Overview
Have you ever tried to explain a factually-supported argument to a person with a limited knowledge of the subject, who in spite of this limitation is firmly convinced of the correctness of his position? This book explores the origin of the virtually universal trait of faulty black and white thinking. This trait is rooted in the pleasure- seeking behavior of childhood, which is controlled by the genetic roadmap, thus accounting for its universality. It is converted into adult irrational thinking by the addition of self-consciousness.
Modern science has tried to circumvent irrational thinking by use of the objective scientific method, which ideally is free from bias. Science, being objective, has rejected the subjectivity of religious beliefs; therefore, the two appear to be irreconcilable. Science and religion both require objective facts to be transformed into rational use. However, the objective method of science is directionless and irrational without the subjective steering wheels of empathy, altruism, and belief. Gray area thinking is an introspective, rational process that examines objectively the ends of actions by exploring whether the self or the neighbor benefits from an action, thus linking the immaterialism of belief with the materialism of science.
Author Biography
The author is a retired developmental biologist and pediatrician who spent his career in academia. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and has conducted both basic laboratory research and clinically applied bedside science.
As a physician-scientist he has been in a unique position to observe and interact on a daily basis with both pure basic scientists and the parents of his patients. It is the ever-increasing dichotomy between the objectively-based facts of the science and philosophy of neo-Darwinism, and the subjective, heart-wrenching feelings of parents, that provided the impetus to write this book.
Synopsis
Have you ever tried to explain a factually-supported argument to a person with a limited knowledge of the subject, who in spite of this limitation is firmly convinced of the correctness of his position? This book explores the origin of the virtually universal trait of faulty black and white thinking. This trait is rooted in the pleasure- seeking behavior of childhood, which is controlled by the genetic roadmap, thus accounting for its universality. It is converted into adult irrational thinking by the addition of self-consciousness.
Modern science has tried to circumvent irrational thinking by use of the objective scientific method, which ideally is free from bias. Science, being objective, has rejected the subjectivity of religious beliefs; therefore, the two appear to be irreconcilable. Science and religion both require objective facts to be transformed into rational use. However, the objective method of science is directionless and irrational without the subjective steering wheels of empathy, altruism, and belief. Gray area thinking is an introspective, rational process that examines objectively the ends of actions by exploring whether the self or the neighbor benefits from an action, thus linking the immaterialism of belief with the materialism of science.
Author Biography
The author is a retired developmental biologist and pediatrician who spent his career in academia. He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and has conducted both basic laboratory research and clinically applied bedside science.
As a physician-scientist he has been in a unique position to observe and interact on a daily basis with both pure basic scientists and the parents of his patients. It is the ever-increasing dichotomy between the objectively-based facts of the science and philosophy of neo-Darwinism, and the subjective, heart-wrenching feelings of parents, that provided the impetus to write this book.