The Believing Brain
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The Believing Brain
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Author : Michael Shermer
language : en
Publisher: Macmillan
Release Date : 2011-05-24
The Believing Brain written by Michael Shermer and has been published by Macmillan this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011-05-24 with Psychology categories.
“A wonderfully lucid, accessible, and wide-ranging account of the boundary between justified and unjustified belief.” —Sam Harris, New York Times–bestselling author of The Moral Landscape and The End of Faith In this work synthesizing thirty years of research, psychologist, historian of science, and the world’s best-known skeptic Michael Shermer upends the traditional thinking about how humans form beliefs about the world. Simply put, beliefs come first and explanations for beliefs follow. The brain, Shermer argues, is a belief engine. From sensory data flowing in through the senses, the brain naturally begins to look for and find patterns, and then infuses those patterns with meaning. Our brains connect the dots of our world into meaningful patterns that explain why things happen, and these patterns become beliefs. Once beliefs are formed the brain begins to look for and find confirmatory evidence in support of those beliefs, which accelerates the process of reinforcing them, and round and round the process goes in a positive-feedback loop of belief confirmation. Shermer outlines the numerous cognitive tools our brains engage to reinforce our beliefs as truths. Interlaced with his theory of belief, Shermer provides countless real-world examples of how this process operates, from politics, economics, and religion to conspiracy theories, the supernatural, and the paranormal. Ultimately, he demonstrates why science is the best tool ever devised to determine whether or not a belief matches reality. “A must read for everyone who wonders why religious and political beliefs are so rigid and polarized—or why the other side is always wrong, but somehow doesn’t see it.” —Dr. Leonard Mlodinow, physicist and author of The Drunkard’s Walk and The Grand Design (with Stephen Hawking)
Why People Believe Weird Things
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Author : Michael Shermer
language : en
Publisher: Souvenir Press
Release Date : 2011-02-01
Why People Believe Weird Things written by Michael Shermer and has been published by Souvenir Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011-02-01 with Science categories.
A survey of a range of irrationalisms, with explanations of their empirical and logical flaws, this book describes the differences between science and pseudo-science, and goes on to describe and critique popular contemporary irrationalisms. Why do smart people believe weird things?Why do so many people believe in mind reading, past-life regression therapy, extra-terrestrial abduction and ghosts? What is behind the rise of 'scientific creationism' and Holocaust denial? In an age of supposed scientific enlightenment why do we appear more impressionable than ever?Scientific historian, and director of the Skeptics Society, Michael Shermer debunks these extraordinary claims in a no-holds-barred assault on the popular superstitions and confused prejudices of our time. Exploring the very human reasons behind otherworldly phenomena, conspiracy theories and cults Shermer explains why are they are so appealing to so many."Skepticism is the agent of reason against organized irrationalism -and is therefore one of the keys to human social and civic decency."Stephen Jay Gould, from his forewordShermer reveals the darker side of wishful thinking, through the recovered memory movement, satanic rituals and other modern witch hunts, and ideologies of racial superiority. Confronting those who take advantage of the gullibility of other people to advance their own, self-serving agendas Why People Believe Weird Things is compelling and often disturbing. It is a perceptive portrait of the human capacity for self-delusion and a celebration of the scientific spirit.
How We Believe
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Author : Michael Shermer
language : en
Publisher: W H Freeman & Company
Release Date : 2000
How We Believe written by Michael Shermer and has been published by W H Freeman & Company this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2000 with Religion categories.
Attempts to understand the balance between faith in God and scientific reason, focusing on the impact of religion in modern American society, as well as examining theories of nonbelievers in such fields as anthropology and psychology.
Giving The Devil His Due
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Author : Michael Shermer
language : en
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Release Date : 2020-04-09
Giving The Devil His Due written by Michael Shermer and has been published by Cambridge University Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020-04-09 with Political Science categories.
Explores how free speech and open inquiry are integral to science, politics, and society for the survival and progress of our species.
How God Changes Your Brain
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Author : Andrew Newberg, M.D.
language : en
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date : 2009-03-24
How God Changes Your Brain written by Andrew Newberg, M.D. and has been published by Ballantine Books this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2009-03-24 with Psychology categories.
God is great—for your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Based on new evidence culled from brain-scan studies, a wide-reaching survey of people’s religious and spiritual experiences, and the authors’ analyses of adult drawings of God, neuroscientist Andrew Newberg and therapist Mark Robert Waldman offer the following breakthrough discoveries: • Not only do prayer and spiritual practice reduce stress, but just twelve minutes of meditation per day may slow down the aging process. • Contemplating a loving God rather than a punitive God reduces anxiety and depression and increases feelings of security, compassion, and love. • Fundamentalism, in and of itself, can be personally beneficial, but the prejudice generated by extreme beliefs can permanently damage your brain. • Intense prayer and meditation permanently change numerous structures and functions in the brain, altering your values and the way you perceive reality. Both a revelatory work of modern science and a practical guide for readers to enhance their physical and emotional health, How God Changes Your Brain is a first-of-a-kind book about faith that is as credible as it is inspiring.
The God Shaped Brain
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Author : Timothy R. Jennings
language : en
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Release Date : 2017-04-18
The God Shaped Brain written by Timothy R. Jennings and has been published by InterVarsity Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017-04-18 with Religion categories.
What you believe about God actually changes your brain. Psychiatrist Tim Jennings unveils how our brains and bodies thrive when we have a healthy understanding of who God is. This expanded edition now includes a study guide to help you discover how neuroscience and Scripture come together to bring healing and transformation to our lives.
The Moral Arc
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Author : Michael Shermer
language : en
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Release Date : 2015-01-20
The Moral Arc written by Michael Shermer and has been published by Macmillan + ORM this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2015-01-20 with Science categories.
The New York Times–bestselling author of The Believing Brains explores how science makes us better people. From Galileo and Newton to Thomas Hobbes and Martin Luther King, Jr., thinkers throughout history have consciously employed scientific techniques to better understand the non-physical world. The Age of Reason and the Enlightenment led theorists to apply scientific reasoning to the non-scientific disciplines of politics, economics, and moral philosophy. Instead of relying on the woodcuts of dissected bodies in old medical texts, physicians opened bodies themselves to see what was there; instead of divining truth through the authority of an ancient holy book or philosophical treatise, people began to explore the book of nature for themselves through travel and exploration; instead of the supernatural belief in the divine right of kings, people employed a natural belief in the right of democracy. In The Moral Arc, Shermer explains how abstract reasoning, rationality, empiricism, skepticism—scientific ways of thinking—have profoundly changed the way we perceive morality and, indeed, move us ever closer to a more just world. “Michael Shermer is a beacon of reason in an ocean of irrationality.” —Neil deGrasse Tyson “A memorable book, a book to recommend and discuss late into the night.” —Richard Dawkins “[A] brilliant contribution . . . Sherman’s is an exciting vision.” —Nature
Why Religion Is Natural And Science Is Not
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Author : Robert N. McCauley
language : en
Publisher: OUP USA
Release Date : 2011-11
Why Religion Is Natural And Science Is Not written by Robert N. McCauley and has been published by OUP USA this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011-11 with Psychology categories.
A comparison of the cognitive foundations of religion and science and an argument that religion is cognitively natural and that science is cognitively unnatural.
Believing
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Author : Michael McGuire
language : en
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Release Date : 2013-09-10
Believing written by Michael McGuire and has been published by Prometheus Books this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2013-09-10 with Psychology categories.
A new book about brain chemistry, neural systems, and the formation of beliefs from the scientist who brought to light serotonin's many crucial roles in human behavior. Beliefs: What are they? How have evolution and culture led to a brain that is seemingly committed to near endless belief creation? And once established, why are most beliefs so difficult to change? Believing offers answers to these questions from the perspective of a leading neuroscientist and expert in brain-behavior research. Combining personal anecdotes and the latest research, Dr. McGuire takes the novel approach of focusing on the central and critical role of brain systems and the ways in which they interact with the environment to create and maintain beliefs. This approach yields some surprising and counterintuitive conclusions: • The brain is designed for belief creation and acceptance. • It is biased in favor of its own beliefs and is highly insensitive to disconfirming evidence. • It prefers beliefs that are pleasurable and rewarding to those that are unfavorable. • Beliefs are "afterthoughts" of unperceived brain activities; they don't cause behavior. • Our consciousness has minimal influence on the neural systems that create beliefs. Based on these observations, McGuire concludes that for the foreseeable future people will continue to hold a multitude of beliefs, many of them intransigent.