Dean Spears and Michael Geruso. After the Spike.
My notes on a book that shows that we are on course for global depopulation and makes the case to try to stabilise the population, both for prosperity and as extra lives are valuable.
Bertrand Russell: What I Believe
My notes on a short book in which Russell presents his worldview and employs some fine phases and a peculiar metaethics.
Steve Stuart Williams. The Ape that Understood the Universe.
My notes on an engaging book showing how human nature can be explained by evolutionary psychology and memetics.
Lisa Feldman Barrett. Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain.
My notes on a fine introductory book about the brain.
Randolph Nesse. Good Reasons for Bad Feelings.
My notes on a book about ‘Evolutionary Psychology,’ which considers why natural selection left us vulnerable to mental disorders and how to improve treatments.
Morgan Housel. The Psychology of Money.
My notes on a book that suggests that doing well with money is more about psychology than intelligence.
Susan Blackmore. Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction.
My notes on a book that summarises what is know about consciousness and argues for delusionism.
Jonathan Haidt. The Happiness Hypothesis.
My notes on a book that shows how psychological findings provide a distinctive picture of human nature which can be compared with ancient wisdom and used to provide guidance on how to live.
David Edmonds and John Eidinow. Wittgenstein’s Poker.
My notes on a book which investigates the philosophical background to a 1946 meeting where Wittgenstein may have brandished a poker against Popper.
Ali Abdaal. Feel-Good Productivity.
My notes on a book suggesting that the secret to productivity isn’t discipline but to feel good .
Daniel C. Dennett. From Bacteria to Bach and Back:
My notes on a book that discusses how minds evolved and created thinking tools.
Yuval Noah Harari. Sapiens.
My notes on a book that tells the story of the history of Homo Sapiens.
Daniel Kahneman. Thinking, Fast and Slow.
My notes on an impressive book that presents a lifetime of discoveries about human behaviour.
David Edmonds. Parfit.
My review and notes on a delightful biography of philosopher Derek Parfit.
Alastair Norcross. Morality By Degrees.
My notes on a book that argues that consequentalist ethical theories just judge the degree to which states of the world and actions are better than alternatives.
J. L. Mackie. Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong.
My notes on a book that argues that morality is not objective and therefore that our moral thinking is in error.
Michael Bhaskar. Human Frontiers
My notes on a book that suggests that growth has slowed, the Great Stagnation, as easier ideas have gone, knowledge has become more complex and society has stagnated.
Bertrand Russell. Autobiography.
My notes on Russell’s autobiography: fascinating, inspiring, and beautifully written.
William MacAskill. What We Owe The Future
My notes on an impressive book making the case for longtermism, the view that positively influencing the future is a key moral priority. Future people count, there could be a lot of them, and we can make their lives go better.
Stephen Finlay. Confusion of Tongues
My notes on a bnook showing that normative language has an end-relational nature.
Joseph Henrich. The Weirdest People In The World
Notes on a book showing that westerners are outliers -W.E.I.R.D. – Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic.
James Clear. Atomic Habits
Notes on a book about the cumulative power of habits.
Steven Pinker. The Blank Slate.
A book arguing that the doctrines of the Blank Slate, the Noble Savage and the Ghost in the Machine contradict science and commonsense.
David Deutsch. The Beginning Of Infinity.
My notes on a book that argues that generation of knowledge makes humanity significant, and may be an infinite process.
Jared Diamond. Guns, Germs and Steel.
My notes on this book on long history. Eurasia was settled first due to its domesticable plants and animals, and its accessibility and scale.
William MacAskill. Doing Good Better.
My notes on a book explaining effective altruism’s approach of using evidence and careful reasoning to find how to make the most positive difference.
Daniel Gilbert. Stumbling on Happiness.
My notes on a book arguing that we use imagination to simulate our futures but make systematic errors in forecasting our happiness.
Steven Pinker. The Sense of Style.
A book on writing style, especially Classic Style for non -fiction.
Steven Pinker. Enlightenment Now.
Notes on a book showing that the enlightenment ideas of reason, science, humanism and progress have transformed human well-being.
Joseph Henrich. The Secret of our Success.
My notes on a book arguing that the secret of humanity’s success is cumulative cultural evolution.