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Best book for teaching critical thinking and skepticism

Explorer

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Hi all

I am UK based and have an eigthteen year old grandson who is quite intelligent but has been browsing far too many conspiracy and extreme right wing subject matter. He is very impressionable and in conversations with him he is lacking in critical thinking skills and is certainly not able to deploy skepticism when its obviously needed. This worries me a great deal as you might imagine, and as he is a bit of a loner, he does not have much alternative influences to temper any extremism that he might adopt.

His latest book that he bought I think from Amazon, is "The Monster of Babylon" by Gerald Delaney (US publication by SS Press). I have read parts of this book and it is horrendously anti-semitic and generally is designed to stereotype and engender hate towards Jewish people, and make statements that are un-sourced, and there is not a single reference in the book, apart from very selective passages from the Old Testament.

I do have chats with him and try to encourage independent checks for facts and accuracy and to seek out alternative source material, but so far, jusging by his lates book purchase, it is not enough.

Can anyone recommend a book/s on critical thinking and skepticsm that is readable and interesting, and can steer him away for accepting anything at face value. I think it will be a valuable investment to pass on to him. Thanks all.
 
Carl Sagan's The Demon Haunted World is a good introduction. Although it focuses on science versus pseudoscience, and doesn't really cover much of the irrationality and illogic that is so prominent in discussions of social and political issues these days.

It's a good introduction to critical thinking nonetheless.

Daniel Dennet's Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking is another option. I really like Daniel Dennet's work in general, but thought this one was a bit long winded and didn't showcase his writing as well. I much preferred the Sagan.
 
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How we know what isn't so, Thomas Gilovich
Why People Believe Weird Things, Michael Shermer(I know, problematic but it really is one of the best intros to cognitive bias and fallacies, buy it used or steal it.)


Scout Mindset, Julia Galef
Fads and Fallacies, Martin Gardener

For the most part, as an introduction I'd recommend anything that's more about why our minds are fallible, and intuition can be terribly wrong rather than something more along the lines of debunking particular ideas. If you start with some debunking of a particular conspiracy or pseudo history claim you're as likely to make him defensive as help in any way.

I've never really liked Demon Haunted World, but I know I'm in the minority there.

ETA: Dude, you needed to include the subtitle of that book! "Monsters of Babylon, How the Jews Betrayed Mankind".

Spend more time with him, try not to be too aggressive in changing his mind but ask a lot of questions.

For you I recommend, How to Change Minds, by David McRaney, sounds like you need to. The short version of that book, make sure the person knows that you are on there side before you try and change there mind and be patient.
 
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ahhell said:
How we know what isn't so, Thomas Gilovich
Why People Believe Weird Things, Michael Shermer(I know, problematic but it really is one of the best intros to cognitive bias and fallacies, buy it used or steal it.)


Scout Mindset, Julia Galef
Fads and Fallacies, Martin Gardener

For the most part, as an introduction I'd recommend anything that's more about why our minds are fallible, and intuition can be terribly wrong rather than something more along the lines of debunking particular ideas. If you start with some debunking of a particular conspiracy or pseudo history claim you're as likely to make him defensive as help in any way.

I've never really liked Demon Haunted World, but I know I'm in the minority there.

ETA: Dude, you needed to include the subtitle of that book! "Monsters of Babylon, How the Jews Betrayed Mankind".

Spend more time with him, try not to be too aggressive in changing his mind but ask a lot of questions.

For you I recommend, How to Change Minds, by David McRaney, sounds like you need to. The short version of that book, make sure the person knows that you are on there side before you try and change there mind and be patient.
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I have bought Sagan's book now for an easy entertining read to get him engaged, and also "Critical Thinking - the basics" by Stuart Hanscombe.

I am never agressive with and always appeal to what reasoning powers he has developed, but its a a hard task against web based memes and prejudice, and downright lies.

I have done a degree course in Sociology and it covered changing attitudes to some extent so I am not entirely lacking that knowledge. I shall read both the books I have ordered and then pass them on to him as gifts to keep, and then ask him to read them and then say we can follow up with a discussion on their content . He will do this, and with that prospect, I know he he will actually read them.

Thanks fro your recommendations and I will keep them in mind. Who knows he might actually want more material of that nature if I can change his current approach.
 
I would recommend Galef's The Scout Mindset.

You could also consider 'Thinking, fast and slow' by Kahneman - although there are problems with some of the material cited, it also has some good content.
 
 
Basically anything by Orwell. But they need to talk about it in the classroom.
 
“The Duck That Won The Lottery and 99 other logical fallacies” by Julian Baggini.

Great, accessible, long list of logical fallacies with examples.
 
A Rulebook for Arguments by Anthony Weston.
It's not a skeptic-oriented book or a scientists book so it avoids some of the "you're pushing an agenda" reflexes. Just a book about how to check your premises and build a valid argument from them. A couple of quotes
No matter how well you argue from premises to conclusion, your conclusion will be weak if your premises are weak.



It is not a mistake to have strong views. The mistake is to have nothing else.
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Amazon UK link
 
The Great Zaganza said:
Sure.
But if you want to cure someone of CT thinking, have them read the Illuminatus Trilogy.
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That's a solid recommendation, along those lines, Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.

They have similar themes.

Illuminatus, the plot is that all grand conspiracies are true.
FP, some editors at a publishing house invent a conspiracy based on all the manuscripts they get about conspiracies and their invented conspiracy might be true.

I'd go with FC, its a better book and much shorter.

Aside from that, once again I recommend books about cognitive bias before logical fallacies because the most important lesson of skepticism is that we all have flawed thinking baked. We are all wrong about something and we do not know what so, a little humility is warranted.
 
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Under the idea that people who will not read or listen to a lecture will read or listen to a story, I think that Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories provdie a good example in entertianing form of how logic works.
 
dudalb said:
Under the idea that people who will not read or listen to a lecture will read or listen to a story, I think that Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories provdie a good example in entertianing form of how logic works.
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I'm sorry. I disagree entirely with Sherlock Holmes stories. Holmes repeatedly uses logical fallacies to solve crimes.
 
One more for the Holmes is not remotely a critical thinker. He uses logical fallacies and jumps to conclusions. There should be a fictional detective out there that actually uses sound reasoning to solve cases, I can't think of any.
 
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Worst thing about Holmes is the constant appeal to authority, i.e Holmes.
He is the only, unimpeachable, expert witness on forensics no one but him could reproduce, like telling a cigarette brand from the ashes.
Nevermind the compulsory crime scene contamination.
 
acbytesla said:
I'm sorry. I disagree entirely with Sherlock Holmes stories. Holmes repeatedly uses logical fallacies to solve crimes.
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The Great Zaganza said:
Indeed.
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ahhell said:
One more for the Holmes is not remotely a critical thinker. He uses logical fallacies and jumps to conclusions. There should be a fictional detective out there that actually uses sound reasoning to solve cases, I can't think of any.
Click to expand...

The Great Zaganza said:
Worst thing about Holmes is the constant appeal to authority, i.e Holmes.
He is the only, unimpeachable, expert witness on forensics no one but him could reproduce, like telling a cigarette brand from the ashes.
Nevermind the compulsory crime scene contamination.
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Excuse me!

I think you will find that Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular characters in the world and was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who was a very famous and well-respected author in his time. Given his fame and popularity, I can't see how he would fall for fallacious reasoning. It's not like he would start believing in obvious hoaxes such as photographs of fairies at the bottom of a garden. So put that in your pipe and smoke it!
 
If the legends are true, then holmes was essentially meant to be a parody of a critical thinker on account of Doyle basically being a romantic. I don't know if that's true but I've read it more than once.
 
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