What book are you reading next?

[Underseer]

Alright, this is just a book recommendation thread/personal interest thread. Talk about the books you want to read, why you want to read them, or whatever.

Next on my wishlist is A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian.

I suppose I should explain myself here a bit. I've long argued that I'm not interested in proselytizing atheism, so why am I interested in this book? Mostly because I'm not interested in what people think, but how people think. Not in what people believe is true, but why people believe things are true.

I firmly believe that religion is not the cause of problems in the world, but something that is caused by the same thing that causes problems in our world: sloppy thinking. We all know the stats: theists are more likely to lie, commit violent crimes, be unwed teenage mothers, or otherwise contribute to a wide variety of social ills (that correlate with religiosity). It is my contention that it is not religion that causes these things, but bad/sloppy thinking. The same sloppy thinking that makes religion possible in the first place.

For example, if you are taught that faith is a virtue, you are taught that evidence is an inferior path to the truth, while lack of evidence is a superior path to the truth. Once you become convinced something is true without evidence, how can any amount of evidence convince you that thing is false? The Christians in Africa who set children on fire for witchcraft are not evil people, they are not bad Christians, they are not hostile to the truth. They were convinced that what they are doing is right by faith, and so they are highly resistant to any attempt to convince them that their actions are wrong.

Similarly, the Muslims who blow themselves up to kill cookie-munching grannies at coffee shops are absolutely convinced they are right, and because faith told them this is right, evidence can't convince them they are wrong.

To me, the underlying problem is not religion, but a bad way of knowing the truth. Religion encourages them to use a bad epistemology because that's the only way to convince people of something that ridiculous, but once the believer embraces a bad epistemology, then they will necessarily make bad decisions in other aspects of their lives. While religion is at fault for teaching them a bad epistemology in the first place, the primary source of the trouble is the epistemology, not the religion itself.

So yeah, if I can encourage people to use a better epistemology (evidence and reason, duh), chances are they will eventually abandon religion, but that's not really my goal. Humans have a remarkable capacity for compartmentalization, and it is entirely possible that people I reach could start using a better epistemology in every decision they make except religion, and I would be perfectly fine with that.

Anyway, for those of you who are interested in encouraging theists to use better epistemology or even if you are interested in deconverting as many theists as possible, here is a video of Boghossian explaining his strategy:



Anyway, what are you planning to read next? Why? Is there a book you read recently that you can recommend to everyone else? What's good about it?

 

[braces_for_impact]

I've read Boghossian's book, and his concept is attacking the epistemology rather than God or religion. I read the book expecting to disagree with him quite a bit, and at times I think his tone can get him into trouble, often getting him misunderstood. I enjoyed the book nevertheless.The Socratic method he employs is something I have used successfully in the past and didn't even know it had a name, so I understood much of what he was saying.

I just received my hand signed copy of Waking Up by Sam Harris and I'm just into the first chapter. So far it's good but way too early to call, obviously. I've been looking into meditation and some other (non-woo) things to help with some issues I have, and I'm eager to see what Sam has to say. I think he's often misunderstood in his intent, and I think this book might help nail down some of the issues people throw at Sam (assuming they bother to read it). Alternatively, I'll read the book and find out they were right. We will see.

 

[James Brown]

On my To Read list:

Shop Class as Soulcraft. This will probably just make me depressed that I don't fix Harley's in my garage, but I'll read it anyway.

Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett. I enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy

London by Edward Rutherfurd. I like long historical novels.

 

[gmbteach]

Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett. I enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy

This was recommended on my iBooks list. So am wondering what they are like. Could you provide a brief synopsis and why you would recommend it?

London by Edward Rutherfurd. I like long historical novels.

I also like historical novels. I will look for this one on my iBooks list.

 

[James Brown]

This was recommended on my iBooks list. So am wondering what they are like. Could you provide a brief synopsis and why you would recommend it?

The Century Trilogy comprises of Fall of Giants, Winter of the World, and Edge of Eternity (available 09/16/2014). All three encompass the twentieth century. Book One explores World War I and the Russian Revolution; Book Two covers World War II and the beginning of the Cold War; Book Three will take readers from the 1960s through the 1980s.

I like Ken Follett's historical works and count his Pillars of the Earth as probably my favorite novel. Follett is terrific at exploring large sweeping events as witnessed up close by characters I come to care about. In the Century Trilogy he follows five families from all over the world as they struggle with and are witness to world-changing history. His novels contain so much--love, war, mysteries, action, religion, politics, sex, business, even whodunnits. The novels make me laugh, shed a tear or two, and make me curious enough about the backdrop to learn more history, art, and architecture. I highly recommend them.