existence. If it cannot do so, it does not just split into smaller pieces (at least in the higher forms of life), but loses its identity as a living thing. As long as it endures, it struggles to use surrounding energies in its own behalf. It uses light, air, moisture, and the material of soil. To say that it uses them is to say that it turns them into means of its own conservation. As long as it is growing, the energy it expends in thus turning the environment to account is more than compensated for by the return it gets: it grows. Understanding the word "control" in this sense, it may be said that a living being is one that subjugates and controls for its own continued activity the energies that would otherwise use it up. Life is a self-renewing process through action upon the environment.