Believing Bullshit ─ How Not to Get Sucked into an Intellectual Black Hole

In this age of science and logic it is astounding how many intelligent individuals subscribe to ridiculous beliefs. Whether it's the fundamentalist Christian belief that the world is no more than 6,000 years old, far-fetched notions of an extravagant afterlife held by cultists and religious zealots, or the common belief in space alien interventions, these illogical views are found in every corner of society. This book by Law (philosophy, Heythrop College, U. of London) examines the inner workings and power of these logically bankrupt beliefs and why so many intelligent and educated people believe them. By exposing how these logical clap-traps work, this book offers the general reader an immunization against them. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Stephen Law (Oxford, England) is a senior lecturer in philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London; provost for the Centre for Inquiry UK; and the editor of Think: Philosophy for Everyone (a journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy). He is the author of numerous books for adults as well as children, including The Greatest Philosophers, Companion Guide to Philosophy, The War for Children’s Minds, and Really, Really Big Questions, among other works.