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Full Description
'What to Believe When You Don't' invites you to
explore the vibrant tapestry of human existence without the prop of
supernatural belief. You'll explore a
wide range of topics and see how all are governed by beautifully logical
natural explanations, no divine interventions needed!
You are guided throughout by an engaging, reader-friendly author who wears
his learning lightly, and draws on crisp expert insights, hard data, and
captivating anecdotes to make complex issues simple.
Above all, 'What to Believe When You Don't' gives the reader practical
ideas to help you make your own decisions about how to live and be happy.
Contents
Introduction
·
What is
belief?
·
Chapter structure
·
Core
"beliefs"
·
Stance
·
Parable
Chapter 1: Nature
·
External reality and what we can "know"
PART A: Physics
·
The atomic structure of matter and the sub-atomic
realm
·
The four fundamental forces and quantum fields
·
Quantum effects
·
Quantum effects in our everyday world
·
Relativity
·
Unifying Quantum Mechanics with Relativity
·
Antimatter, dark matter, and dark energy
·
The Universe in our hand
PART B: Biology
·
Evolution
·
Genetics
·
How genes work
·
Genetic similarities and differences
·
Genetics and race
·
Biological sex and gender identity
·
Inbreeding
·
What makes us who we are
·
Predictability, mutability, and "flux"
PART C: Our story so far
Chapter summary
Chapter 2: Consciousness
·
Consciousness main themes
·
Chapter structure
PART A:
What consciousness is
·
The evolution
of human cognition
·
The brain as
the centre of consciousness
PART B: The opportunity, and obligation,
to exercise personal existential choice
·
Personal agency and "freewill"
·
The essential
self
·
Personality and character
PART C: How consciousness works
·
Executive
function and the rational brain
·
Learning and
development
·
Joining up the dots - how our brain processes data
·
Instinct, emotion, and reason as triggers for
behaviour
·
Cognitive bias
·
"Noise"
·
Categorisation
PART D: Critical faculties which form part of consciousness
·
Reason
·
Emotion
·
Language
·
Empathy and Theory of Mind
·
Memory
·
Imagination
·
Motivation and drive
PART E: Enablers and inhibitors of consciousness
·
Sleep
·
Stress
PART F: Implications of consciousness for existence
·
The fact that we have the freedom to exercise
personal existential choice in our life means that we should actively embrace
it, and then take responsibility for the choices we make
·
The fact that our consciousness is fallible means
that when making choices we should consider the possibility of bias and error
·
"Luck" is a fact of life, whereas "destiny" isn't
·
Mindset matters: how we think about our life
obviously affects how we feel about it, and can also influence outcomes
·
Expectations matter: how we think about ourself and
others can materially change what we and they feel and do
Chapter summary
Chapter 3: Sociability
PART A: Pro-social
behaviours
·
Why sociability matters
·
Culture as the defining
human attribute
·
Sociability as the defining
human behaviour
·
The evolution of human sociability,
and society
PART B: Anti-social behaviours
·
Hierarchy and status
·
Violence, bullying and
intimidation
·
The capacity to influence,
manipulate and deceive
PART C: "Me" versus "Us"
·
Cooperate or compete - the
critical existential choice
·
Applying Axelrod to our
social reality
PART D: "Only connect" -
love and affection
·
Sociability feels good and
is good
·
Romantic love
·
Sex and the capacity to
entertain
·
Extramarital sex
·
Altruism
·
Loneliness and solitude
·
Relationships and subjective
interpretation
·
Experiencing love
Chapter summary
Chapter 4: Morality
PART A: What is moral instinct?
·
Definition of morality
·
Morality as sociability
·
Universal moral triggers
·
Empathy and "do no harm"
·
Fairness
PART B: Complications
1.
Morality is ultimately relative, not an absolute law
of nature.
2.
Moral instinct is instinctive - we feel first, and
reason later.
3.
Our instincts do not always prompt us to behave
"morally".
4.
Morality is often nuanced and contextual.
5.
Morality inherently prompts
us to privilege other members of our own social group at the expense of members
of other groups.
6.
Moral norms are not stable, but rather change over
time
PART C: Practical implications
·
Embrace a moral principle
·
Live and let live
·
Let reason, not emotion, determine the answer to
complex moral issues
·
"Mind the gap" between moral instinct and
behavioural response
Chapter summary
Chapter 5:
Happiness
PART A: Happiness as the goal of
human existence
PART B: Defining Happiness
·
Pain and pleasure
·
Fundamental needs
-
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
-
Self-actualisation
-
Critical assessment of Maslow's ideas
-
Self-actualisation for all
·
Happiness as wellbeing
PART C: Happiness in the world
·
Measuring happiness
·
Are people happy?
PART D: What makes people happy?
·
What helps individuals to be happy?
1.
Genes
2.
Sense of personal agency ("locus of control")
3.
Life stage
4.
Relationships
5.
Health
6.
Money
7.
Work
8.
Religion
·
What helps societies to be happy?
PART E: Personal meaning
1.
The Meaning of Life
2.
Meaning in life
3.
Will to meaning
4.
Experiencing meaning
·
Sources of meaning
Sources of
meaning - Frankl
1.
Creating a work or doing a deed
2.
Experiencing something or encountering someone
3.
The attitude we take to unavoidable suffering
4.
"Actualising" personal potential
Sources of
meaning - post Frankl
5.
Positive affect
6.
Belonging
7.
Religious and other worldviews
8.
The Self
9.
Mental time travel
10.
Mortality awareness
·
Meaning as everyday experience
Chapter summary
Summary of beliefs discussed
Acknowledgements
Index of Topics
Index of authors quoted
Selected bibliography
