Analysis of Michael Shermer’s Fallacies In Why People Believe Wierd Things, Michael Shermer discusses many issues such as pseudoscience and superstition, which continue to permeate our modern society. He describes twenty five fallacies that have lead people to believe in things that are not true, and are often completely illogical. Two of these major fallacies include the idea that the unexplained is inexplicable, and that people do not correctly put the burden of proof where it belongs. These are both explanations that we have all come across, and Shermer discusses both why people rely on these fallacies, and why they are incorrect in very logical and straightforward reasoning. Shermer states that simply because something is unexplained, it does not mean that it is inexplicable. The first situational category that he puts this fallacy into is when people decide that because they do not know something, it must therefore be inexplicable. He gives the example of one mystical ability, the ability to walk on hot coals.
As he describes, many people attribute this ability to the individual fire walker’s supernatural powers over pain and heat, or mysterious chemicals in his or her brain that block the pain and prevent the skin from burning. There is an actual explanation for this practice, which is that the conductivity from the light and fluffy coals to the skin in a person’s feet is very low, so as long as they are not standing still for a prolonged time on the coals, there will be no burning. This situation is very understandable, as many people have adequate ego to believe, whether they are educated in a subject or not, that if they do not understand something, then nobody possibly could. Another common example that he used of people thinking that something is not explainable because they themselves cannot explain it is alien abduction, a very common debate. Though many people who claim they have experienced alien abductions have actually experienced lucid dreams or rare mental occurrences known as hynogogic or hypnopompic hallucinations, they do not have any knowledge of these explanations, and therefore believe that the only alternative possible is paranormal. The other situational category for this fallacy is when people believe that something can not be explained because nobody, themselves or scientists, have yet found a cause. One example that Shermer states is the building of the pyramids.
The Term Paper on What is the ‘covering law’ model of explanation?
Carl Hempel’s “covering law” model of explanation states essentially that an explanation for an event can be drawn from a set of general laws or, in the case of the social sciences, universal hypotheses. Hempel claims the study of history is not generally associated with the search for general laws governing historical events. However, history is a discipline within which the theory of “covering ...
Scientists and archaeologists know many things about how they were built, how materials were moved, and many other specifics about the building of the pyramids in Egypt, but they still have some holes in their explanation of the logistics. Because the archaeologists have not yet discovered exactly how some things are done, some people have jumped to the conclusion that the answer must be paranormal. They claim that aliens helped the Egyptians build them, or were fully responsible for their construction. Shermer explains the tendency for people to decide quickly that something is unexplainable or paranormal as a human need for certainty. People are actually more comfortable with the belief that aliens, magic, or other unexplainable phenomenon are responsible for something than having to live without an answer. They take more comfort in the fact that they have a solution immediately than whether or not that solution is correct. They will also pull proof from any angle to support their newfound facts. For example, Shermer talks later in his book about a leading silicon valley technology developer and executive who was reported to have left his job to further investigate extraterrestrial life after knowing firsthand that internet and computer technologies were given to the industry from the government, who backwards engineered them from alien technology. The executive later explained that one comment he had made had been taken wildly out of context and used to support beliefs that other people wanted to prove about aliens and the government, not that he had seen any proof or had evidence of.
The Essay on Black People and Family Support
The text “Dougy” by James Moloney captures interest of the young reader because of some of the main themes such as Family Support, Racial Conflict, Racial Discrimination and Determination, which is happening all around us today. One of the important themes in the book is Family support. Dougy and Gracey are from a very close family and are always there for each other. An example of this is when ...
This example of a misused quotation to support a paranormal theory ties well into the another fallacy that Shermer describes, which is the incorrect placement of the burden of proof. Shermer states that the person making the extraordinary claim has the burden of proving to the experts and to the community at large that his or her belief has more validity than the one almost everybody else accepts. He explains that for a point to be valid, the claimant must lobby for his or her opinion to be heard, and by more than only fellow believers who will not look at the situation from a biased and uneducated point of view. He or she must also find experts that can and will corroborate the theory with scientific proof of their own. To explain this idea further, Shermer uses the example of people who deny that the Holocaust happened. This is because while there are not only mountains of evidence for the Holocaust, the majority of academics and historians, as well as the population also believe that it occurred. While the Holocaust deniers have some evidence, that alone is not enough to prove anything.
They must also have support from the community at large and experts to validate their claims. Later in his book, Shermer discusses another way that this burden of proof is ignored or misused. When he went on Donahue, different members of the audience latched onto facts that they knew about the Holocaust, such as Jewish prisoners being made into lampshades or soap. While Shermer definitely does not deny that the Holocaust occurred and was very gruesome and tragic, he points out that these people were taking advantage of mistakes that historians made. Experts make mistakes like everyone else does, he points out. Some people then latch on to those mistakes to prove their points. In this case they are attempting to fake the proper burden of proof, and show that an expert backs their belief even if that expert really does not, and was misquoted or has since revised his or her statement on the subject. These people, like those in the earlier example, are finding comfort in knowing and feeling as though they have an answer instead of dealing with uncertainty.
The Term Paper on What is Holocaust Revisionism
The term “holocaust denier” is applied to those who prefer the terms “revisionism” or “revisionist. ” Holocaust historians avoid using it to describe themselves and revise the aspects of the Holocaust. Holocaust historians in the revisionism belief that in Germany there was a breakout of typhus carried by lice and other diseases that spread throughout the camps and by having to treat camps with ...
They are creating the proof even if it does not exist, because having faulty support for their point is still much more comfortable than not knowing. A very major example that Shermer uses in his book to illustrate all of his fallacies is that of creationism. While he does not specifically refute creationism, he points out that creationists are quite often guilty of supporting their beliefs with different fallacies, and one of the major ones is the burden of proof. Their largest source of facts comes from the Bible, and while statements from that text are enough to prove just about anything to other people within their faith, it can not stand up as proof that creationism is a valid, scientific fact. They also misuse or misappropriate facts to prove their points. While there is a lot of archaeological evidence that supports different stories and events within the Bible, this does not prove anything about the beliefs it claims about the nature of the universe and the beginning of the human race.
It also ignores the archaeological evidence that is right alongside the proof they use, which works to disprove their claims. As with the Holocaust deniers, the creationists also latch onto flaws or mistakes from historians and academics. When there are any gaps in the time line of artifacts used in the works of evolutionist scientists, it works as full proof in the eyes of creationists that evolutionary theory is incorrect, and by default their beliefs are proven. In this case, just like with Holocaust deniers misquoting historians, they do not work to fulfill burden of proof, because they are not working to actually prove their own theory or belief, but only making futile attempts to poke holes in the case of the opposing belief system or theory. They are misunderstanding the burden of proof, that even if they completely disprove evolution it does not prove creation, but only opens up the field for a whole new option. In Shermer’s book, he addresses different topics that include everyday paranormal and supernatural claims, such as psychics and alien abductions.
He also touches on more sensitive issues such as the existence of the Holocaust or creationism versus evolutionary theory. In any of the cases, he points out that these paranormal or unexplainable issues are part of a human need to feel in control and knowledgeable. Whether or not these beliefs are a necessity of the individuals who claim them, to be counted as valid and proven they must avoid the fallacies that Shermer presents. Reference Shermer, Michael. Why People Believe Weird Things. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2002..
Higher Authority Work Pupils Negotiation
Primary Education & Post Plowden Legacy Subject: Primary Education & Post Plowden Legacy Tutor: Alastair HorburyAssignment: Critique of given text - Chapter 6, 'Pupils at Work.' Due: Mon 14 Nov 94 INTRODUCTION The task assigned was to read all six chapters provided, select one and produce a critique on the subject matter. The chapter selected was number six which analysed pupils' and ' ...
