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Book Group: Past books
Book Group Information
Tue, 01/15/2013 - 5:34pm — Sandra.CoynerA list of books selected and read by this book group from 2008 to 2013 can be found here. For recent books, see below.
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| 11/16/2015 - 2:00pm | Book Group Discussion: "Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality" |
Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us About Morality by Patricia Churchland (2012) |
| 10/19/2015 - 2:00pm | Book Group Discussion: The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert |
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert (2015) |
| 09/21/2015 - 2:00pm | Book Grp: "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" |
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Narari (2015) – a “groundbreaking narrative of humanity’s creation and evolution” exploring ways that “biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be ‘human.’” |
| 08/17/2015 - 2:00pm | Book Group Discussion Canceled | |
| 07/20/2015 - 2:00pm | Book Grp: Daniel Dennett "Breaking the Spell" |
Daniel Dennett Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. Dennett is the great philosopher of (non-) religion, writing in 2007 about why and how religion became so influential in human society, “looking beneath the veil of orthodoxy.” |
| 06/15/2015 - 2:00pm | Book Grp: Sam Harris "Waking Up" |
Sam Harris, Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion (2014) – a “scientific and philosophical exploration of the self, and a how-to guide for transcendence, from an atheist who says there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow. |
| 05/18/2015 - 2:00pm | Book Group: "Being Mortal" |
“Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” by Atul Gawande (201). Available in paperback. How medicine can not only improve life, but also the process of its ending. Examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and varieties of hospice care. Includes research and riveting storytelling. See |
| 04/20/2015 - 2:00pm | Book Group: "A Skeptic's Guide to the Brain" |
“A skeptic’s Guide to the Brain: What Neuroscience Can and Cannot tell us about Ourselves,” by Robert Burton (2013). Some of the conclusions about brain/mind that are coming from modern neuroscience are genuine advances in our knowledge, but Burton shows that some are overreaching, wrong-headed, self-serving, or just plain ridiculous. He also has a vision of how to think about what the mind might be and how it works. |
| 03/16/2015 - 2:00pm | Book Group: "The Improbability Principle" |
“The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day” by David J. Hand (2014). Examines phenomena that seem “miraculous” to many people, and explains the mathematics showing that such events are in no way paranormal or supernatural. |
| 02/16/2015 - 2:00pm | Book Grp: "You are now Less Dumb" |
David McRaney wrote You are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob mentality, how to buy happiness, and all the other ways to outsmart yourself in Aug. 2014, but it is inexpensive to purchase. He addresses self-delusion using results from many fields, including philosophy (logical fallacies) and brain science (biases and heuristics). His tone is not so much holier-than-thou, with less "We are smarter than all those other stupid people who don't believe what we believe." He thinks we all make mistakes and can learn together to think better. |