On Being Certain

Fülszöveg

"If there's anything you think you're certain of, read this book and you may change your mind."—SKEPTICAL INQUIRER
"In his brilliant new book, Burton systematically and convincingly shows that certainty is a mental state, a feeling like anger or pride that can help guide us, but that doesn't dependably reflect objective truth "-FORBESLIFE
You recognize when you know something for certain, right? You "know" the sky is blue, or that the traffic light has turned green, or where you were on the morning of September ii, 2001—you know these things, well, because you just do.
In On Being Certain, neurologist Robert Burton shows that feeling certain—feeling that we know something—is a mental sensation, rather than evidence of fact. An increasing body of evidence suggests that feelings such as ceVtainty stem from primitive areas of the brain and are independent of active, conscious reflection and reasoning. In other words, the feeling of knowing happens to us; we cannot make it happen.... Tovább

Fülszöveg

"If there's anything you think you're certain of, read this book and you may change your mind."—SKEPTICAL INQUIRER
"In his brilliant new book, Burton systematically and convincingly shows that certainty is a mental state, a feeling like anger or pride that can help guide us, but that doesn't dependably reflect objective truth "-FORBESLIFE
You recognize when you know something for certain, right? You "know" the sky is blue, or that the traffic light has turned green, or where you were on the morning of September ii, 2001—you know these things, well, because you just do.
In On Being Certain, neurologist Robert Burton shows that feeling certain—feeling that we know something—is a mental sensation, rather than evidence of fact. An increasing body of evidence suggests that feelings such as ceVtainty stem from primitive areas of the brain and are independent of active, conscious reflection and reasoning. In other words, the feeling of knowing happens to us; we cannot make it happen.
Bringing together cutting-edge neuroscience, experimental data, and fascinating anecdotes, Robert Burton explores the inconsistent and sometimes paradoxical relationship between our thoughts and what we actually know. Provocative and groundbreaking, On Being Certain challenges what we know (or think we know) about the mind, knowledge, and reason.
roberta. Burton, M.D., graduated from Yale University and the University of California at San Francisco medical school. At age thirty-three, he was appointed chief of the Division of Neurology at Mt. Zion-UCSF Hospital, where he subsequently became associate chief of the Department of Neurosciences. His nonneurology writing career includes three critically acclaimed novels. He lives in Sausalito, California. Visit his Web site at www.rburton.com. Vissza