Truth, Knowledge, Or Just Plain Bull: How To Tell The Difference : A Handbook of Practical Logic and Clear Thinking

by Bernard M. Patten

Want to sort out the claims of experts, pseudo-experts, scam artists, and liars alike? Want to protect yourself from the dangers of the ubiquitous nonsense and outright frauds that assault you from every side? Want to become acquainted with the pleasurable activity of discovering truth while enhancing your sophistication as a thinker?In this erudite yet entertaining handbook on critical thinking, Dr. Bernard M. Patten uses neuroscience, psychology, and psychiatry to teach you to do all this and more. He shows you that clear thinking is not just fun but also keeps you out of trouble, makes you more efficient, helps you develop and maintain prosperity, and generally gives you an edge in both your personal and business life.A Board Certified neurologist and a lecturer in formal, informal, and symbolic logic at Rice University, Dr. Patten has the scientific background as well as the philosophical training to give readers the most reliable and current information on how the brain thinks, learns, and remembers. By means of multiple (and sometimes startling) contemporary examples and insights, the author exercises your mind as an exercise machine might exercise your muscles. Each exercise is specifically formulated with the neuropsychology of learning in mind (repetition, tied association, visual images, distribution of tasks in time, modularity, etc.), so the reader acquires valuable knowledge quickly and painlessly.Emphasizing practical usefulness in real-life situations and evidence-based analysis, Dr. Patten frauds and other scams-groupthink-the psychology of belief-content analysis-hidden meanings-negotiation strategiesHe also gives careful attention to the rules of clear thinking, discusses the reality principle, explains inductive and deductive logic, exposes traditional fallacies, and elucidates truth tables, syllogisms, and symbolic logic.Fast, fact-filled, and fun, this superb self-help guide to better thinking teaches you to take control of your own destiny by accurately determining the truth value of statements and behaviors in many contexts.

Genres: Philosophy, Psychology, Logic

370 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Yanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book introduced some common mistakes of logical and clear thinking and was written in humorous way. I think it is good for readers who think "logic" is boring.

I think it is NOT a good introductory book for logic and clear thinking, but if you have some understanding in critical thinking, this book can help you reinforcing your knowledge and skill.

May be "interference from small spot" is the practice of neurologist, it seems the author emphasized the correctness of every single sentence in the argument. Maybe it is due to the assumption that "argument from a guy with logical flaw is dubious?" It makes me (a layman) feel "wield" in some of the examples and analysis.

But anyway, I enjoyed reading this book and learn a lot.

[Geoff · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book with high hopes, it seemed to use an entertaining sharp witted prose to explain the basic tenants of pragmatic thinking. Unfortunately, by mid-book that convention was tired and well established as self-contradictory. I quit at page 149/331.

The book is basically an anecdote of how much smarter he is than everybody. Yet he can't write a book that gets out of the introduction without a contradiction, 'There are no simple answers. In just 9 chapters I'll explain why.'

There is a great bibliography in the back. You'd be better off searching out those sources for whatever wisdom may be deeply buried here.

[Jin Shusong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like first half of this book. The later half is tedious.

[Andreea · Rating 3 out of 5]

WHile it's not the best book on the subject, it does provide related basic information. However, the tone seems superior and becomes bothersome at the point in which the author insists that the reader has to "repeat every chapter more than twice if possible" and do some exercises at the end of it. It feels a little manipulative and at some points the perspective is subjective, even though it is described as objective. I rated it a 3/5 because I learned some things from it and I found some of the fallacies quite funny.

[Mooncalf · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are way better books on the subject. He tries to put English arguments in basic in logical form without considering any of the implicit points and claims that the deficits he finds are reasons to reject those arguments when you encounter them in everyday life. English is fuzzy, and not everything is stated, so you just can't do that.

[Juan Pablo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a joy to read. It's a book on critical thinking. It's not a book on formal logic or critical thinking, isn't meant to be nor is it meant to be some sort of text book. It's a general critical thinking book that's accessible to everyone.

[Jeremy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Better logic books out there. Author makes logical fallacy errors and presumptions that he rants against. Bad bad bad. Check Amazon for other's critiques.