Truth, Knowledge, or Just Plain Bull: How to Tell the Difference

Patten, formerly a neurologist at Baylor College of Medicine and now a lecturer in logic at Rice University, doesn't mince words:""It's important for you to recognize bullshit when they hand it to you."" Bullshit comes in all forms, and""clear thinking,"" says Patten,""can protect us"" from scams, lies and the illogic of groupthink, among other dangers. In lively, straightforward prose, Patten lays out some general principles of clear thinking (""Because there are no simple answers, a simple answer is likely to be wrong"") then, chapter by chapter, examines various forms of false reasoning to which we might fall victim--overgeneralization, vague definition (in discussing abortion, what do we mean by""life""?) and false analogy, among others. Patten doesn't minimize the mental effort required to master clear thinking, but his own clear writing and down-to-earth tone make it as painless as it can be to strengthen your ability to reason and see the faults in the reasoning of others.