Kristen's Reviews > The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths

The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer

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700527
's review
Jul 07, 11

bookshelves: 4-read-2011, 9-non-fiction, 8-atheism, 7-science
Read from June 16 to July 02, 2011

This was a well organized scientific description of belief. I greatly enjoy structure and his lists were well done. I shy away from his opinion pieces. He gives science as the basis for how we should overcome our instinctual desires to believe. He shows it as the only way to find real truth. He then goes onto a weird tangent about how most educated people are liberal and he doesn't understand why. If the choices are between framing a society where abortion and atheism are illegal and a world where they are legal, how would science give a 50/50 opinion piece on that. It doesn't, which is why academia is more socially liberal. He does well in getting the reader to question their own beliefs, even just personal relationship beliefs. That is where I found it the most interesting. I do wish some of my fiends who find conservatives a complete mystery would read it. It is good to know that desires for certain moralities over others is the only difference, and that a society truly does need all of them to run productively. Balance is Key and science does help. The only true option for freedom is anarchy and opting out of interaction with a group.

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