Review 2: Crimes against Logic
Crimes against logic
Exposing the bogus arguments of politicians, priests, journalists and other serial offenders
by Jamie Whyte
Although I don't exclude the unseen per se, I'd say I'm a rather rational-thinking person. So the title of this book lured me into buying it. Of course I succumbed and did exactly that. Luckily, it didn't disappoint me.
The author sees it as his mission to expose the multitude of logical fallacies we're confronted with, and even committing ourselves, on a daily basis. He's convinced that in the daily battle for our hearts and minds, the truth is very often the first casualty. Killed by, among others, statistics, weasel words and prejudices. Therefore he uses his ultra-rationalism to systematically analyze typical statements, slogans or beliefs and then, after having proven they've been built on sand, or even outright lies, invalidates them.
And the range of subjects he's confronting is vast: politicians, talk-radio hosts, op-ed columnists, advertisers, self-help gurus, business thinkers, priests, etc. He's not primarily judging the moral value of their opinions, he's just dissecting them to see if they hold up at all or if they're just hot air.
The book is fast-paced, very funny and extremely enlightening . Though at times the author might seem slightly arrogant and a bit too over-confident, especially when reasoning about God's existence (something which in itself can't be proven or disproven). But usually he is right on!
My rating: 8/10
Some information on the author: Jamie Whyte is a past lecturer at Cambridge University and winner of Analysis journal's prestigious prize for the best article by a philosopher under 30. He lives in London.
>buy the book<
Exposing the bogus arguments of politicians, priests, journalists and other serial offenders
by Jamie Whyte
Although I don't exclude the unseen per se, I'd say I'm a rather rational-thinking person. So the title of this book lured me into buying it. Of course I succumbed and did exactly that. Luckily, it didn't disappoint me.
The author sees it as his mission to expose the multitude of logical fallacies we're confronted with, and even committing ourselves, on a daily basis. He's convinced that in the daily battle for our hearts and minds, the truth is very often the first casualty. Killed by, among others, statistics, weasel words and prejudices. Therefore he uses his ultra-rationalism to systematically analyze typical statements, slogans or beliefs and then, after having proven they've been built on sand, or even outright lies, invalidates them.
And the range of subjects he's confronting is vast: politicians, talk-radio hosts, op-ed columnists, advertisers, self-help gurus, business thinkers, priests, etc. He's not primarily judging the moral value of their opinions, he's just dissecting them to see if they hold up at all or if they're just hot air.
The book is fast-paced, very funny and extremely enlightening . Though at times the author might seem slightly arrogant and a bit too over-confident, especially when reasoning about God's existence (something which in itself can't be proven or disproven). But usually he is right on!
My rating: 8/10
Some information on the author: Jamie Whyte is a past lecturer at Cambridge University and winner of Analysis journal's prestigious prize for the best article by a philosopher under 30. He lives in London.
>buy the book<
posted by Daldianus at 09:15
1 Comments:
Hi Daldianus,
You left a comment on my blog asking "Where was Jesus when the tsunami killed little children?" If you're interested in reading a short response, I've written a new post answering you. See my blog.
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