When Wish Replaces Thought

This rigorous analysis of current social issues exposes the ways in which public debate has been confused by moral and political dogma. Among educated people there is a constellation of accepted "truths" about the world. Often only superficially plausible, they are uncontested because they reflect much of what the public wishes to believe. In this book, Steven Goldberg examines the scientific question of how the world does work, not the moral/political question of how it should work, reminding the reader that while neither logic nor science can ever enable someone to select a moral or political position, conclusions based on a faulty view of the world are always unsuccessful. In Part One - "Why We Behave as We Do" - Goldberg examines the death penalty; the questions of "normality"; the meaning of behavioral cause; the theory of patriarchy; myths (and truths) about black athletic superiority; and the value of standardized tests. In Part Two - "Why We View the World as We Do" - he examines the truths in stereotypes; the logical structure of Freudian theory; the "correct" use of language; the abortion issue; and science, social science, and bad social science. Because Goldberg addresses widely held but erroneous beliefs with an energetic logic rarely found in writings on these subjects, this volume is a refreshingly direct response to our "politically correct" times.