"The Believing Brain" by Michael Shermer - general discussion

[[deleted user]]

We'll be reading The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer through the end of September.

This thread can be used to give book reviews as well as for a general discussion of the book. Please feel free to start a new discussion in the book club folder if you'd like to focus on specific aspects of or ideas from the book.

[Paul]

Shermer is a writer I've not read before, so am glad of the push to do so. I'm very much enjoying The Believing Brain so far; I'm finding his writing accessible and also thorough. I'm enjoying the way he is using the 'case studies' of individual's beliefs.

Francis Collins does annoy me a little, the way he claims that it is the evidence of god that has convinced him, while freely admitting that he was seeking to believe in god, made a conscious decision to believe in christ and, especially, that the 'evidence' only become compelling (or indeed visible) after that decision was made. Perhaps he has to insist on the existence of evidence for his own comfort, with his scientific training and sceptical leanings, but the fact is that he wanted to believe in god so searched for a reason to do so.

[Betsy]

I'm having trouble maintaining my interest in this book. It started out pretty good, then I got distracted. The problem may be me rather than the book. Maybe I'll come back to it later.

[James]

I'm not familiar with the book or author, but here is a youtube vid entitled: Why We Believe in Gods - Andy Thomson - American Atheists 09

It's a 1 hr lecture by some pysch prof.

It was all new to me so it was dense, info overload.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iMmvu...