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Product Description
Uncover the truth under all the BS
In the daily battle for our hearts and minds--not to mention our hard-earned cash--the truth is usually the first casualty. It's time we learned how to see through the rhetoric, faulty reasoning, and misinformation that we're subjected to from morning to night by talk-radio hosts, op-ed columnists, advertisers, self-help gurus, business "thinkers," and, of course, politicians. And no one is better equipped to show us how than award-winning philosopher Jamie Whyte.
In Crimes Against Logic Whyte take us on a fast-paced, ruthlessly funny romp through the mulligan stew of can, folderol, and bogus logic served up in the media, at the office, and even in your own home. Applying his laserlike wit to dozens of timely examples, Whyte cuts through the haze of facts, figures, and double-talk and gets at the real truth behind what they're telling us.
"An incisive philosopher."
--Sunday Telegraph (20031101)
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Faith in Logic,
By
This review is from: Crimes Against Logic: Exposing the Bogus Arguments of Politicians, Priests, Journalists, and Other Serial Offenders (Paperback)
As a senior citizen I found it refreshing to see there are still some younger people out there who believe that there is such a thing as truth, and that logic is the true path to finding it.Jamie Whyte has written this very entertaining book in his crusade to unmask the humbug often presented by politicians, journalists, priests and his parents in their versions of the truth. He does this by effectively exposing the logical flaws in what people believe to be rational thinking. In his chapter "Prejudice in Fancy Dress" he uses the example of how priests deal with the doctrine of the unity of the holy trinity. How can three things equal one? The answer is explained as being a mystery. This of course is simply a ploy to abolish the problem without addressing it, and effectively avoids facing the absurdity of the statement. He acknowledges that some people are greatly impressed by mystery. It "gives them a thrilling fit of the cosmic heebie-jeebies". In another section, he illustrates how verbosity can shroud the banality of ideas, and claims that playing with words is much easier than tackling reality. He makes this statement without any apparent sense of irony, in that he is using his words to attack a reality that, as he grows older, he will have to acknowledge does not exist - that the human animal is a logical creature. He observes that authority figures or celebrities are often treated as experts in fields in which they know nothing about, and that victims of crime are often given more weight by politicians in assessing changes to criminal law, than those who have given a lifetime of study to the subject. In his discussion of the misuse of statistics, his example of the promiscuity of British women when on holiday in Spain is a very amusing example of sampling selection bias. To enjoy this book, it does help to ignore the reality of human nature and assume that people really should behave logically. I believed this myself once upon a time, but eventually lost the faith. Even if you don't believe humans should be logical, this book is a lot of fun. Regretfully, Jamie Whyte is on a Don Quixote quest. Human behavior is governed by emotions and self interest, not logic. Even Star Trek's Mr. Spock acknowledges that humans are illogical. Unfortunately in the end, faith in logic is really just another form of religion, but it is a better occupation of the mind than counting the angels on the head of a pin.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Crimes Against Logic,
By
This review is from: Crimes Against Logic: Exposing the Bogus Arguments of Politicians, Priests, Journalists, and Other Serial Offenders (Paperback)
Although the book is short the author does an excellent job outlining logical errors made by public figures. It is clear that he is anti-religious but aside from that, he has done an excellent job pointing out the type of arguments that should be dismissed.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A witty indictment of fuzzy thinking,
By anonymous (Toronto) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Crimes Against Logic: Exposing the Bogus Arguments of Politicians, Priests, Journalists, and Other Serial Offenders (Paperback)
Philosopher Jamie Whyte has written a witty, lucid, and thought provoking indictment of some of the worst instances of modern fuzzy thinking. He provides suggestions for avoiding the pitfalls laid for us by media, politicians, experts and so forth. Well worth the read.
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