Author Appearance: If Ignorance Is Bliss, We Should All Be Ecstatic by Leavitt

Author: Fred Leavitt

Interview with Fred Leavitt: https://youtu.be/hISpFiR2apM

Pages to read: 245
ISBN: B094W35B34 (Originally listed edition)
ISBN: 9780698151499 (Edition I am Using)

While reading the book, consider the below questions:
•What is the raison d’etre of the book? For what purpose did the author write the book?
•What is skepticism? How does it differ from radical skepticism?
•What are the four sources of knowledge?
•What is fallibilism?
•What efficacy does each source of knowledge have?
•What does it mean to be open-minded?
•How are worldviews shaped?
•What are the limits to knowledge?
•Why is innate knowledge a source of knowledge?
•What are the problems with innate knowledge?
•Why is religion a source of knowledge?
•What are the problems with religion?
•How do illusions benefit individuals?
•How does religion foster social cohesion?
•How do religions foster social problems?
•Why is reason a source of knowledge?
•What are syllogisms?
•Why do people confirm their views rather than try to disconfirm?
•Do scientists have narrow views?
•What is the Agrippa’s Trilemma?
•What are the problems with reason?
•Why is empiricism a source of knowledge?
•What are the problems with empiricism?
•Why do science and reason have conflicting views?
•What are the limits to information provided by the media?
•How does the internet filter information?

Your questions are important and will take priority. If you have questions about the book's content or related ideas, either let me know what your questions are or raise them during the discussion.

My Review of the Book:
https://www.inquiryreviews.com/2021/08/review-of-if-ignorance-is-bliss-we.html

Upcoming event:
https://www.meetup.com/Inquiry-Non-Fiction-Book-Club-for-Inquiring-Minds/events/

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A Descriptive Note From the Author:
"I was trained as a scientist, received a doctorate in psychopharmacology, and became convinced that drugs would soon be developed that would prevent or cure all known diseases. But as I continued learning and teaching university classes, I became aware that the drug field was riddled with poorly designed studies and outright fraud. One eminent scientist said that well over half the articles published in the best medical journals draw incorrect conclusions. I wrote a book about it— The REAL Drug Abusers— that one reviewer called one of the most important drug books of the decade. I started looking at other fields and concluded that they are no better. In fact, the more I looked the more distrustful I became. I evolved into a radical skeptic and wrote a book explaining my reasoning. My approach is different from that in philosophy texts, but it provides a good introduction to radical skepticism and a challenge to anyone interested in what we can really know"