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Nicholas Humphrey

Leaps of Faith: Science, Miracles, and the Search for Supernatural Consolation Paperback – June 4, 1999

by Nicholas Humphrey (Author), D. Dennett (Preface)

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"Elegant and literate" -THE TIMES OF LONDON
"The kind of book that both skeptics and believers would do well to read"- SKEPTICAL INQUIRER
"An urbane, original, convincing rebuttal of paranormal and supernatural notions" -NEW SCIENTIST
"A lively, entertaining book... Humphrey has set himself a larger task than simply explaining why people believe in parapsychology: the task of explaining why it is irrational to believe in it."-NATURE

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About the Author

Nicholas Humphrey is Professor of Psychology at The New School University and a Research Fellow in Philosophy at the London School of Economics.

Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: Copernicus; 1999 edition (June 4, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0387987207
ISBN-13: 978-0387987200
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 8 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,271,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2590 in Family Practice Medicine
- #2297 in ESP
- #57794 in Mental Health (Books)

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Bradley P. Rich

A Great Addition to Skeptical Literature

November 18, 2001

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

There are now, thankfully, a number of very good books debunking paranormal beliefs (Shermer's Why People Believe Weird Things, Sagan's Demon Haunted World, for example). Most provide a devasting critique of those beliefs and almost all approach belief in the paranormal in a similiar manner. Humphrey provides some new arguments and insights and hence, Leaps of Faith serves as both a great introduction to skeptical literature and as a source of new insight for people who have already sorted through most of the traditional arguments against the existence of supernatural forces in our daily life.
Humphrey's 'Argument from Unwarranted Design' turns out to be an incredible analytical tool and he uses it compellingly in a number of contexts. While most author's content themselves with trotting out the litany of scientific disproofs of the supernatural, Humphrey raises logical objections to alleged paranormal phenomena. Why should strange little phenonoma such as spoon bending bother to exist at all? How and why would they have been created in contravention to the rules of science and the dictates of normally parsimonious design? In short, Humphrey makes a strong case that the supernatural is both empirically AND logically unlikely.
One more thing, Humphrey has a very readable style. If the concepts sound complicated and off-putting, they become vivid and immediate as Humphrey gives simple examples and compelling illustrations. Wonderful to read!
Buy the book!

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hazeman

Good book but don't buy the Kindle version.

April 27, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This is another great book by Humphrey. However the reading experience on the Kindle is very poor due to extremely poor editing. For example the Contents is grayed out when trying to Go to it but it is there and can be reached by going back from the next section. Also the links to Notes are corrupted. There are many other errors which suggest that the book was never edited after creating the Kindle version.

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"Into the light"

December 21, 2003

Format: Paperback

The chapter title above perfectly synopsizes Humphrey's aim in writing this book. A long-time scholar of "paranormal" phenomena, he is well suited to examine and explain the foundations for belief in the irrational. A skeptical critic and insightful observer, he brings many years of experience to present this assessment of the "paranormal". He is anxious to dispel the emotional delusions of supposedly extrasensory experiences. Such events must not overwhelm reason, he argues. In this well-written and researched book, Humphrey examines how science has addressed and answered many questions over the centuries.
Religions and quasi-religions, he contends, are nurturing and explanatory medicinal packages for "orphaned minds". Seeking consolation, distressed people will cling to such weak reeds with desperate intensity. Attempts to assert rationality over many years have been repulsed or constrained by those who had easy answers to probing questions. The easy answer has always been found outside the realm of nature - the "super"-natural. While these answers are nearly universal, Humphrey focusses on Western European traditions and illusions. Of these, naturally, it is the Christ story which claims his attention.
Humphrey's handling of the Messiah phenomenon is unique. Jesus, instead of a "redeemer", is portrayed as a skillful conjurer from a young age. Using modern child prodigies as models, Humphrey suggests that Jesus, too, exhibited extraordinary talents in childhood. These need not have been "supernatural", but they certainly garnered attention. Following the example of a father-son mutually reinforcing alliance to perform "spoon-bending" feats, he suggests Jesus was the victim of a "virtuous circle" of family and friends encouraging him. While those in his home town remained skeptical, Jesus' talents in sleight-of-hand were applauded elsewhere. The acclaim grew widespread enough that even non-Christian paranormal practitioners rely on the model Jesus established. It's a compelling idea, both in accepting an historical Jesus while explaining how supposedly irrational events can gain wide-spread acceptance.
Readers are well-served by Humphrey's efforts to shunt the paranormal aside and replace it with analytical considerations of miracles, "psychic" phenomena and charlatanry. These habits are too easily ingrained into common thinking simply because they fulfill a desire to envision a future. Science, according to Humphrey, has failed to address the paranormal so as not to give it the credibility of attention. Perhaps a full-scale campaign, he contends, would dispel the myths and leave the gullible public in a more enlightened state. It would, he suggests, help dispel the disquieting view so much of the public has of science. Whether to understand the paranormal's tactics or to see why it should be fully discounted, this book is an excellent analysis of a dubious topic. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

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Sanity

December 21, 2000

Format: Paperback

What has always turned me off about debunkers and "professional skeptics" is the low, (very low), road they often take of ridicule, snobbery and an almost Evangelical Skepticism. Then there is this wonderful book by Nicholas Humphrey. Where other would-be Rationalists fail, Humphrey succeeds. He lays out for us elegantly, reasonably, sanely and with humour and compassion, the Materialist case; pointing out more succintly than anyone else I've read the flaws, not only in the logic of "Paranormalists", but many of the logical flaws "debunkers" fall into. The style of the book is relaxed and conversational, honest and straightforward and enjoyable. Sane medicine for the intellect. Highly recommended.

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