Cornerstone books

What books do you think are good ones to build upon as this new group takes shape?

I can think of a few possibilities:

• The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan
• Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time, by Michael Shermer
• Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, by Stuart A. Vyse
• Crimes Against Logic, by Jamie Whyte
• On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not, by Robert Burton

Why People Believe Weird Things is in my hand as we 'speak' and giving me loads opf topics for discussion. Some of my other favourites are:
The Skeptic's Dictionary
50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True
Thinking Clearly: a Guide to Critical Reasoning
Paranormality: Why We See What Isn't There
God Is Not Great
Supersense: why we believe in the unbelievable
The God Delusion
The Greatest Show on Earth: the evidence for evolution
Bad Science
50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God

Meredy - I've been pondering over Believing in Magic for a while now but it seems very expensive over here (UK). Would you especially recommend it?

The Borderlands of Science by Michael Shermer
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn

Not sure about Kuhn, but I think the philosophy of science is something that is tending to get ignored because "debunking" is just more enjoyable.

Doubt: a history by Jennifer Michael Hecht
The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener by Martin Gardner
Introduction to Logic by Irving M. Copi

For a start.

Robert

2: Booksloth, I read the first three books I listed about five years ago and very close together in time, so I don't have a clear and distinct separate memory of each. My sense was that each was worthwhile in its own right, but there was a lot of overlap. If you've read two of the three, you probably wouldn't add enough with the third to warrant an expensive purchase. Does your library have it?

Thank you. I'll be looking in the library next time I'm near (which, tbh, isn't all that often).

Ooh nice thread, will have to keep handy for future reference :)

Consilience by E. O. Wilson

Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects by Bertrand Russell
Did Adam and Eve Have Navels?: Debunking Pseudoscience by Martin Gardner
Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts about Alternative Medicine by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst
The End of Faith by Sam Harris

#9 Thanks for adding the Simon Singh one. I was just thinking about starting a thread on the various people we are influenced by and his name is high on my list.

I don't know anything about this one, but it appears to be a possibility:

The March of Unreason: Science, Democracy, and the New Fundamentalism by Dick Taverne

Despite the criticisms here, this looks like one to try:

Snake Oil and Other Preoccupations by John Diamond

#8 I'm a big Wilson fan Noisy. Consilience and Peter Singer's compassionate utilitarianism best describe the attitude I want to have in life. Have you read Wilson's latest -- The Social Conquest of Earth? He's generated a small storm among biologists by converting over to group-selection.

Martin Gardner's Fads and fallacies in the name of science is terrific on the most famous pseudo- and unscientific oddities, with a cast of real-life characters that puts to shame any mere freak show.

>13 MartyBrandon:

Thanks for the info about Wilson's new book The Social Conquest of Earth. I'm trying to slow my TBR acquisitions, so doubt I'll be getting it. I did however follow the review link that jimroberts had posted, and really enjoyed the dust-up that the Dawkins review had generated.

>15 Noisy: I don't think you're missing much. Wilson's ideas are intriguing, but he certainly doesn't provide the same detailed, mechanistic explanation as Dawkins.

Martin Gardner's non-mathematical books are definitely recommended. Several have been mentioned already so I will not repeat.

Two that are on my to-read list:

Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me):Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts, by Carol Tavris

The Soul in the Brain: The Cerebral Basis of Language, Art, and Belief, by Michael R. Trimble

I also enjoyed How Risky Is It, Really?: Why Our Fears Don't Always Match the Facts, by David Ropeik. Not directly related to religion etc., but a fascinating exploration of how our brains work regarding fear and risk perception, and how we might go about ameliorating our often irrational and harmful responses to them.

#18 I've picked up Mistakes Were Made a couple of times lately and thought about it. Please let me know what you think when you get round to reading it, it looks interesting.