eBook - ePub
The Moral Arc
How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom
- 558 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
The Moral Arc
How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom
About this book
The
New York Times–bestselling author of
The Believing Brains explores how science makes us better people.
From Galileo and Newton to Thomas Hobbes and Martin Luther King, Jr., thinkers throughout history have consciously employed scientific techniques to better understand the non-physical world. The Age of Reason and the Enlightenment led theorists to apply scientific reasoning to the non-scientific disciplines of politics, economics, and moral philosophy. Instead of relying on the woodcuts of dissected bodies in old medical texts, physicians opened bodies themselves to see what was there; instead of divining truth through the authority of an ancient holy book or philosophical treatise, people began to explore the book of nature for themselves through travel and exploration; instead of the supernatural belief in the divine right of kings, people employed a natural belief in the right of democracy.
In The Moral Arc, Shermer explains how abstract reasoning, rationality, empiricism, skepticism—scientific ways of thinking—have profoundly changed the way we perceive morality and, indeed, move us ever closer to a more just world.
"Michael Shermer is a beacon of reason in an ocean of irrationality." —Neil deGrasse Tyson
"A memorable book, a book to recommend and discuss late into the night." —Richard Dawkins
"[A] brilliant contribution . . . Sherman's is an exciting vision." — Nature
From Galileo and Newton to Thomas Hobbes and Martin Luther King, Jr., thinkers throughout history have consciously employed scientific techniques to better understand the non-physical world. The Age of Reason and the Enlightenment led theorists to apply scientific reasoning to the non-scientific disciplines of politics, economics, and moral philosophy. Instead of relying on the woodcuts of dissected bodies in old medical texts, physicians opened bodies themselves to see what was there; instead of divining truth through the authority of an ancient holy book or philosophical treatise, people began to explore the book of nature for themselves through travel and exploration; instead of the supernatural belief in the divine right of kings, people employed a natural belief in the right of democracy.
In The Moral Arc, Shermer explains how abstract reasoning, rationality, empiricism, skepticism—scientific ways of thinking—have profoundly changed the way we perceive morality and, indeed, move us ever closer to a more just world.
"Michael Shermer is a beacon of reason in an ocean of irrationality." —Neil deGrasse Tyson
"A memorable book, a book to recommend and discuss late into the night." —Richard Dawkins
"[A] brilliant contribution . . . Sherman's is an exciting vision." — Nature
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Moral Arc by Michael Shermer in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & History & Theory in Psychology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Dedication
- Contents
- Epigraph
- Prologue. Bending the Moral Arc
- Part I: The Moral Arc Explained
- Part II: The Moral Arc Applied
- Part III: The Moral Arc Amended
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- Acknowledgments
- Also by Michael Shermer
- About the Author
- Copyright