Leaps of Faith
Science, Miracles, and the Search for Supernatural Consolation
Published on 4. June 1999
Book
Paperback/Softback
XII, 244 pages
978-0-387-98720-0 (ISBN)
Description
Leaps of Faith
is a compelling and highly praised critique of beliefs in paranormal phenomena, miracles, and the like, written by the noted British psychologist Nicholas Humphrey. The author argues that our beliefs in the supernatural typically originate in anxiety about the future and are sustained by an entrenched belief in the duality of mind and body. More than just a debunking of supernaturalism,
Leaps
of Faith
explores the psychology of the all-too-human tendency for wishful thinking. It explains why we hark after a fantasy world of magic and miracles - even when, arguably, we already live in the only world that offers real hope of fulfillment.
Reviews / Votes
"Elegant and literate" -THE TIMES OF LONDON"The kind of book that both skeptics and believers would do well to read"- SKEPTICAL INQUIRER
"An urbane, original, convincing rebuttal of paranormal and supernatural notions" -NEW SCIENTIST
"A lively, entertaining book... Humphrey has set himself a larger task than simply explaining why people believe in parapsychology: the task of explaining why it is irrational to believe in it."-NATURE
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Persons
Content
That Hypothesis.- Who Needs It?- Preparing for the Best.- A Ministry of Science.- The Howling Storm.- Jam Today.- Another Think Coming.- Uncommon Sense.- The World of a Difference.- Breaking the Law.- Anything Goes?- Designed Too Far.- The Art of the Possible?- Behold the Man.- Into the Light.- P?K?- E?S?P?- Need You Ask.- Keeping the Faith.- Three Givens.- Being There.- Inside Stories.- On Good Authority.- It Stands to Reason.- Beyond the Limits.- Nothing for Free.- On the Wings of a Dove.- Notes.- Index.