| Search | About | Preferences | Interact | Help | |
| 150 million books. 1 search engine. | ||
› Find signed collectible books: 'The Age of Reason'
An idealist, a radical, and a master rhetorician, Thomas Paine wrote and lived with a keen sense of urgency and excitement. In The Age of Reason, Thomas Paine declares that all religious traditions are ultimately established for the dependence of mankind. He openly criticizes the Bible and many of the fallacies contained within, as well as providing a shrewd analysis of Christianity and how it developed from its pagan ancestry-arguments many critics claim carry weight today. Paine alienated many of his countrymen with his incendiary viewpoints. Forced to leave America for England, Paine eventually returned to the United States in 1802, though he remained all but ostracized. He died in poverty seven years later in 1809. AUTHOR BIO: Thomas Paine (1737-1809) was an Anglo-American political theorist and writer born in Norfolk, England. In 1774, Paine emigrated to America, bearing letters of introduction from Benjamin Franklin. Soon thereafter, he became involved in the clashes between England and the American colonies and published the enormously successful pamphlet Common Sense in 1776, which was widely distributed and contributed to the patriot cause throughout the American Revolution. [via]
More editions of The Age of Reason: Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology:
› Find signed collectible books: 'The Age of Reason: Examination of the Prophecies'
Until the publication of this annotated edition, Thomas Paine's third part of "The Age Of Reason" was extremely rare and almost unknown. Titled "Examination of the Prophecies," the book examines all the supposed prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament alleged by the evangelists of the New Testament. With great wit and penetrating logic, Paine showed that not one of the Old Testament passages cited had anything to do with the Christian's would-be Messiah. Paine appears to have been the first writer in English to suggest that Jesus was not an historical figure.
Frank R. Zindler's marginal notes and commentary examine the Greek and Hebrew texts of the verses being discussed. They show that Paine, who knew no ancient languages and knew of none of the important biblical manuscripts that would be discovered after his death, was astonishingly correct in his critique. [via]
More editions of The Age of Reason: Examination of the Prophecies:

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Borderlands of Science: Where Sense Meets Nonsense'
As author of the bestselling Why People Believe Weird Things and How We Believe, and Editor-in-Chief of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer has emerged as the nation's number one scourge of superstition and bad science. Now, in The Borderlands of Science, he takes us to the place where real science (such as the big bang theory), borderland science (superstring theory), and just plain nonsense (Big Foot) collide with one another.
Shermer argues that science is the best lens through which to view the world, but he recognizes that it's often difficult for most of us to tell where valid science leaves off and borderland science begins. To help us, Shermer looks at a range of topics that put the boundary line in high relief. For instance, he discusses the many "theories of everything" that try to reduce the complexity of the world to a single principle, and shows how most fall into the category of pseudoscience. He examines the work of Darwin and Freud, explaining why one is among the great scientists in history, while the other has become nothing more than a historical curiosity. He also shows how Carl Sagan's life exemplified the struggle we all face to find a balance between being open-minded enough to recognize radical new ideas but not so open-minded that our brains fall out. And finally, he reveals how scientists themselves can be led astray, as seen in the infamous Piltdown Hoax.
Michael Shermer's enlightening volume will be a valuable aid to anyone bewildered by the many scientific theories swirling about. It will help us stay grounded in common sense as we try to evaluate everything from SETI and acupuncture to hypnosis and cloning. [via]
More editions of The Borderlands of Science: Where Sense Meets Nonsense:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon'
More editions of Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Breaking the Spell: Religion As a Natural Phenomenon'
An innovative thinker tackles the controversial question of why we believe in God and how religion shapes our lives and our future
For a growing number of people, there is nothing more important than religion. It is an integral part of their marriage, child rearing, and community. In this daring new book, distinguished philosopher Daniel C. Dennett takes a hard look at this phenomenon and asks why. Where does our devotion to God come from and what purpose does it serve? Is religion a blind evolutionary compulsion or a rational choice? In Breaking the Spell, Dennett argues that the time has come to shed the light of science on the fundamental questions of faith.
In a spirited narrative that ranges widely through history, philosophy, and psychology, Dennett explores how organized religion evolved from folk beliefs and why it is such a potent force today. Deftly and lucidly, he contends that the "belief in belief" has fogged any attempt to rationally consider the existence of God and the relationship between divinity and human need.
Breaking the Spell is not an antireligious screed but rather an eyeopening exploration of the role that belief plays in our lives, our interactions, and our country. With the gulf between rationalists and adherents of "intelligent design" widening daily, Dennett has written a timely and provocative book that will be read and passionately debated by believers and nonbelievers alike. [via]
More editions of Breaking the Spell: Religion As a Natural Phenomenon:

› Find signed collectible books: 'David Hume Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion in Focus'
More editions of David Hume Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion in Focus:
› Find signed collectible books: 'The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark'
Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories, and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a "baloney detection kit" for thinking through political, social, religious, and other issues. [via]
More editions of The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark:
› Find signed collectible books: 'A Devil's Chaplain: Selected Essays'
Richard Dawkins has an opinion on everything biological, it seems, and in A Devil's Chaplain, everything is biological. Dawkins weighs in on topics as diverse as ape rights, jury trials, religion, and education, all examined through the lens of natural selection and evolution. Although many of these essays have been published elsewhere, this book is something of a greatest-hits compilation, reprinting many of Dawkins' most famous recent compositions. They are well worth re-reading. His 1998 review of Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont's Fashionable Nonsense is as bracing an indictment of academic obscurantism as the book it covered, although the review reveals some of Dawkins' personal biases as well. Several essays are devoted to skillfully debunking religion and mysticism, and these are likely to raise the hackles of even casual believers. Science, and more specifically evolutionary science, underlies each essay, giving readers a glimpse into the last several years' debates about the minutiae of natural selection. In one moving piece, Dawkins reflects on his late rival Stephen Jay Gould's magnum opus, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory, and clarifies what it was the two Darwinist heavyweights actually disagreed about. While the collection showcases Dawkins' brilliance and intellectual sparkle, it brings up as many questions as it answers. As an ever-ardent champion of science, honest discourse, and rational debate, Dawkins will obviously relish the challenge of answering them. --Therese Littleton [via]
More editions of A Devil's Chaplain: Selected Essays:

› Find signed collectible books: 'A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science and Love'
More editions of A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science and Love:

› Find signed collectible books: 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion'
In the posthumously published "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion", the Enlightenment philosopher David Hume attacked many of the traditional arguments for the existence of God, expressing the belief that religion is founded on ignorance and irrational fears. Though calm and courteous in tone - at times even tactfully ambiguous - the conversations between Hume's vividly realized fictional figures form perhaps the most searching case ever mounted against orthodox Christian theological thinking and the 'deism' of the time, which pointed to the wonders of creation as conclusive evidence of God's Design. Hume's characters debate these issues with extraordinary passion, lucidity and humor, in one of the most compelling philosophical works ever written. [via]
More editions of Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion: The Posthumous Essays of the Immortality of the Soul and of Suicide'
This is an electronic edition of the complete book complemented by author biography. This book features the table of contents linked to every part. The book was designed for optimal navigation on the Kindle, PDA, Smartphone, and other electronic readers. It is formatted to display on all electronic devices including the Kindle, Smartphones and other Mobile Devices with a small display.
******************
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion is a philosophical work written by the Scottish philosopher David Hume. Through dialogue, three fictional characters named Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes debate the nature of God's existence. While all three agree that a god exists, they differ sharply in opinion on God's nature or attributes and how, or if, humankind can come to knowledge of a deity.
In the Dialogues, Hume's characters debate a number of arguments for the existence of God, and arguments whose proponents believe through which we may come to know the nature of God. Such topics debated include the argument from design -- for which Hume uses a house -- and whether there is more suffering or good in the world (argument from evil).
Hume started writing the Dialogues in 1750 but did not complete them until 1776, shortly before his death. They are based partly on Cicero's De Natura Deorum. The Dialogues were published posthumously in 1779, originally with neither the author's nor the publisher's name.
- Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
More e-Books from MobileReference - Best Books. Best Price. Best Search and Navigation (TM)
All fiction books are only $0.99. All collections are only $5.99
Designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices
Search for any title: enter mobi (shortened MobileReference) and a keyword; for example: mobi Shakespeare
To view all books, click on the MobileReference link next to a book title
Literary Classics: Over 10,000 complete works by Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Conan Doyle, Jules Verne, Dickens, Tolstoy, and other authors. All books feature hyperlinked table of contents, footnotes, and author biography. Books are also available as collections, organized by an author. Collections simplify book access through categorical, alphabetical, and chronological indexes. They offer lower price, convenience of one-time download, and reduce clutter of titles in your digital library.
Religion: The Illustrated King James Bible, American Standard Bible, World English Bible (Modern Translation), Mormon Church's Sacred Texts
Philosophy: Rousseau, Spinoza, Plato, Aristotle, Marx, Engels
Travel Guides and Phrasebooks for All Major Cities: New York, Paris, London, Rome, Venice, Prague, Beijing, Greece
Medical Study Guides: Anatomy and Physiology, Pharmacology, Abbreviations and Terminology, Human Nervous System, Biochemistry
College Study Guides: FREE Weight and Measures, Physics, Math, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Statistics, Languages, Philosophy, Psychology, Mythology
History: Art History, American Presidents, U.S. History, Encyclopedias of Roman Empire, Ancient Egypt
Health: Acupressure Guide, First Aid Guide, Art of Love, Cookbook, Cocktails, Astrology
Reference: The World's Biggest Mobile Encyclopedia; CIA World Factbook, Illustrated Encyclopedias of Birds, Mammals
[via]More editions of Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion: The Posthumous Essays of the Immortality of the Soul and of Suicide:

› Find signed collectible books: 'Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion: The Posthumous Essays of the Immortality of the Soul and of Suicide From an Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding of Miracles'
More editions of Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion: The Posthumous Essays of the Immortality of the Soul and of Suicide From an Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding of Miracles:

› Find signed collectible books: 'Did Adam and Eve Have Navels: Discourses on Reflexology, Numerology, Urine Therapy, and Other Dubious Subjects'
More editions of Did Adam and Eve Have Navels: Discourses on Reflexology, Numerology, Urine Therapy, and Other Dubious Subjects:

› Find signed collectible books: 'Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience'
More editions of Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Doubt: A History the Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson'
In the tradition of grand sweeping histories such as From Dawn To Decadence, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, and A History of God, Hecht champions doubt and questioning as one of the great and noble, if unheralded, intellectual traditions that distinguish the Western mind especially-from Socrates to Galileo and Darwin to Wittgenstein and Hawking. This is an account of the world's greatest intellectual virtuosos,' who are also humanity's greatest doubters and disbelievers, from the ancient Greek philosophers, Jesus, and the Eastern religions, to modern secular equivalents Marx, Freud and Darwinand their attempts to reconcile the seeming meaninglessness of the universe with the human need for meaning,
This remarkable book ranges from the early Greeks, Hebrew figures such as Job and Ecclesiastes, Eastern critical wisdom, Roman stoicism, Jesus as a man of doubt, Gnosticism and Christian mystics, medieval Islamic, Jewish and Christian skeptics, secularism, the rise of science, modern and contemporary critical thinkers such as Schopenhauer, Darwin, Marx, Freud, Nietzsche, the existentialists.
[via]More editions of Doubt: A History the Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes'
James Randi, professional magician and skeptic, has put together an encyclopedia with something for everyone. Yes, no matter who you are, unless you're a thoroughgoing atheist, Randi is bound to offend your beliefs at one point or another. As Arthur C. Clarke says in his introduction, the book "should be issued with a mental health warning, as many readers--if they are brave enough to face unwelcome facts--will find some of their cherished beliefs totally demolished." Randi is dryly sarcastic about hundreds of topics, including Catholic relics, speaking in tongues, Jehovah's Witnesses, yoga, the origins of Mormonism, dowsing, magnetic hills, UFOs, and every spiritualist of the past several centuries. A typical entry defines a nymph as: "in the real world, the immature form of the dragonfly and certain other insects, or a young woman with robust sexual interests. Take your choice." Comprehensive, exasperating and exasperated, witty, and unsparing, Randi's encyclopedia provides more debunking per page than any other resource. --Mary Ellen Curtin [via]
More editions of Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes:

› Find signed collectible books: 'An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural'
More editions of An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural:
› Find signed collectible books: 'End of Faith: Religion, Terror, And the Future of Reason'
Sam Harris cranks out blunt, hard-hitting chapters to make his case for why faith itself is the most dangerous element of modern life. And if the devil's in the details, then you'll find Satan waiting at the back of the book in the very substantial notes section where Harris saves his more esoteric discussions to avoid sidetracking the urgency of his message.
Interestingly, Harris is not just focused on debunking religious faith, though he makes his compelling arguments with verve and intellectual clarity. The End of Faith is also a bit of a philosophical Swiss Army knife. Once he has presented his arguments on why, in an age of Weapons of Mass Destruction, belief is now a hazard of great proportions, he focuses on proposing alternate approaches to the mysteries of life. Harris recognizes the truth of the human condition, that we fear death, and we often crave "something more" we cannot easily define, and which is not met by accumulating more material possessions. But by attempting to provide the cure for the ills it defines, the book bites off a bit more than it can comfortably chew in its modest page count (however the rich Bibliography provides more than enough background for an intrigued reader to follow up for months on any particular strand of the author' musings.)
Harris' heart is not as much in the latter chapters, though, but in presenting his main premise. Simply stated, any belief system that speaks with assurance about the hereafter has the potential to place far less value on the here and now. And thus the corollary -- when death is simply a door translating us from one existence to another, it loses its sting and finality. Harris pointedly asks us to consider that those who do not fear death for themselves, and who also revere ancient scriptures instructing them to mete it out generously to others, may soon have these weapons in their own hands. If thoughts along the same line haunt you, this is your book.--Ed Dobeas [via]
More editions of End of Faith: Religion, Terror, And the Future of Reason:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals'
Reprinted from the posthumous edition of 1777 and edited with introduction, comparative tables of contents, and analytical index by L. A. Selby-Bigge. Third edition with text revised and notes by P. H. Nidditch. [via]
More editions of Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals:
› Find signed collectible books: 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding'
Philosopher David Hume was considered to one of the most important figures in the age of Scottish enlightenment. In "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" Hume discusses the weakness that humans have in their abilities to comprehend the world around them, what is referred to in the title as human understanding. This work, now commonly required reading in philosophy classes, exposed a broad audience to philosophy when it was first published. A great introduction to the philosophy of David Hume, "An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" and the ideas within it are as intriguing today as when they were first written. [via]
More editions of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding:

› Find signed collectible books: 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding: A Letter from a Gentleman to His Friend in Edinburgh'
More editions of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding: A Letter from a Gentleman to His Friend in Edinburgh:
› Find signed collectible books: 'An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. And Other Writings'
David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, first published in 1748, is a concise statement of Hume's central philosophical positions. It develops an account of human mental functioning which emphasizes the limits of human knowledge and the extent of our reliance on (non-rational) mental habits. It then applies that account to questions of free will and religious knowledge before closing with a defence of moderate scepticism. This volume, which presents a modified version of the definitive 1772 edition of the work, offers helpful annotation for the student reader, together with an introduction that sets this profoundly influential work in its philosophical and historical contexts. The volume also includes a selection of other works by Hume that throw light on both the circumstances of the work's genesis and its key themes and arguments. [via]
More editions of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. And Other Writings:

› Find signed collectible books: 'Fads and Fallacies'
More editions of Fads and Fallacies:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science'
More editions of Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science:

› Find signed collectible books: 'The Faith Healers'
James Randi, the celebrated magician, has written a damning indictment of the faith-healing practices of the leading televangelists and others who claim divine healing powers. Randi and his team of researchers attended scores of 'miracle services' and often were pronounced 'healed' of the non-existent illnesses they claimed. They viewed first-hand the tragedies resulting from the wide-spread belief that faith healing can cure every conceivable disease. The ministries, they discovered, were rife with deception, chicanery, and often outright fraud. Self-annointed ministers of God convince the gullible that they have been healed - and that they should pay for the service. This book examines in depth the reasons for belief in faith healing and the catastrophic results for the victims of these hoaxes. Included in Randi's book are profiles of a highly profitable 'psychic dentist', and the 'Vatican-approved wizard'. [via]

› Find signed collectible books: 'Flim-Flam'
More editions of Flim-Flam:
› Find signed collectible books: 'The God Delusion'
More editions of The God Delusion:
› Find signed collectible books: 'How We Believe: Science, Skepticism, and the Search for God'
One hundred years ago social scientists predicted that belief in God would decrease by the year 2000. "In fact ... the opposite is has occurred," Shermer writes in his introduction. "Never in history have so many, and such a high percentage of the population, believed in God. Not only is God not dead as Nietzche proclaimed, but he has never been more alive."
Why do so many believe in the existence of something so inexplicable? That's exactly what Shermer answers in this comprehensive, intelligent, and highly readable discussion about the nature of faith. "People believe in God because the evidence of their senses tell them so," claims Shermer, who is the publisher of Skeptics magazine. Having been a believer and a student of the history of science, Shermer (now an agnostic) is more interested in knowing why and how people believe in God rather than trying to prove who's right or wrong. As a result, this book is not only even-handed and thorough, it is also destined to become a timeless contribution to spirituality as well as science. --Gail Hudson [via]
More editions of How We Believe: Science, Skepticism, and the Search for God:
› Find signed collectible books: 'How We Believe : The Search for God in an Age of Science'
One hundred years ago social scientists predicted that belief in God would decrease by the year 2000. "In fact ... the opposite is has occurred," Shermer writes in his introduction. "Never in history have so many, and such a high percentage of the population, believed in God. Not only is God not dead as Nietzche proclaimed, but he has never been more alive."
Why do so many believe in the existence of something so inexplicable? That's exactly what Shermer answers in this comprehensive, intelligent, and highly readable discussion about the nature of faith. "People believe in God because the evidence of their senses tell them so," claims Shermer, who is the publisher of Skeptics magazine. Having been a believer and a student of the history of science, Shermer (now an agnostic) is more interested in knowing why and how people believe in God rather than trying to prove who's right or wrong. As a result, this book is not only even-handed and thorough, it is also destined to become a timeless contribution to spirituality as well as science. --Gail Hudson [via]
More editions of How We Believe : The Search for God in an Age of Science:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding an Abstract'
Library of Liberal Arts title. [via]
More editions of Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding an Abstract:

› Find signed collectible books: 'An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding: With a Supplement, An Abstract of A Treatise of Human Nature'
More editions of An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding: With a Supplement, An Abstract of A Treatise of Human Nature:

› Find signed collectible books: 'Natural History of Religion'
More editions of Natural History of Religion:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Prince Edward'
More editions of Prince Edward:

› Find signed collectible books: 'Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown'
More editions of Science Friction: Where the Known Meets the Unknown:
› Find signed collectible books: 'The Science of Good and Evil : Why People Cheat, Share, Gossip, and Follow the Golden Rule'
More editions of The Science of Good and Evil : Why People Cheat, Share, Gossip, and Follow the Golden Rule:
› Find signed collectible books: 'The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions'
A wealth of evidence for doubters and disbelievers
"Whether it's the latest shark cartilage scam, or some new 'repressed memory' idiocy that besets you, I suggest you carry a copy of this dictionary at all times, or at least have it within reach as first aid for psychic attacks. We need all the help we can get."
-James Randi, President, James Randi Educational Foundation, randi.org
"From alternative medicine, aliens, and psychics to the farthest shores of science and beyond, Robert Carroll presents a fascinating look at some of humanity's most strange and wonderful ideas. Refreshing and witty, both believers and unbelievers will find this compendium complete and captivating. Buy this book and feed your head!"
-Clifford Pickover, author of The Stars of Heaven and Dreaming the Future
"A refreshing compendium of clear thinking, a welcome and potent antidote to the reams of books on the supernatural and pseudoscientific."
-John Allen Paulos, author of Innumeracy and A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper
"This book covers an amazing range of topics and can protect many people from being scammed."
-Stephen Barrett, M.D., quackwatch.org
Featuring close to 400 definitions, arguments, and essays on topics ranging from acupuncture to zombies, The Skeptic's Dictionary is a lively, commonsense trove of detailed information on all things supernatural, occult, paranormal, and pseudoscientific. It covers such categories as alternative medicine; cryptozoology; extraterrestrials and UFOs; frauds and hoaxes; junk science; logic and perception; New Age energy; and the psychic. For the open-minded seeker, the soft or hardened skeptic, and the believing doubter, this book offers a remarkable range of information that puts to the test the best arguments of true believers. [via]
More editions of The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions:

› Find signed collectible books: 'Sleeping With Extra-Terrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety'
"It's easy to imagine a TV sitcom making fun of a character who visits psychics and astrologers and channels Sarah Bernhardt," opines Wendy Kaminer, "but virtually impossible to imagine it laughing at anyone who takes the Bible literally and believes that someone named Jonah once lived in a whale." She goes on to demonstrate that, despite the complaints from many religious people that the "secular media" mocks their beliefs, American culture still shows a high degree of respect for the faithful and pious, while popular hostility towards atheists continues to rise. But "why should it be socially acceptable to make fun of psychics and not priests?" That's one of many provocative questions Kaminer raises in Sleeping with Extra-Terrestrials, a critical assessment of the extent to which U.S. society has succumbed to the irrational.
Kaminer goes on to sift her way through pop spirituality "classics" like The Celestine Prophecy and Conversations with God and visits seminars by New Age gurus (leaving her "amused and dismayed by the painful stupidities that people embrace to ease their fears of death"), but Sleeping with Extra-Terrestrials is not merely an assault on religion--Kaminer also attacks purveyors of junk science, the influence of the recovered-memory movement on both feminism and the American court system, and the "cyberspacy" claims made by boosters of technological progress. Whether she's considering the extensive belief in UFOs and alien abductions or wondering why so many people worshipped Princess Diana in the hour of her death, Kaminer shows how an unrestrained culture of faith "encourages passivity, gullibility, and a childlike craving for authority." Rationalists will find her skepticism a refreshing tonic. --Ron Hogan [via]
More editions of Sleeping With Extra-Terrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety:
› Find signed collectible books: 'A Treatise of Human Nature'
Nothing is more usual and more natural for those, who pretend to discover anything new to the world in philosophy and the sciences, than to insinuate the praises of their own systems, by decrying all those, which have been advanced before them. [via]
More editions of A Treatise of Human Nature:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder'
Why do poets and artists so often disparage science in their work? For that matter, why does so much scientific literature compare poorly with, say, the phone book? After struggling with questions like these for years, biologist Richard Dawkins has taken a wide-ranging view of the subjects of meaning and beauty in Unweaving the Rainbow, a deeply humanistic examination of science, mysticism, and human nature. Notably strong-willed in a profession of bet-hedgers and wait-and-seers, Dawkins carries the reader along on a romp through the natural and cultural worlds, determined that "science, at its best, should leave room for poetry."
Inspired by the frequently asked question, "Why do you bother getting up in the morning?" following publication of his book The Selfish Gene, Dawkins set out determined to show that understanding nature's mechanics need not sap one's zest for life. Alternately enlightening and maddening, Unweaving the Rainbow will appeal to all thoughtful readers, whether wild-eyed technophiles or grumpy, cabin-dwelling Luddites. Excoriations of newspaper astrology columns follow quotes from Blake and Shakespeare, which are sandwiched between sparkling, easy-to-follow discussions of probability, behavior, and evolution. In Dawkins's world (and, he hopes, in ours), science is poetry; he ends his journey by referring to his title's author and subject, maintaining that "A Keats and a Newton, listening to each other, might hear the galaxies sing." --Rob Lightner [via]
More editions of Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud'
Scientific error, says Robert Park, "has a way of evolving ... from self-delusion to fraud. I use the term voodoo science to cover them all: pathological science, junk science, pseudoscience, and fraudulent science." In pathological science, scientists fool themselves. Junk science refers to scientists who use their expertise to befuddle and mislead others (usually juries or lawmakers). Pseudoscience has the trappings of science without any evidence. Fraudulent science is, well, fraud--old-fashioned lying.
Park is well-acquainted with voodoo science in all its forms. Since 1982, he has headed the Washington, D.C., office of the American Physical Society, and he has carried the flag for scientific rationality through cold fusion, homeopathy, "Star Wars," quantum healing, and sundry attempts to repeal the laws of thermodynamics. Park shows why a "disproportionate share of the science seen by the public is flawed" (because shaky science is more likely to skip past peer review and head straight for the media), and he gives a good tour of recent highlights in Voodoo. He has a rare ability to poke holes compassionately, without excoriating those taken in by their fondest wishes. Park is less forgiving of scientists (especially Edward Teller) when he thinks they've fallen down on the job, a job that should include helping the public separate the scientific wheat from the voodoo chaff. --Mary Ellen Curtin [via]
More editions of Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud:

› Find signed collectible books: 'Why I Am Not a Christian'
More editions of Why I Am Not a Christian:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Why I Am Not a Christian, and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects'
Dedicated as few men have been to the life of reason, Bertrand Russell has always been concerned with the basic questions to which religion also addresses itself -- questions about man's place in the universe and the nature of the good life, questions that involve life after death, morality, freedom, education, and sexual ethics. He brings to his treatment of these questions the same courage, scrupulous logic, and lofty wisdom for which his other work as philosopher, writer, and teacher has been famous. These qualities make the essays included in this book perhaps the most graceful and moving presentation of the freethinker's position since the days of Hume and Voltaire.
"I am as firmly convinced that religions do harm as I am that they are untrue," Russell declares in his Preface, and his reasoned opposition to any system or dogma which he feels may shackle man's mind runs through all the essays in this book, whether they were written as early as 1899 or as late as 1954.
The book has been edited, with Lord Russell's full approval and cooperation, by Professor Paul Edwards of the Philosophy Department of New York University. In an Appendix, Professor Edwards contributes a full account of the highly controversial "Bertrand Russell Case" of 1940, in which Russell was judicially declared "unfit" to teach philosophy at the College of the City of New York.
Whether the reader shares or rejects Bertrand Russell's views, he will find this book an invigorating challenge to set notions, a masterly statement of a philosophical position, and a pure joy to read. [via]
More editions of Why I Am Not a Christian, and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Why People Believe Weird Things'
Few can talk with more personal authority about the range of human beliefs than Michael Shermer. At various times in the past, Shermer has believed in fundamentalist Christianity, alien abductions, Ayn Rand, megavitamin therapy, and deep-tissue massage. Now he believes in skepticism, and his motto is "Cognite tute--think for yourself." This updated edition of Why People Believe Weird Things covers Holocaust denial and creationism in considerable detail, and has chapters on abductions, Satanism, Afrocentrism, near-death experiences, Randian positivism, and psychics. Shermer has five basic answers to the implied question in his title: for consolation, for immediate gratification, for simplicity, for moral meaning, and because hope springs eternal. He shows the kinds of errors in thinking that lead people to believe weird (that is, unsubstantiated) things, especially the built-in human need to see patterns, even where there is no pattern to be seen. Throughout, Shermer emphasizes that skepticism (in his sense) does not need to be cynicism: "Rationality tied to moral decency is the most powerful joint instrument for good that our planet has ever known." --Mary Ellen Curtin [via]
More editions of Why People Believe Weird Things:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time'
Few can talk with more personal authority about the range of human beliefs than Michael Shermer. At various times in the past, Shermer has believed in fundamentalist Christianity, alien abductions, Ayn Rand, megavitamin therapy, and deep-tissue massage. Now he believes in skepticism, and his motto is "Cognite tute--think for yourself." This updated edition of Why People Believe Weird Things covers Holocaust denial and creationism in considerable detail, and has chapters on abductions, Satanism, Afrocentrism, near-death experiences, Randian positivism, and psychics. Shermer has five basic answers to the implied question in his title: for consolation, for immediate gratification, for simplicity, for moral meaning, and because hope springs eternal. He shows the kinds of errors in thinking that lead people to believe weird (that is, unsubstantiated) things, especially the built-in human need to see patterns, even where there is no pattern to be seen. Throughout, Shermer emphasizes that skepticism (in his sense) does not need to be cynicism: "Rationality tied to moral decency is the most powerful joint instrument for good that our planet has ever known." --Mary Ellen Curtin [via]
More editions of Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition and Other Confusions of Our Time:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Ciencia O Vudu / Woodoo Science'
More editions of Ciencia O Vudu / Woodoo Science:
› Find signed collectible books: 'Destejiendo El Arco Iris'
Desde la astronomia y la genetica hasta el lenguaje y la realidad virtual, Richard Dawkins nos demuestra -y nos convence con ejemplos irreprochables- que la ciencia tambien entrana belleza; y que el descubrimiento de los mecanismos que rigen los fenomenos naturales no solo no destruye su poesia sino que la ensalza, revelandonos aspectos sorprendentes que de ninguna otra manera podriamos apreciar o imaginar. Con un enorme caudal de citas poeticas, Destejiendo el arco iris sugiere que puede aprenderse mucho de los poetas, que la ciencia deberia saber recurrir a imagenes y metaforas inspiradoras que facilitarian una comprension profunda y una investigacion fertil. / Mysteries don't lose their poetry because they are solved: the solution often is more beautiful than the puzzle, uncovering deeper mysteries. Bestselling author, Dawkins takes up important topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics to language and virtual reality, combining them in a landmark statement of the human appetite for wonder. [via]
More editions of Destejiendo El Arco Iris:

› Find signed collectible books: 'Tenian Ombligo Adan y Eva?'
More editions of Tenian Ombligo Adan y Eva?:
