Bøker utgitt av Prometheus Books

Features essays on religion, free thought, and nationalism.

A woman planning a dinner party calls a gourmet caterer and learns that "Chateaubriand" can be ordered. To which she responds, "No, thanks. We're going to take care of the wine ourselves." The dead silence at the end of the phone is her first clue that something is amiss. A CEO attempts to put an end to complaints from employees about the demeaning behavior of certain managers by berating the managers before the staff ¿ thus reinforcing the very behavior he's trying to correct. We often criticize such incidents with remarks like "How dumb!" or "What was he thinking?" But psychologist Madeleine L. Van Hecke argues that much of what we label stupidity can better be explained as blind spots. Just as the blind spot in the driver's side mirror can swallow up a passing car, patterns in the way we think can likewise become blind spots, sifting out information and observations that to other people seem obvious. Drawing on research in creativity, cognitive psychology, critical thinking, child development, education, and philosophy, Dr. Van Hecke shows how our assets as thinkers create the very blind spots that become our worst liabilities. She devotes a chapter to each of ten mental blind spots that afflict even the smartest people: not stopping to think, jumping to conclusions, my-side bias, getting trapped by categories, and much more. At the end of each chapter she offers tactics for overcoming that specific blind spot, so we can become more creative and competent thinkers.Full of funny, poignant stories about human foibles, Blind Spots offers many insights for improving our social and political lives while giving us fresh slants into the minds of people who are poles apart from ourselves.

Presents a systematic critique of Edward Said's work "Orientalism". This book looks at the destructive influence of Said's study on the history of Western painting, especially of the 19th century, and shows how the epigones of Said have succeeded in relegating thousands of first-class paintings to the lofts and storage rooms of major museums.

Contains the principal texts of the sceptical tradition from its origins in antiquity to contemporary philosophy. This work includes the writings of influential philosophers of the Western tradition who either advanced sceptical views or dealt with sceptical issues for other philosophical or religious purposes.

Brings together non-technical articles by leading scientific researchers and clinicians to help answer questions concerning mental health care such as: How should I select a therapist? How can I tell the difference between scientifically valid and questionable psychotherapy? Can I trust the diagnosis I have received?

Describes how Buffalo has been battered by the tides of history. This work tells the story of twentieth-century Buffalo, New York. It also covers developments such as: the rise and decline of the city's downtown and ethnic neighbourhoods; the impact of racial change and suburbanisation; urban politics, urban design, and city planning; and more.

A worker for the only US plant licensed to produce anthrax dies, the victim of a heart attack. But what caused his heart to stop beating? Written by a veteran medical examiner, this book takes readers into the world of forensic pathology, as he solves these and many other cases.

Talks about Einstein's theory of relativity and its paradigm-shifting implications for philosophy and common-sense notions of reality. Explaining both the special and general theories of relativity, this book introduces readers to Einstein's theories and the importance of the physicist's contributions.

On the morning of April 16, 1988, the emergency squad was called to the office of Dr Richard P Boggs, a neurologist in California. On the floor of the examining room was the body of Melvin E Hanson, the vice president of the Just Sweats athletic clothing store chain, based in Columbus, Ohio. This investigative report reveals a deadly con game.

Argues that modern feminism grew out of the 19th-century Woman Movement which, like 19th-century thinking, became a battleground between individualist and collectivist ideas. This book examines this history, gives an overview of the contemporary scene, and analyses the campaign to pass and ratify an equal rights amendment - and its failure.

Most people are quick to note the profound influence that religion has played in African-American history. But few are aware of the role humanism played in shaping the black experience. This work demonstrates the strong influence that humanism and free-thought had in developing the history and ideals of black intellectualism.

Tackles the questions concerning the existence of universals, the nature of causation, understanding personal identity, the tangled web of free will, and the challenges posed by the advent of artificial intelligence.

Offering an introduction to the basis of critical analysis, this book shows how to evaluate evidence, isolate facts, and use sound reasoning skills in everyday situations. It focuses on: The Importance of Clear Thinking; The Nature of Facts; The Reasoning Process; Language and Reasoning; Common Errors in Reasoning; Conflicting Opinions; and more.

Argues that morality cannot be based on religion, and that there is no evidence to show that non-believers despair or lose their sense of identity and purpose. This book shows that the implications of Christian absolutism are more likely to be monstrous than are those of a secular ethic that incorporates an independent principle of justice.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau is among the leading political philosophers of the Enlightenment. He sought to ground his political theory in an understanding of human nature, which he believed to be basically good. Here self-interest degenerated into a state of war from which humanity could only be extricated by the imposition of a contract.

"For much too long, the public has been misled by half-truths, by cover-ups, and by outright falsehoods . . . It is time to talk sense to the public about Unidentified Flying Objects," writes Philip J. Klass in UFOs: The Public Deceived.

Presents a picture of the ideas of the early Greek philosophers men and attempts to find a balance between the scholarly paraphernalia of etymology and philology, and a stripped-down version of the ideas. This book includes testimonials by other thinkers. It also contains a guide to these testimonial sources and a bibliography for this period.

Offers explanations of heart valves and arterial pulse.

To Muslims the Hadith literature represents the Koran in action, stories of 'revelation made concrete in the life of the Prophet. Among the orthodox they are considered as sacred as the Koran itself. This work provides non-Muslims many insights into the mindset of the average Muslim who is raised on these traditions about Muhammad.

Places the jury system in its historical and contemporary context giving the stories behind important trials while providing fact-based answers to critical questions. This book proposes suggestions for improving the way juries carry out their duties.

Presents a historical survey of religious persecution encompassing three millennia and a great diversity of cultures world-wide. Defining religious persecution as "repressive actions initiated or condoned by authorities against their own people on religious grounds", this work begins with ancient Egypt, followed by the biblical history of Israel.

Employing intuitive ideas from mathematics, this quirky "e;meta-memoir"e; raises questions about our lives that most of us don't think to ask, but arguably should: What part of memory is reliable fact, what part creative embellishment? Which favorite presuppositions are unfounded, which statistically biased? By conjoining two opposing mindsets--the suspension of disbelief required in storytelling and the skepticism inherent in the scientific method--bestselling mathematician John Allen Paulos has created an unusual hybrid, a composite of personal memories and mathematical approaches to re-evaluating them.Entertaining vignettes from Paulos's biography abound--ranging from a bullying math teacher and a fabulous collection of baseball cards to romantic crushes, a grandmother's petty larceny, and his quite unintended role in getting George Bush elected president in 2000. These vignettes serve as springboards to many telling perspectives: simple arithmetic puts life-long habits in a dubious new light; higher dimensional geometry helps us see that we're all rather peculiar; nonlinear dynamics explains the narcissism of small differences cascading into very different siblings; logarithms and exponentials yield insight on why we tend to become bored and jaded as we age; and there are tricks and jokes, probability and coincidences, and much more.For fans of Paulos or newcomers to his work, this witty commentary on his life--and yours--is fascinating reading.

A comprehensive reference work on the history, beliefs, and thinking of America's growing minority: those who live without religion. It describes and explains various aspects of atheism, agnosticism, secular humanism, secularism, and religious scepticism. It includes topics such as morality without religion, unbelief and sexual values, and more.

A collection of essays, covering a range of fields, from Darwinism and the global population explosion to bird watching, which point out frontiers for scientific research and reaffirm the author's s belief in the intimate connection of the sciences, particularly biology, with the pressing social problems of the present and future.

A primer on neuroscience and philosophy of mind that takes the reader to the depths of the mystery of consciousness, exploring it through the eyes of key philosophers, neuroscientists, and technologists. This work also illuminates baffling questions of the brain, mind, and what it means to be human.

By imagining future worlds that defy our most basic assumptions about sex and gender, freedom and equality, and ethical values, this anthology not only challenges traditional standards of morality and justice, but create bold experiments for testing feminist hypotheses.

Explores the impact that unprecedented changes in the meatpacking industry - particularly industry consolidation, increased line speeds, and deregulation - have had on workers, animals, and consumers. This work describes the efforts by the Humane Farming Association to improve conditions in the meatpacking industry.

Examines critical-thinking skills that are useful in a complex society where success - in all facets of life - often requires the ability to evaluate the validity of many conflicting claims. This work illustrates these tendencies with numerous examples that demonstrate how easily we can be fooled into believing something that isn't true.