Anyone here read Michael Shermer's latest book The Believing Brain?

[Tobin S.]

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on it. I really enjoyed it and found the part about how patternicity and agenticity affect people who have mental illnesses particularly interesting. I have bipolar disorder and have seen what he's talking about from the inside out. It all makes more sense to me now.

The book is supposed to be the culmination of 30 years of research into why we believe the things we do and how we believe the things we do. He covers superstition, science, religion, conspiracy theories, mental illness, politics, new age spirituality, and a bunch of other stuff.

One area where I find myself disappointed in Shermer is his politics. When I learned that he is a Libertarian I didn't understand how someone could be so enlightened a skeptic and still hold those views about politics- so knowledgeable about life in general and so full of shit in this one area. He has an essay up over at skeptic.com about his political views now. People who follow him over there have pretty much picked him apart on this issue, yet he persists.

[Odin2005]

1. A lot of skeptics tend to be libertarians, unfortunately.

I think it's a personality thing. Those most likely to be skeptics are also most likely to fall for Libertarian rhetoric about Liberals being "bleeding hearts" who ignore the "cold hard truths" of economics. Skeptic types often fall for it because most are of a personality that tends to repress the human values side of the equation (Jungian Feeling) in the name of cold hard facts and conceptual models (Jungian Sensation and Thinking, respectively).

In my experience the best skpetics are Jungian Feeling + Sensation types, Carl Sagan (an ESFJ) is an example. Such people tend to fuse their skpeticism and empiricism with a respect for the human side of the equation.

Then again, I'm an ISFJ, so I'm biased, LOL.

[Tobin S.]

2. Thanks, Odin. I did not know that.

[Odin2005]

3. It's an underlying theme that I run into a lot.

Libertarians are so enamored of their abstract models, usually of the Austrian School variety, that they can't see the human side.

[longship]

4. Odin, please. ESFJ? ISFJ?

Much thanks.

[Odin2005]

5. It's Jung's psychological types.

ISFJ means "Introveted Sensation with Feeling" type.