Introduction. Who is the Devil and what is he due?; Part I. The Advocatus Diaboli: Reflections on Free Thought and Free Speech: 1. Giving the Devil his due: why freedom of inquiry and speech in science and politics is inviolable; 2. Banning evil: in the shadow of the Christchurch massacre, myths about evil and hate speech are misleading; 3. Free speech even if it hurts: defending Holocaust denier David Irving; 4. Free to inquire: the evolution-creationism controversy as a test case in equal time and free speech; 5. Ben Stein's blunder: why intelligent design advocates are not free speech martyrs; 6. What went wrong? Campus unrest, viewpoint diversity, and freedom of speech; Part II. Homo Religiosus: Reflections on God and Religion: 7. E pluribus unum for all faiths and for none; 8. Atheism and liberty: raising consciousness for religious skepticism through political freedom; 9. The curious case of Scientology: is it a religion or a cult?; 10. Does the Universe have a purpose?; 11. Why is there something rather than nothing?; Part III. Deferred Dreams: Reflections on Politics and Society: 12. Another dream deferred: how identity politics, intersectionality theory, and tribal divisiveness are inverting Martin Luther King, Jr's dream; 13. Healing the bonds of affection: the case for classical liberalism; 14. Governing mars: lessons for the red planet from experiments in governing the blue planet; 15. The Sandy Hook effect: what we can and cannot do about gun violence; 16. On guns and tyranny; 17. Debating guns: what conservatives and liberals really differ on about guns (and everything else); 18. Another fatal conceit: the lesson from evolutionary economics is bottom-up self-organization, not top-down government design; Part IV. Scientia Humanitatis: Reflections on Scientific Humanism: 19. Scientific naturalism: a manifesto for Enlightenment humanism; 20. Mr Hume: tear. Down. This. Wall.; 21. Kardashev's types and Sparks' law: how to build civilization 1.0; 22. How lives turn out: genes, environment, and luck – what we can and cannot control; Part V. Transcendent Thinkers: Reflections on Controversial Intellectuals: 23. Transcendent man: an elegaic essay to Paul Kurtz – a skeptic's skeptic; 24. The real hitch: did Christopher Hitchens really keep two sets of books about his beliefs?; 25. The skeptic's chaplain: Richard Dawkins as a fountainhead of skepticism; 26. Have archetype – will travel: the Jordan Peterson phenomenon; 27. Romancing the past: Graham Hancock and the quest for a lost civilization.
Explores how free speech and open inquiry are integral to science, politics, and society for the survival and progress of our species.
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.
'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
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