Listing books in philosophy
| Full title | The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Author | Carl Sagan (author) |
| Categories | Astronomy, philosophy and science |
| Publication year | 1996 |
| Pages | 416 |
| Synopsis | The Demon-Haunted World deals with human imagination, science, and scepticism, in a nutshell. In reality it's so much more: It's a defense of scepticism, an advertisement for science, a crash course in wonder, and an explanation of science and what it's all about. My favorite chapters, I think, are The Dragon in My Garage and The Fine Art of Baloney Detection. |
| Full title | Free Will [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Author | Sam Harris (author) |
| Category | Philosophy |
| Publication year | 2012 |
| Pages | 96 |
| Synopsis | Using psychology, results from neuroscience, and clever reasoning, Sam Harris shows how free will is an illusion. |
| Full title | Freedom Evolves [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Author | Daniel Dennett (author) |
| Publisher | Viking Books |
| Categories | Philosophy, psychology and science |
| Publication year | 2003 |
| ISBN | 0-670-03186-0 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] |
| Pages | 347 |
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| Structure |
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Chapter 1: Natural Freedom
Chapter 2: A Tool for Thinking About Determinism
Chapter 3: Thinking About Determinism
Chapter 4: A Hearing for Libertarianism
Chapter 5: Where Does all the Design Come From?
Chapter 6: The Evolution of Open Minds
Chapter 7: The Evolution of Moral Agency
Chapter 8: Are You Out of the Loop?
Chapter 9: Bootstrapping Ourselves Free
Chapter 10: The Future of Human Freedom
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| Full title | Letters to a Young Contrarian [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Author | Christopher Hitchens (author) |
| Publisher | Basic Books |
| Categories | Journalism and philosophy |
| Publisher series | Art of Mentoring (1/15) |
| Publication year | 2005 |
| Original publication year | 2001 |
| ISBN | 978-0-465-03033-0 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] |
| Pages | 141 |
| Synopsis | A collection of imaginary letters to a young contrarian. The beginning of each letter imagines that the reader has sent a reply to the previous one, and the current one is a reply to that, so that reading the book seems to be a conversation. The book deals with how to be a public intellectual with contrary views, and how to deal with all the hardships that come with that obligation. |
| Review | It's a very short book, and once started, it's very hard to put it down. Hitchens is a very eloquent writer, besides being knowledgeable and engaged. In the book he deals a little bit with his public confrontations (his criticism of Mother Theresa and Henry Kissinger, for instance), really as examples for pontificating on the life of a contrarian. There's a little part of the book that I liked where he explores various words for a contrarian, such as rebel, revolutionary, and an "angry young man". |
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| Full title | Lying [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Authors | Annaka Harris (editor) and Sam Harris (author) |
| Categories | Essay, philosophy and psychology |
| Publication year | 2011 |
| Original publication year | 2011 |
| Pages | 66 |
| Synopsis | Lying is a very short book about the implications and morality of lying. In short, Harris argues (successfully, in my opinion) that one should never lie, even about the smallest things, if what you're trying to do is build good relationships with people. He even goes into border cases, such as a wife asking her husband if she looks good in a dress (one can answer the sub-text of a question, not necessarily the literal meaning of it) and someone hiding a Jew when a Nazi comes a-knockin' on the door (in that case, you're not really trying to build a lasting relationship with the person). |
| Review | Sam Harris is a really talented writer, and reading his material is never boring. This book is no exception, and the fact that it's as short as it is, is a point in its favor. It's the perfect length when all you're doing is making an argument, not laying out in detail a theory. (I wish more writers would be similarly inspired to brevity.) |
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| Full title | The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Author | Sam Harris (author) |
| Publisher | Black Swan |
| Categories | Philosophy and science |
| Publication year | 2012 |
| Original publication year | 2010 |
| ISBN | 978-0-552-77638-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] |
| Pages | 380 |
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| Full title | Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Authors | Daniel Klein and Thomas Cathcart |
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
| Categories | Humor and philosophy |
| Publication year | 2008 |
| Original publication year | 2007 |
| ISBN | 978-0-14-311387-4 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] |
| Pages | 215 |
| Synopsis | The book is divided into ten chapters, each dealing with a different area of philosophy. The chapters explain concepts concerning each area, interspersed with banter and jokes. |
| Review | As many people have observed, a session of jokes can often illuminate a subject more than hours of discussion can, and this book is an example of that. The book is essentially a string of jokes with banter to connect them and explain the concepts introduced in the jokes. The explanations themselves are light-hearted and full of puns. An example of a joke illustrating the difference between what philosophers call essential and accidental attributes:
And another on skepticism and the scientific method (or inductive reasoning, if you will):
In the section on the philosophy of religion are also jokes, of course, and I found this Jewish one pretty funny:
And a final one, on the relativity of time:
Go read it if you've got time to kill. |
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| Full title | The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-Believer [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Author | Christopher Hitchens (foreword) |
| Publisher | Da Capo Press |
| Categories | Anthology, philosophy and religion |
| Publication year | 2007 |
| Pages | 499 |
| Synopsis | A huge collection of writings by atheists about religion, faith, non-religion, reason, science, and logic, with biographical information on each author. Some of them are pretty dated, but they're interesting nonetheless. |
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| Full title | The Reason-Driven Life: What Am I Here on Earth For? [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Authors | Robert M. Price (author) and Julia Sweeney (foreword) |
| Publisher | Prometheus Books |
| Categories | Bible, philosophy, religion and skepticism |
| Publication year | 2006 |
| ISBN | 978-1-59102-476-7 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] |
| Pages | 363 |
| Synopsis | The Reason-Driven Life is written as a response and critique of Rick Warren's similarly-titled book, The Purpose-Driven Life. It's structured in much the same way as Warren's book, with 40 chapters meant to be read over 40 days. At the end of each chapter is a Point to Ponder, a Quote to Remember, and a Question to Consider. It's written mainly for Christians who have actually read Warren's book, which I'm not and which I haven't. |
| Review | It's a somewhat interesting read in that Price is a Bible scholar and really knows his stuff, however the book is meant for someone with a different mentality than my own. So I had to imagine I was a fundamentalist Christian for most of the book. The tone of the book is very respectful, though forceful and to-the-point (all this to say that it's a very personal and honest book). I imagine a wavering intelligent (fundamentalist) Christian would really enjoy it, and maybe even be deconverted by it. Go for it if you're curious, but if you're like me (skeptical and non-religious by nature) you can safely skip it! There are other, better, Price books. |
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| Full title | The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature — Being the Gifford Lectures on Natural Religion Delivered at Edinburgh in 1901–1902 [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Author | William James (author) |
| Categories | Philosophy, psychology and religion |
| Publication year | 1902 |
| Online version | Link |
| Synopsis | This is the manuscript version of a series of lectures that the Harvard psychologist and philosopher William James gave in Edinburgh between 1901 and 1902 (the so-called Gifford series of lectures given annually at a number of Scottish universities). It explores, as the title implies, varieties of religious experience, from different parts of the world in different times and by different means (although, perhaps only to modern readers, the absence of a full discussion on animistic or primitive or tribal religion is conspicuous). These lectures contain a plethora of case studies, excerpts, and poignant vignettes on whatever the subject happens to be, which really helps give the expositions more context. |
| Review | I think I will have to re-read this book eventually, as I don't feel I can give a proper review not having really understood it completely. |
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| Full title | Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time [permalink] |
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| Language | English |
| Authors | Michael Shermer (author) and Stephen Jay Gould (foreword) |
| Publisher | W. H. Freeman and Company |
| Categories | Philosophy, science and skepticism |
| Publication year | 1997 |
| ISBN | 0-7167-3387-0 [Amazon, B&N, Abe, Powell's] |
| Pages | 306 |
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Part 1: Science and Skepticism
Part 2: Pseudoscience and Superstition
Part 3: Evolution and Creationism
Part 4: History and Pseudohistory
Part 5: Hope Springs Eternal
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