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Moral Arc : How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom by Michael Shermer (2015, Hardcover)
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- Buy it nowThe Moral Arc: How Science Makes Us Better People
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherHolt & Company, Henry
ISBN-100805096914
ISBN-139780805096910
eBay Product ID (ePID)201587889
Product Key Features
Book TitleMoral Arc : How Science and Reason Lead Humanity Toward Truth, Justice, and Freedom
Number of Pages560 Pages
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2015
TopicPhilosophy & Social Aspects
IllustratorYes
GenreScience
AuthorMichael Shermer
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1.7 in
Item Weight27.2 Oz
Item Length9.5 in
Item Width6.3 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN2014-020084
Reviews"This is one of the best recent books that I have read, and it's the one that I expect to re-read most often. It's an honest, clear account of morality and justice that makes those theoretical concepts come alive as ubiquitous real-life choices. In the process of reading it, you'll learn about wrenching moral dilemmas such as paying ransoms to Somali pirates, maintaining nuclear weapons as deterrents, good people becoming Nazis, and the immorality of the Bible and of the Ten Commandments."- Jared Diamond , Pulitzer-prize-winning author of the best-selling books Guns, Germs, and Steel , Collapse, and The World until Yesterday "I suspect that people will be arguing with Michael Shermer's premise before they read a page: 'The moral arc is bending toward truth, justice, and freedom? Is he hallucinating? Just look at...' In these cynical times, where right and left foresee disaster and despair (albeit for different reasons), Shermer's monumental opus, spanning centuries, nations, and cultures, is bound to provoke debate and open minds. Exactly what an important work of skepticism, science, and reason should do."- Carol Tavris , Ph.D., social psychologist and author of The Mismeasure of Woman and coauthor of Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) "A thrilling and fascinating book, which could change your view of human history and human destiny. If you wanted a sequel to The Better Angels of Our Nature, one which explored all of our spheres of moral progress, not just the decline of violence, this is it."- Steven Pinker , Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and author of The Blank Slate and The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century "It is difficult to imagine how the arc of morality can bend toward justice without rational examination of the consequences of one's actions. As Michael Shermer passionately describes in this ambitious, thoroughly researched, yet remarkably accessible work of scholarship, the fabric of modern morality derives not from religion, but in large part from secular notions of rational empiricism. This message needs to be shared more broadly for the good our society, and hopefully this book will do just that." -Lawrence M. Krauss , Foundation Professor and　Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, and bestselling author of A Universe from Nothing and The Physics of Star Trek, The Moral Arc ?displays the impressive depth of Michael Shermer's scholarship, wisdom and empathetic humanity, and it climaxes in a visionary flight of futuristic optimism. A memorable book, a book to recommend and discuss late into the night., This is one of the best recent books that I have read, and it's the one that I expect to re-read most often. It's an honest, clear account of morality and justice that makes those theoretical concepts come alive as ubiquitous real-life choices. In the process of reading it, you'll learn about wrenching moral dilemmas such as paying ransoms to Somali pirates, maintaining nuclear weapons as deterrents, good people becoming Nazis, and the immorality of the Bible and of the Ten Commandments., The Moral Arc displays the impressive depth of Michael Shermer's scholarship, wisdom and empathetic humanity, and it climaxes in a visionary flight of futuristic optimism. A memorable book, a book to recommend and discuss late into the night., A thrilling and fascinating book, which could change your view of human history and human destiny. If you wanted a sequel to The Better Angels of Our Nature, one which explored all of our spheres of moral progress, not just the decline of violence, this is it., I suspect that people will be arguing with Michael Shermer's premise before they read a page: 'The moral arc is bending toward truth, justice, and freedom? Is he hallucinating? Just look at...' In these cynical times, where right and left foresee disaster and despair (albeit for different reasons), Shermer's monumental opus, spanning centuries, nations, and cultures, is bound to provoke debate and open minds. Exactly what an important work of skepticism, science, and reason should do., Michael Shermer argues that science, reason, and critical thinking come first; these are the ideas that produce stable, peaceful democracies. He documents and assesses society's successes and failures through the troubled history of humankind--and he's relentless. He connects the arc of the rise of reason and science with a country's economic success, and the overall worldwide decline in violence and suppression of our fellow humans, especially women. If you are religious, have a look. Shermer takes your faith to task and celebrates science as a path to the better moral future that citizens everywhere long for., "This is one of the best recent books that I have read, and it's the one that I expect to re-read most often. It's an honest, clear account of morality and justice that makes those theoretical concepts come alive as ubiquitous real-life choices. In the process of reading it, you'll learn about wrenching moral dilemmas such as paying ransoms to Somali pirates, maintaining nuclear weapons as deterrents, good people becoming Nazis, and the immorality of the Bible and of the Ten Commandments."- Jared Diamond , Pulitzer-prize-winning author of the best-selling books Guns, Germs, and Steel , Collapse, and The World until Yesterday "I suspect that people will be arguing with Michael Shermer's premise before they read a page: 'The moral arc is bending toward truth, justice, and freedom? Is he hallucinating? Just look at...' In these cynical times, where right and left foresee disaster and despair (albeit for different reasons), Shermer's monumental opus, spanning centuries, nations, and cultures, is bound to provoke debate and open minds. Exactly what an important work of skepticism, science, and reason should do."- Carol Tavris , Ph.D., social psychologist and author of The Mismeasure of Woman and coauthor of Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) "A thrilling and fascinating book, which could change your view of human history and human destiny. If you wanted a sequel to The Better Angels of Our Nature, one which explored all of our spheres of moral progress, not just the decline of violence, this is it."- Steven Pinker , Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and author of The Blank Slate and The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century "It is difficult to imagine how the arc of morality can bend toward justice without rational examination of the consequences of one''s actions. As Michael Shermer passionately describes in this ambitious, thoroughly researched, yet remarkably accessible work of scholarship, the fabric of modern morality derives not from religion, but in large part from secular notions of rational empiricism. This message needs to be shared more broadly for the good our society, and hopefully this book will do just that." -Lawrence M. Krauss , Foundation Professor and Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, and bestselling author of A Universe from Nothing and The Physics of Star Trek "Michael Shermer makes the astonishing claim that science, precisely because of its rational, dispassionate, and enlightened attitude towards revealing the truth, has helped to lay the moral groundwork for modern society, pointing the way to a more just and moral world. Instead of being a passive observer to the dance of history and the evolution of ethics, Shermer makes the outrageous claim that science has in fact been one of the principle actors. Bravo, I say."- Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist, author of the best seller The Future of the Mind , and Physics of the Future "Michael Shermer argues that science, reason, and critical thinking come first; these are the ideas that produce stable, peaceful democracies. He documents and assesses society's successes and failures through the troubled history of humankind-and he's relentless. He connects the arc of the rise of reason and science with a country's economic success, and the overall worldwide decline in violence and suppression of our fellow humans, especially women. If you are religious, have a look. Shermer takes your faith to task and celebrates science as a path to the better moral future that citizens everywhere long for."- Bill Nye, The Science Guy, CEO, The Planetary Society " The Moral Arc displays the impressive depth of Michael Shermer's scholarship, wisdom and empathetic humanity, and it climaxes in a visionary flight of futuristic optimism. A memorable book, a book to recommend and discuss late into the night."- Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion, It is difficult to imagine how the arc of morality can bend toward justice without rational examination of the consequences of one's actions. As Michael Shermer passionately describes in this ambitious, thoroughly researched, yet remarkably accessible work of scholarship, the fabric of modern morality derives not from religion, but in large part from secular notions of rational empiricism. This message needs to be shared more broadly for the good our society, and hopefully this book will do just that., Praise for The Believing Brain : "[Shermer] has written a wonderfully lucid, accessible, and wide-ranging account of the boundary between justified and unjustified belief."- Sam Harris, author of The New York Times bestseller The End of Faith . "With a narrative that gently flows from the personal to the profound, Shermer shares what he has learned after spending a lifetime pondering the relationship between beliefs and reality, and how to be prepared to tell the difference between the two."- Lawrence M. Krauss, Foundation Professor and Director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University and author of The Physics of Star Trek, Michael Shermer makes the astonishing claim that science, precisely because of its rational, dispassionate, and enlightened attitude towards revealing the truth, has helped to lay the moral groundwork for modern society, pointing the way to a more just and moral world. Instead of being a passive observer to the dance of history and the evolution of ethics, Shermer makes the outrageous claim that science has in fact been one of the principle actors. Bravo, I say.
Dewey Edition23
TitleLeadingThe
Dewey Decimal170.9
Table Of ContentPrologue: Bending the Moral Arc 1 Part I: The Moral Arc Explained 1. Toward a Science of Morality 11 2. The Morality of War, Terror, and Deterrence 55 3. Why Science and Reason Are the Drivers of Moral Progress 103 4. Why Religion Is Not the Source of Moral Progress 149 Part II: The Moral Arc Applied 5. Slavery and a Moral Science of Freedom 189 6. A Moral Science of Women's Rights 213 7. A Moral Science of Gay Rights 240 8. A Moral Science of Animal Rights 259 Part III: The Moral Arc Amended 9. Moral Regress and Pathways to Evil 297 10. Moral Freedom and Responsibility 333 11. Moral Justice: Retribution and Restoration 355 12. Protopia: The Future of Moral Progress 397 Notes 441 Bibliography 497 Acknowledgments 527 Index 531
SynopsisBestselling author Michael Shermer's exploration of science and morality that demonstrates how the scientific way of thinking has made people, and society as a whole, more moral 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 will explain 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.
LC Classification NumberBJ57.S48 2015
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Most relevant reviews
- 19 Jan, 2021
Rife with sarcasm and inaccuracies. An ugly work.
The main object of the book is to demonstrate how science and the scientific method have promoted morality in the world. I agree, and I purchased the book to see what insights were offered. But as I progressed through the book, I realized that the author has an additional agenda. His treatment of religion, and more specifically the bible, is rife with inaccuracies and nasty comments and fabrications. Up to a point I thought that it was merely ignorance. But it became clear that it was mainly intentional mockery and libel. When I received the book, I looked over the approbations. I did not recognize any names on the list, except for Richard Dawkins. That was a warning for what to expect. There was not a single approbation by a respectable publication. Now I know why. It belongs in the trash. The author offers his substitute for the "Ten commandments". "Truthfulness" is not on his list.Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
