The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking

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Ich sage jetzt kurz und knapp. Das Booch ist der Hammer. Absolute must read für diejenigen, die Psychologie, Soziologie oder Anthropologie studieren. Und natürlich für diejenigen, die sich einfach für Menschen und Menschsein interessieren. So eine Explosion von Gedanken, Experimenten, Beobachtungen!

Miracles

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I don’t usually leave reviews of anything online but after reading three books from the “A Very Short Introduction” series I got this urge to express my opinion.
Well first of all it is a very easy and pleasant read. Partly because it is not much but mainly because of its coherent structure. Once you open the book you won’t want to close it till you read it all.
First chapter presents the definition of a miracle. And it is not given as a constant at the beginning of the chapter, but is derived from a numerous cases which lead the reader to the conclusion on what can be called a Miracle. One is going to find some very amusing examples while reading.
In chapter two the religious miracles and the parallels in world religions are discussed.
The author of the book cites many modern scientist – from social anthropologist, The New Testament scholars to psychologists etc.
Chapters 3 and 4 are the attempt to understand why people belief in miracles and whether it is rational to do so.
Those interested in Philosophy will find the thought on the Topic of Miracles from Thomas Aquinas and the skepticism of David Hume on the subject.
The book will be interesting for the students of all social sciences and others interested in observing entities balancing between pure belief and science.