Chapter 10 - Does the Universe Have a Purpose?
from Part II - Homo Religiosus: Reflections on God and Religion
Michael Shermer, Chapman University, California
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Summary
This essay addresses one of life’s Big Questions, and for too long theologians have had a monopoly on an answer. Unfortunately, many philosophers and scientists have punted on the question, preferring something along the lines of “the universe has no purpose – we have to create our own purposes,” which is true as far as it goes, but doesn’t go far enough. One reason for the reticence of philosophers and scientists to speak out on the matter beyond this now-clichéd reply is that they fear being accused of the “naturalistic fallacy,” or of bumping up against David Hume’s “Is-Ought” wall (which I address in Chapter 19 in this volume). This is a red herring. We need not concede any ground to theists on this (or any other) question related to meaning, morals, and values, and to that end I append to this essay my February 2018 Scientific American column titled “Alvy’s Error and the Meaning of Life,” in which I come at the question from yet another perspective, this time demonstrating why theists’ answer to the purpose question is not just misguided; it is wrong.
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Publisher : Cambridge University Press; 1st edition (9 April 2020)
Language : English
Hardcover : 366 pages
ISBN-10 : 1108489788
ISBN-13 : 978-1108489782
Dimensions : 15.24 x 2.39 x 22.86 cm
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Review
'Michael Shermer is our most fearless explorer of alternative, crackpot, and dangerous ideas, and at the same time one of our most powerful voices for science, sanity, and humane values. In this engrossing collection, Shermer shows why these missions are consistent: it's the searchlight of reason that best exposes errors and evil.' Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress
'This is a rather difficult book for me to blurb, given that an entire chapter is devoted to criticizing my claims about pragmatic truth vis-à-vis scientific truth. However, Dr. Michael Shermer is a very clear thinker, and the kind of skeptic that is always necessary to ensure that public thought, scientific and otherwise, maintains a certain clarity. He's a passionate advocate of free speech, for this and many other reasons - to the point of entitling his new book Giving the Devil His Due, which is devoted to many worthwhile topics, but to free speech above all. Despite our disagreements, this is a necessary book for our times. Read it. And thank God and the powers that be that you have the right to do so.' Jordan B. Peterson, University of Toronto, and author of 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
'Michael Shermer is a fearless defender of free speech, open inquiry, and freedom of thought and conscience, including - and especially - for those with whom he disagrees. Giving the Devil His Due is one of the strongest bulwarks against the tyranny of censorship that I have read.' Nadine Strossen, New York University, former President of the ACLU, and author of Hate: Why We Should Resist it with Free Speech, Not Censorship
'… a detailed roadmap for thinking well and clearly about interesting and challenging ideas. This vivid, erudite, broad, and deep collection of essays is marvelously written - so much so that, as you finish one essay, you cannot resist starting the next. And the range - from ancient civilizations to the colonization of Mars, from free speech on campus to gun control in cities - is as astonishing as it is engaging.' Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, Ph.D, author of Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society
'As always, Michael Shermer is hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and brilliant. The fascinating essays in this wide-ranging book will make you think - and then rethink.' Amy Chua, Yale University, and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations
'Michael Shermer is the voice of reason, and this is a book of his best essays - the ones we most need to read to understand the madness of our time and to imagine a more reasonable future. The range of questions Shermer addresses and the breadth of his knowledge make this book a delight to read.' Jonathan Haidt, New York University, author of The Righteous Mind, and co-author of The Coddling of the American Mind
'Giving the Devil His Due is a treasure trove for lovers of the humanities and society at large as viewed through the perspective of scholarly minds, treatises, and essays. It's marvelously ripened and full of wonderful tales… ' Robert Hunziker, Counterpunch
'A powerful case is made here for why free speech is the best way to drive out bad ideas and fake news.' The Times
'A collection of skilful elucidations of academic ideas.' Christopher Silvester, The Critic
'Each essay is well crafted to provoke thoughtful reflection and amply referenced for those who wish to dig deeper into each topic … However, for any reader new to scepticism, Giving the Devil his Due would be an auspicious place to start.' Don Carpenetti, Chemistry World
Book Description
Explores how free speech and open inquiry are integral to science, politics, and society for the survival and progress of our species.
Book Description
This book is for all readers who care about science and reason, humanism and secularism, the progress of humanity, and the advancement of morals and values. It also advocates for the protection and continued expansion of human rights, such as civil rights, women's rights, LGBT+ rights, and animal rights.
About the Author
Michael Shermer is Presidential Fellow at Chapman University, California, the Publisher of Skeptic magazine, and the host of the Science Salon podcast, and for eighteen years he was a monthly columnist for Scientific American. He is the author of a number of New York Times bestselling books including Heavens on Earth (2018), The Moral Arc (2015), The Believing Brain (2011), and Why People Believe Weird Things (2000). His two TED talks, viewed over nine million times, were voted into the top 100 out of more than 2,000 TED talks.
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Entertaining enough but lacks any real crushing insights, not as good as I’d expected.
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4.0 out of 5 stars book to read slowly
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This book will make you look at what you believe in or not
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Parker
5.0 out of 5 stars The Devil is Due His Right to Speak and Be Heard, Even When He is Wrong
Reviewed in the United States on 9 April 2020
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I had the fortune of my pre-order showing up on March 28th (no complaints). Dr. Michael Shermer has been writing, lecturing and debating on science, humanism, philosophy & psychology, politics, society and intellectualism for several decades. Though I haven't read all of his books, I've read several of them, including The Believing Brain (a gem), The Moral Arc (worth every moment you invest in it), Why Darwin Matters (a perfect introduction to the growing anti-intellectualist ideology of ID - Intelligent Design) and Heavens on Earth.
In his newest collection of articles and essays - Giving the Devil His Due - Dr. Shermer makes a strong case for the importance of rational, coherent debate on all of the topics previously mentioned, and the opening article entitled "Giving the Devil His Due: Why Freedom of Inquiry and Speech in Science and Politics is Inviolable" is worth the cost of the entire collection. It is a call for reason: the defense of free speech - no matter who the speaker is, or even if they are logically and factually ignorant and/or wrong - because the right to speak one's mind (I'm paraphrasing both Shermer/Hitchens/Mill, etc...) and hear another's viewpoints is vital to a healthy and thriving society, as well as an intellectual mind. He begins the collection by quoting from the late, great Christopher Hitchens' wonderful talk about the defense of free speech being an intellectual imperative and necessary for free inquiry. (Hitch, unequivocally, is missed in these polarizing and increasingly unnerving times).
Each entry in GTDHD is worth the time you invest in it, as each topic brought under consideration is as relevant if not more so today then at any other time. The work is broken down into 5 parts, with an introduction to kick it off: Part 1 covers Free thought and Speech; Part 2 reflections on God & religion; Part 3 covers Politics & Society; Part 4 Scientific Humanism; and Part 5 covers more contemporary and sometimes controversial intellectuals (such as Paul Kurtz, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Jordan Peterson & Graham Hancock.
Even if you've read some of his articles/essays before in Scientific America, Quillette, or in Skeptic Magazine, this collection is worth adding to your library for 2 reason: 1) it showcases some of Dr. Shermer's best writings and arguments in favor of intellectual and humanistic ethics and it is a compelling collection of rational and enlightening cases-in-point topics; 2) the depth of penetrating analysis and insight Dr. Shermer achieves in short but wholly adequate articles is a rarity in many "collections" which authors put out.
I will return to this work again and again over the coming years of my life. Whenever I need to be reminded of the importance of free inquiry, humanistic integrity or just need something to make me appreciate how fortunate we are to live on this tiny blue dot (even in times as trying as CoVid-19), I'll pick this copy up again and again. I've already pre-ordered the audiobook, because it is always appreciated and rewarding when an author reads their own audiobooks.
My favorite entries include: 1) Giving the Devil His Due, 2) Free Speech Even if it Hurts, 3) Does the Universe Have a Purpose, 4) Healing the Bonds of Affection: the Case for Classical Liberalism, 5) The Sandy Hook Effect, 6) Another Fatal Conceit, 7) How Lives Turn Out and both 8) The Real Hitch and 9) The Skeptic's Chaplain.
Do yourself a favor and pick-up a copy; you can get through it in half a dozen committed sittings; your intellect will thank you for it, you'll challenge some pre-conceived notions and likely catch yourself reflecting on the chapters after having put the work down.
In times like these, we'd all do well to reflect on and heed much of the advice Dr. Shermer espouses in this collection.
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Darin L. Stewart
3.0 out of 5 stars A good retrospective, but with overly simplistic proposals to complex issues
Reviewed in the United States on 29 April 2020
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Giving the Devil His Due is a good retrospective of Shermer's thought and work over the years. While most of these essays are available in various forms and from multiple publications, it is useful to have them collected, organized and in several instances updated and expanded. It also highlights one of Mr. Shermer's failings as a thinker and writer, he is prone to oversimplification. In most of his work he is thoughtful, thorough and insightful. Yet when his topics brush up his predilection for libertarian oriented solutions, he tends to overlook or ignore inconvenient perspectives. When he discusses the yacht incentive, in which movers, makers and shakers are driven to have a yacht just a bit bigger or more luxurious than their peers, all of society benefits because they are creating the markets and the employment they generate to support their ambitions. Shermer notes that when a middle-manager willingly works 80-hour weeks in a mundane supply chain job, the whole supply chain is the better for his sacrifice. He neglects to take into account the toll an 80-hour work week will take on that manager, his friends and other ways they could contribute to society had they the time, energy and security. Shermer lauds market forces in their ability to extract maximum labor for the smallest wage without mentioning the dynamic of keeping hourly workers just below the threshold that would provide benefits or the difficulty of having to work multiple such jobs in order to make ends meet. This narrow view carries over into his assessment of public education. He rightfully lambasts the deplorable state of the American public education system. He holds up the superior results of private schools as evidence that privatized education will inevitably lead to better outcomes. Again, he is probably correct for the majority of students. He does not account for the fact that private schools can reject the most vulnerable, disruptive or highest need students. These are left to the public system to deal with with ever dwindling resources. Neither does he account for the growth of public funding of religious education through voucher and charter solutions. This is a particularly disappointing omission for such a prominent "scientific humanist". I am a fan of Mr. Shermer. He is an important voice for secularism, humanism and above all rational inquiry. It is disappointing when he takes a simplistic approach to complicated issues. He is capable of much, much more.
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Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist
by Michael Shermer
3.93 · Rating details · 164 ratings · 35 reviews
Who is the 'Devil'? And what is he due? The Devil is anyone who disagrees with you. And what he is due is the right to speak his mind. He must have this for your own safety's sake because his freedom is inextricably tied to your own. If he can be censored, why shouldn't you be censored? If we put barriers up to silence 'unpleasant' ideas, what's to stop the silencing of any discussion? This book is a full-throated defense of free speech and open inquiry in politics, science, and culture by the New York Times bestselling author and skeptic Michael Shermer. The new collection of essays and articles takes the Devil by the horns by tackling five key themes: free thought and free speech, politics and society, scientific humanism, religion, and the ideas of controversial intellectuals. For our own sake, we must give the Devil his due. (less)
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Darin Stewart
Apr 28, 2020Darin Stewart rated it liked it
Giving the Devil His Due is a good retrospective of Shermer's thought and work over the years. While most of these essays are available in various forms and from multiple publications, it is useful to have them collected, organized and in several instances updated and expanded. It also highlights one of Mr. Shermer's failings as a thinker and writer, he is prone to oversimplification. In most of his work he is thoughtful, thorough and insightful. Yet when his topics brush up his predilection for libertarian oriented solutions, he tends to overlook or ignore inconvenient perspectives. When he discusses the yacht incentive, in which movers, makers and shakers are driven to have a yacht just a bit bigger or more luxurious than their peers, all of society benefits because they are creating the markets and the employment they generate to support their ambitions. Shermer notes that when a middle-manager willingly works 80-hour weeks in a mundane supply chain job, the whole supply chain is the better for his sacrifice. He neglects to take into account the toll an 80-hour work week will take on that manager, his friends and other ways they could contribute to society had they the time, energy and security. Shermer lauds market forces in their ability to extract maximum labor for the smallest wage without mentioning the dynamic of keeping hourly workers just below the threshold that would provide benefits or the difficulty of having to work multiple such jobs in order to make ends meet. This narrow view carries over into his assessment of public education. He rightfully lambasts the deplorable state of the American public education system. He holds up the superior results of private schools as evidence that privatized education will inevitably lead to better outcomes. Again, he is probably correct for the majority of students. He does not account for the fact that private schools can reject the most vulnerable, disruptive or highest need students. These are left to the public system to deal with with ever dwindling resources. Neither does he account for the growth of public funding of religious education through voucher and charter solutions. This is a particularly disappointing omission for such a prominent "scientific humanist". I am a fan of Mr. Shermer. He is an important voice for secularism, humanism and above all rational inquiry. It is disappointing when he takes a simplistic approach to complicated issues. He is capable of much, much more. (less)
flag7 likes · Like · comment · see review
Dan Graser
Apr 15, 2020Dan Graser rated it it was amazing
Michael Shermer is one of the indispensable thinkers of our time, on a huge range of subjects, as this volume of essays collected from the past 15 years or so makes clear. The editor of Skeptic magazine, he is equally adept at analyzing and confronting the absurd ravings of snake-oil salesmen, Holocaust deniers, censorious free speech deniers, the most radical claims of the religiously fundamentalist, and the peddlers of crackpot theories as pertain to biology and the natural world more broadly. ...more
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Mars Cheung
May 10, 2020Mars Cheung rated it it was amazing
Maybe my favorite read from 2020 so far.
I've been a fan of Dr. Shermer's work for many years now and his book, The Moral Arc, really changed how I viewed the state of humanity, changing my pessimistic view towards one cautiously optimistic for our future. I was particularly looking forward to this book but was expecting it to be fully geared towards a full throated defense of freedom of speech/expression against the nonsensical censorship coming from both political parties.
The book does do that, but I was delighted to see that it covers a vast amount of material beyond that. It's a collection of essays from Dr. Shermer discussing the teaching of evolution, the psychology of how political minds work, his interactions with other well-known intellectuals, to philosophical discussions about morality and how an objective stake can be claimed for them on a scientific basis and much, much more. The book is grouped into sections addressing these factors and each essay extrapolates on the subject. It's easy to read, clear and well-organized. Highly recommended. (less)
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Jakub Ferencik
May 10, 2020Jakub Ferencik rated it it was amazing
Shelves: philosophy, politics, education, economy
Published in 2020 -- Shermer's latest work. This volume assured me that Shermer is a very important thinker, if not one of the more important thinkers of our times. I've reviewed a number of his books on this page and I've been familiar with him for a while I just didn't realize how much thought he puts into things .. a lot of things. I enjoyed his essays in his most recent book very much. They seem balanced and defend the opposing view often. Shermer defends moral realism (236), a liberal (as in political) view of human nature (254); fire-arm regulation, which I found particularly interesting (181): having guns in the home is associated with a 41 percent increase in homicide and 244 percent increase in suicide rates; Governing Mars (145); makes a case for classical liberalism (134); and so much more. I particularly enjoyed Part 5 of the book, where Shermer addresses his relationships and thoughts on Hitchens, Dawkins, and Peterson. Shermer even discusses Graham Hancock's work on America's lost civilizations in the Amazon. All in all, a very balanced portrayal of one's views. If there is anyone to disagree with, it's Shermer. He's very open to being wrong. (less)
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Melissa
Jun 05, 2020Melissa added it
Shelves: did-not-finish
DNF - Taking a break from this for now.
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Steve
Apr 14, 2020Steve rated it really liked it
Shelves: reviewed
Interesting, thoughtful anthology
One of the things Michael Shermer discusses in this anthology is confirmation bias and he made me realize that I have that bias. When I would read an essay that I disagreed with, my initial reaction is that I don't like the book. When I would read an essay that I agreed with, my reaction would be that I love the book. It made me realize that whether I agree with them or not, the essays are indeed thought-provoking. I also liked when Shermer indicated when he had changed his views on things. Overall the book is an interesting read.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.
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David
May 02, 2020David rated it really liked it
Shelves: current-events, science, essays, sociology
Overall, a great collection of essays by one of today's top skeptics. I bought this book after hearing Mr. Shermer on TJRE. Shermer seemed to make a lot of since on that show and I am glad to have read this book. I did have a problem with two (back to back) essays in this book - the first titled "On Guns and Tyranny", the second titled "Debating Guns: What Conservatives and Liberals Really Differ on About Guns [And Everything Else]).
Not that I had a problem with them because I fundamentally disagreed with what Shermer was saying (it's a mixed bag), it's just that I felt the arguments were weak and somewhat political, and, in the case of the second essay, biased by the authors emotional perspective; something that stuck out all too glaringly in light of the other essays in this collection being purely rational. The second article relies heavily on the guidance of another book (that I have not read) that, judging from the excerpts, learns very liberal and is guilty of casting Conservative thought in a very poor light while holding highbrow and nobel Liberal thought standards. I automatically distrust as factual any writing that goes down either (and any) party lines.
Having said that, I felt the rest of the essays made strong and well articulated arguments.
On a personal note, I realized I have have read a crap ton of the books referenced in this work and that although I don't readily identify as a skeptic, I sure read like one. I was surprised to see heavily referenced an obscure book I happened to pick up (Gardner's Fads and Fallicies in the Name of Science) which turns out to be a skeptics classic. (less)
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Mike Cheng
Nov 11, 2020Mike Cheng rated it liked it
This is a collection of short writings and articles by Michael Shermer discussing, among other things, religion (primarily in the context of evolution vs. creationism, with another article about Scientology), gun control, free markets vs. the Fatal Conceit (F.A. Hayek!), and Christopher Hitchens. The first few chapters were the best part for me, wherein Mr. Shermer discusses the importance of the First Amendment and free speech (which includes offensive speech as well as hate speech*) - best sum ...more
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Kate
Jul 30, 2020Kate rated it really liked it
“For our own safety’s sake, we must give the Devil his due,” says Michael Shermer in his latest book, Giving the Devil His Due: Reflections of a Scientific Humanist.
Shermer defines the Devil as anyone who disagrees with you (or someone else), and he insists that this Devil has the right to speak his mind -- because this book is about the defense of free speech above all.
It’s about open inquiry; about challenging ideas; and about defining and defending your own reasoning.
Readers aren’t likely to agree with everything Shermer offers in this book… and that’s the point.
Debate and discourse are paramount to this experimental psychologist and publisher of Skeptic magazine.
He takes a contrary and opposing viewpoint to just about every controversial issue on people’s minds today: rejecting the theory of evolution; Holocaust deniers; debating guns, religion, racism, and school violence. (And then there are even more topics that you may not have realized merit much more of your own moral contemplation.)
Shermer’s essays are more than a collection of thoughtful musings. It’s stunning to see the author admit to deliberation that counters his own early beliefs, and that he can be introspective enough to allow new information to inform his opinion. For perhaps this reason alone, it’s a necessary book for the times we are living in. Disagreements are healthy; free speech helps us all learn and grow through our skepticism.
One can’t help but learn something through reading Giving the Devil His Due, even if it simply serves to solidify precisely WHY one holds a belief. This Devil’s Advocate deserves his say! (less)
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Colin
Jan 06, 2021Colin rated it really liked it
Decent collection of essays on various subjects. I found plenty to disagree with, which is good because I like disagreeing with stuff. He seems weirdly pessimistic and lacking in imagination /ambition when it comes to the problem of how to decrease the insane level of gun ownership in America. Well, that's not surprising, perhaps: it's a long-term problem, more complicated than doing the same in New Zealand, but is that a reason to rule out anything more than a bit of tinkering around the edges? Come on, dude, if you call yourself a public intellectual you need to think outside the bodybag. I mean, box.
He talks a lot of sense too, when he's talking about things that don't go BANG!
My only real complaint was that the intro rehashed a lot of the material in some of the early essays so that you read the same thing, almost word for word, within the space of just a few minutes. That seemed a bit pointless. (less)
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Rob
Jun 05, 2020Rob rated it liked it
Shelves: audiobooks, non-fiction, religious, essays, political, science, read-2020
As with many collections of previously published material, Giving the Devil His Due contains work that may be familiar to someone who has has previously read some Shermer. This volume contains five sections, with essays covering Shermer's views on religion, politics, free speech, humanism and a final section of biographies/criticism of public intellectuals.
As a Libertarian turned Classical Liberal and renowned skeptic, many of Shermer's opinions are predictable, but what I find refreshing about Shermer is his (at least feigned) openness to new information and his desire to explore viewpoints that are different from his own and challenging to the status quo. (less)
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Chris Boutté
Jan 05, 2021Chris Boutté rated it it was amazing
As a fan of skeptic authors, I've known of Michael Shermer for ages but only recently got into his work, and I absolutely love everything I've read so far. This book is a collection of essays, and I typically don't like this type of book, but it was phenomenal. Even if you don't agree with Shermer, you have to respect his thought process and how he analyzes various subjects. This book covers a wide range of topics from free speech debates, creationism vs. evolution, gun control, morality, pseudoscience, and much more. This book can easily be read in chunks, but I binged most of it in one sitting because it was so good. (less)
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