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Reviews: "A great book!"
- Rick Lewis - Editor of Philosophy Now
"Magnificent. A user’s guide to one’s own brain. Compact, clear, and delightfully free of academic jargon."
- Steven N. Austad - author of Why We Age: What Science is Discovering about the Body’s Journey Through Life
"An excellent book. Philips is here to wake up our critical faculties."
- Edward Erwin - Professor of Philosophy at the University of Miami
Description: This book can fundamentally change what you believe — and whom you trust. From the tricks our brains play on us to the failings of group dynamics, we make decisions every day based on faulty information and untrustworthy advice. We see what isn’t there, remember what never happened, and put our trust in experts who are as fallible as we are.
By drawing on the latest in philosophy, science, and psychology Michael Philips reveals a broad range of dangerous shams, lies, and delusions, and provides some ground-breaking tips for seeing through the simple untruths that pervade modern life. Succinct and entertaining. The Undercover Philosopher is as essential guide to what (and whom) we should believe, in every part of life, from medical diagnoses and financial advice to morality and religion.
Contents: Acknowledgments • Introduction • Chapter 1: Seeing What Isn’t There and Remembering What Never Happened • Perception • Memory • Reflections • Chapter 2: What We Think We Know about Thinking • Estimating Probabilities: Ignoring Base Rates • Favoring Preexisting Beliefs • Confirmation Bias • Cognitive Styles • Emotion • Directional Thinking • Reflections • Chapter 3: Flawed Data: Problems of Design from the Brokerage to the Therapist’s Office • Plausible but False Assumptions: The Case of Eyewitness Testimony • How Bad Theories Manufacture Flawed Data: ‘Recovered Memories’ of Childhood Sexual Abuse • Bad Data Born of Bed Theory Born of Desperation: Professional Ethicists and "Our" Ethical Intuitions • Ignorance, Iffy Data and Economic Interests: Brokers, Economists and Random Walks • Standing Pat: Lie Detection and the Criminal Justice System • Rejecting What Does Not Fit: Acupuncture and the A.M.A. • Protecting our Theories: The Willful Ignorance of Behaviorism • Reflections • Chapter 4: Flawed Data: Incompetence, Subjectivity, and Cooking the Books • Bad Training and Cost Cutting: Survey Research • Fame, Fortune, and Licking the Hand that Feeds You: Scientific Fraud • Accounting Fraud: Money, Power, and Politics • Media Misrepresentations: Training, Ideology, Careerism, Politics, and Organization • Reflections • Chapter 5: From Data to Conclusions: Values, Assumptions, and Politics • Value Judgements • Big Picture Assumptions • Organization and Politics • Publication • Reflections • Chapter 6: From Data to Conclusions: A Bit of Philosophy • Scientism and "the Scientific Method" • Post-Modernism • Our Cognitive Tools • Reflections • Chapter 7: Deciding What to Believe • Reasons to Doubt • An Ethic of Belief? • How Much is Enough? • Believing Without Evidence • The Final Frame • Notes • IndexISBN - 9781851685813
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Pages : 310
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