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Irreligion

Irreligion

by JohnAllenPaulos (Author)

  • New

    Paperback 2009

    $17.60

  • Used

    Hardcover 2007

    $5.10
Synopsis

Are there any logical reasons to believe in God? The mathematician and bestselling author John Allen Paulos thinks not. In Irreligion he presents the case for his own world view, organizing his book into twelve chapters that refute the twelve arguments most often put forward for believing in God's existence. Interspersed among these counterarguments are remarks on a variety of irreligious themes, ranging from the nature of miracles and creationist probability to cognitive illusions and prudential wagers. Special attention is paid to topics, arguments, and questions that spring from his incredulity 'not only about religion but also about others' credulity'. Despite the strong influence of his day job, Paulos says, there isn't a single mathematical formula in the book.

$17.60

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 176
 Edition: 1 Reprint
 Publisher: Hill & Wang
Published: 02 Jul 2009
ISBN 10: 0809059185
ISBN 13: 9780809059188

Media Reviews
Another virtuoso performance from a master in the use of mathematics to explore the conundrums and mysteries of everyday life. --Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind
John Allen Paulos has done us all a great service. Irreligion is an elegant and timely response to the manifold ignorance that still goes by the name of 'faith' in the 21st century. -- Sam Harris, author of the New York Times best sellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation
Using the methods of mathematics, reason and logic, Paulos wrestles religious belief systems to the ground and in the process proves he is as good a writer as he is a mathematician. The book is short, to the point and humorous, and God knows, this subject could use more humor. --Joan Konner, Dean Emerita of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and editor of The Atheist's Bible


Another virtuoso performance from a master in the use of mathematics to explore the conundrums and mysteries of everyday life. --Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind
John Allen Paulos has done us all a great service. Irreligion is an elegant and timely response to the manifold ignorance that still goes by the name of 'faith' in the 21st century. -- Sam Harris, author of the New York Times best sellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation


For years John Allen Paulos has been our guide for reading newspapers, playing the stock market, and understanding what all those graphs and charts and formulas really mean. No one knows how to dissect an argument better than Paulos. Now he has turned his rapier wit to the grandest question of them all: is there a God? Those who are religious skeptics will find in Paulos's analysis new ways of looking at both old and new arguments, and those who believe that God's existence can be proven through science, reason, and logic will have to answer to this mathematician's penetrating analysis. --Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for Scientific American , and the author of How We Believe, The Science of Good and Evil , and Why Darwin Matters

Using the methods of mathematics, reason and logic, Paulos wrestles religious belief systems to the ground and in the process proves he is as good a writer as he is a mathematician. The book is short, to the point and humorous, and God knows, this subject could use more humor. --Joan Konner, Dean Emerita of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and editor of The Atheist's Bible


Another virtuoso performance from a master in the use of mathematics to explore the conundrums and mysteries of everyday life. --Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind
John Allen Paulos has done us all a great service. Irreligion is an elegant and timely response to the manifold ignorance that still goes by the name of 'faith' in the 21st century. -- Sam Harris, author of the New York Times best sellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation


He's done it again. John Allen Paulos has written a charming book that takes you on a sojourn of flawless logic, with simple and clear examples drawn from math, science, and pop culture. At journey's end, Paulos has left you with plenty to think about, whether you are religious, irreligious, or anything in between. --Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History and author of Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries

For years John Allen Paulos has been our guide for reading newspapers, playing the stock market, and understanding what all those graphs and charts and formulas really mean. No one knows how to dissect an argument better than Paulos. Now he has turned his rapier wit to the grandest question of them all: is there a God? Those who are religious skeptics will find in Paulos's analysis new ways of looking at both old and new arguments, and those who believe that God's existence can be proven through science, reason, and logic will have to answer to this mathematician's penetrating analysis. --Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for Scientific American, and the author of How We Believe, The Science of Good and Evil, and Why Darwin Matters

Using the methods of mathematics, reason and logic, Paulos wrestles religious belief systems to the ground and in the process proves he is as good a writer as he is a mathematician. The book is short, to the point and humorous, and God knows, this subject could use more humor. --Joan Konner, Dean Emerita of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and editor of The Atheist's Bible

Another virtuoso performance from a master in the use of mathematics toexplore the conundrums and mysteries of everyday life. --Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind John Allen Paulos has done us all a great service. Irreligion is an elegant and timely response to the manifold ignorance that still goes by the name of 'faith' in the 21st century. -- Sam Harris, author of the New York Times best sellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation


Reasoned, cool and concise--a good-natured primer for infidels. Kirkus Reviews

[Paulos] is as sure-footed as a tiger as he prowls through the theocratic landscape, pouncing on sloppy thinking. To a large extent he succeeds in demolishing the arguments of believers. Phillip Manning, The News & Observer (Raleigh)

[Paulos] knocks the props from under the classic arguments for the existence of God . . . The book is written with a charming skepticism that is not off-putting or arrogant. Chuck Warnock, Amicus Dei blog

Few of the recent books on atheism have been worth reading just for wit and style, but this is one of them: Paulos is truly funny. Publishers Weekly

Irreligion will, I'm confident, take a distinguished place in what one might call the canonical literature of the New Atheism. Norman Levitt, eSkeptic


Reasoned, cool and concise--a good-natured primer for infidels. --Kirkus Reviews

[Paulos] is as sure-footed as a tiger as he prowls through the theocratic landscape, pouncing on sloppy thinking. To a large extent he succeeds in demolishing the arguments of believers. --Phillip Manning, The News & Observer (Raleigh)

[Paulos] knocks the props from under the classic arguments for the existence of God . . . The book is written with a charming skepticism that is not off-putting or arrogant. --Chuck Warnock, Amicus Dei blog

Few of the recent books on atheism have been worth reading just for wit and style, but this is one of them: Paulos is truly funny. --Publishers Weekly

Irreligion will, I'm confident, take a distinguished place in what one might call the canonical literature of the New Atheism. --Norman Levitt, eSkeptic

Author Bio
John Allen Paulos is a professor of mathematics at Temple University. His books include the bestseller Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences (H&W, 1988), A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market, and A Mathematician Reads the Newspapers.