Implausible Beliefs (Record no. 5282)

MARC details
000 -LEADER
fixed length control field 02344 a2200253 4500
001 - CONTROL NUMBER
control field 1351513222
005 - DATE AND TIME OF LATEST TRANSACTION
control field 20250317111615.0
008 - FIXED-LENGTH DATA ELEMENTS--GENERAL INFORMATION
fixed length control field 250312042017GB eng
020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER
International Standard Book Number 9781351513227
037 ## - SOURCE OF ACQUISITION
Source of stock number/acquisition Taylor & Francis
Terms of availability GBP 45.99
Form of issue BB
040 ## - CATALOGING SOURCE
Original cataloging agency 01
041 ## - LANGUAGE CODE
Language code of text/sound track or separate title eng
072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code JM
Source thema
072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code JM
Source bic
072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code PSY000000
Source bisac
072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code PSY031000
Source bisac
072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code 121.6
Source bisac
100 1# - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Allan Mazur
245 10 - TITLE STATEMENT
Title Implausible Beliefs
Remainder of title In the Bible, Astrology, and UFOs
250 ## - EDITION STATEMENT
Edition statement 1
260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
Place of publication, distribution, etc. Oxford
Name of publisher, distributor, etc. Routledge
Date of publication, distribution, etc. 20170705
300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Extent 246 p
520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC.
Expansion of summary note Why do people accept ideas that are contradicted by science or logic? In Implausible Beliefs, Allan Mazur offers a comparative look at the nature of irrational belief systems, their social roots, and their cultural and political impact. He begins by providing standards for judging beliefs implausible and assessing the impact of such belief systems onpolitics and social policy in the US. Mazur describes and defends commonsense criteria for establishing that certain views should not be sustained in the face of present-day understanding. He presents a statistical portrait of implausible beliefs rampant in the US, and who tends to accept them.Mazur applies criteria for implausibility to the Bible, astrology, and visitation to Earth of intelligent beings from other worlds. Pointing out that everyone "knows" the Bible but few actually read it, the author scrolls through the first five books of the text, noting points that undermine the scripture's natural history and moral guidance. Working on the assumption that implausible religious views are fundamentally no different from implausible secular views, he critiques secular beliefs in astrology and UFOs. Mazur concludes the volume with an attempt to explain why most people accept implausibility‘some more than others despite evidence and logic that refute them.Looking to mainstream sociology and psychology, Mazur shows how children are socialized into such beliefs, and how adults are influenced by spouses and friends. Personality is also a factor, sometimes abetted by stressful or lonely life situations. Lucidly written, this is a provocative and informative contribution to social psychology, sociology, religion, political science, and American studies.

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