SCIENCE FRICTION ---WHERE THE KNOWN MEETS THE UNKNOWN
by Michael Shermer. Henry Holt and Company, 2005
OUTLINE OF BOOK'S FACTS & IDEAS
INTRODUCTION --- WHY NOT KNOWING (pxi-xxxvii)
PART 1 --- SCIENCE AND THE VIRTUES OF NOT KNOWING (p1-66)
1) Psychic for a day (p3-18)
Or, how I learned Tarot cards, palm reading, astrology, and mediumship in 24 hours
[1] The partial facts of "cold reading" (p4-11)
[2] The palm reading (p12-14)
[3] The astrological reading (p14-15)
[4] Psychic reading (p15-16)
[5] Talking to the dead (p16-17)
[6] The disclosure (p18)
[7] The grace of scruples (p18)
2) The big "bright" brouhaha (p19-37)
An empirical study on an emerging skeptical movement
Words matter and language counts: examples of "feminist" and "atheist"
[1] The "brights" are born (p20-21)
[2] The reaction to "brights" (p21-24)
[3] Study #1 --- Unsolicited feedback on "brights" (p24-25)
[4] Study #2 --- Solicited feedback on "brights" (p25-32)
[5] Study #3 --- Focus group feedback on "brights" (p32-36)
[6] What is in a name (p37)
What is a "skeptic"? A skeptic is a seeker after truth --- an inquirer who has not yet arrived at definite convictions. Skepticism is "seek and keep an open mind!"
What does it mean to have an open mind? It is to find the essential balance between orthodoxy and heresy, between a total commitment to the status quo and the blind pursuit of new ideas, between being open-minded enough to accept radical new ideas and being so open-minded that your brains fall out.
Skeptic is a virtuous word. The virtue of skepticism is in finding that balance. Skepticism is not "seek and ye shall find," which is a classic case of what is called the "confirmation bias" in cognitive psychology.
Etymologically, the meaning of the word SKEPTIC has a Latin derivative --- "scepticus" for inquiring or reflective. The ancient Greek meanings include, "scepticus" for thoughtful and watchman and mark to aim at. (p37)
3) Heresies of science (p38-53)
Why you should be skeptical of what you always thought was true
[1] The fuzzy factor (p40-52)
(1) Heresy #1 --- The universe is not all there is (p40-42)
(2) Heresy #2 --- Time travel is possible (p42-44)
(3) Heresy #3 --- Evolution is not progressive (p44-46)
(4) Heresy #4 --- Oil is not a fossil fuel (p46-48)
(5) Heresy #5 --- Cancer is an infectious disease (p48-50)
(6) Heresy #6 --- The brain and spinal cord can regenerate (p50-52)
[2] Heretics and skeptics (p52-53)
4) The virtues of skepticism (p54-66)
A way of thinking and a way of life
Excerpts from the book by American Humanist, Paul Kurtz, from his book The Transcendental Temptation:
"The temptation lurks deep within the human mind. It is ever-present, tempting humans by the lure of transcendental realities, subverting the power of their critical intelligence, enabling them to accept unproven and unfounded myth systems." (p65)
Specifically, Kurtz argues that myths, religions, and claims of the paranormal are lures tempting us beyond rational, critical, and scientific thinking, for the very reason that they touch something in us that is sacred and important --- life and immortality:
"This impulse is so strong that it has inspired the great religions and paranormal movements of the past and the present and goaded otherwise sensible men and women to swallow patently false myths and to repeat them constantly as articles of faith."
Kurtz asks: What drives this temptation? His answer is both insightful and elegant:
"Let us reflect on the human situation --- all of our plans will fail in the long run, if not in the short. The homes we have built and lovingly furnished, the loves we have enjoyed, the careers we have dedicated ourselves to will all disappear in time. The monuments we have erected to memorialize our aspirations and achievements, if we are fortunate, may last a few hundred years, perhaps a millennium or two or three --- like the stark and splendid ruins of Rome and Greece, Egypt and Judea, which have been recovered and treasured by later civilizations. But all the works of human beings disappear and are forgotten in short order. In the immediate future the beautiful clothing that we adorn ourselves with, eventually even our cherished children and grandchildren, and all of our possessions will have dissipated." (p65-66)
"Many of our poems and books, our paintings and statues will be forgotten, buried on some library shelf or in a museum, read or seen by some future scholars curious about the past, and eventually eaten by worms and molds, or perhaps consumed by fire. Even the things that we prize the most, human intelligence and love, democratic values, the quest for truth, will in time be replaced by unknown values and institutions --- if the human species survives, and even that is uncertain." (p66)
Kurtz sounds like a pessimist, but he is actually a realist and even an optimist:
"Were I to take an inventory of the sum of goods in human life, they would far outweigh the banalities of evil...The pessimist points to duplicity and cruelty in the world: I am impressed by the sympathy, honesty, and kindness that are manifested. The pessimist reminds us of ignorance and stupidity: I, remind us of the continued growth of human knowledge and understanding. The pessimist emphasizes the failures and defeats: I emphasize the successes and victories in all their glory!" (p66)
Finally, Kurtz ' most important point concerning the meaning and goals of skepticism is:
"If there are any lessons to be learned from history, it is that we should be skeptical of all points of view, including those of the skeptics. No one is infallible, and no one can claim a monopoly on truth or virtue. It would be contradictory for skepticism to seek to translate itself into a new faith. One must view with caution the promises of any new secular priest who might emerge promising a brave new world --- if only his or her path to clarity and truth is followed. Perhaps the best we can hope for is to temper the intemperate and to tame the perverse temptation that lurks within." (p66)
PART 2 --- SCIENCE AND THE MEANING OF BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT (p67-108)
5) Spin-doctoring science (p69-90)
Science as a Candle in the Darkness of the anthropology wars
Humans in general are the erotic-fierce people, making love and war far too frequently for our own good as both overpopulation and conflict threaten our very existence. Just as science has been our candle in the dark illuminating our path into the heart of human nature, science is our greatest hope for the future, showing us how best we can utilize our natures to ensure our survival. (p90)
6) Psyched up, psyched out (p91-100)
Sports psychology works?
7) Shadowlands (p101-108)
Science and spirit in life and death
PART 3 --- SCIENCE AND THE (RE) WRITING OF HISTORY (p109-224)
8) Darwin on the bounty (p111-129)
The how and why of the greatest mutiny in history
9) Exorcising Laplace's demon (p130-152)
Clio, chaos, and complexity
10) What if? (p153-172)
What might have been and what had to be
11) The new new creationism (p173-199)
Intelligent design theory and its discontents
12) History's heretics (p200-224)
Who and what mattered in the past?
PART 4 --- SCIENCE AND THE CULT OF VISIONARIES (p225-268)
13) The hero on the edge of forever (p227-240)
Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek, and the Heroic Person in history
14) This view of science (p241-268)
The history, science, and philosophy of Stephen Jay Gould
NOTES (p269-277)
PERMISSIONS (p279-280)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTES (p281-283)
INDEX (p285-296)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (p297)
Michael Shermer is a columnist for Scientific American magazine and the author of the bestselling books, Why People Believe Weird Things, How We Believe, and The Science of Good and Evil. Also he is the publisher of the Skeptic Magazine and the executive director of the Skeptics Society, and the host of the Skeptics Lecture Series at the California Institute of Technology.
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Focus on the Self-Liberation Philosophy