Patrick Hurley Books

Unsurpassed for its clarity and comprehensiveness, A CONCISE INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC is the #1 introductory logic textbook on the market. In this 13th Edition, Patrick Hurley and new co-author Lori Watson continue to build upon the tradition of a lucid, focused, and accessible presentation of the basic subject matter of both informal and formal logic. How Logical Are You? features connect a section's content to real-life scenarios pertinent to students' lives, using everyday examples to translate new notions and terms into concepts to which readers unfamiliar with the subject matter can relate. Living Logic, a new digital activity, allows students to apply the skills they learn to a real-world problem. The text's extensive, carefully sequenced exercises guide students toward greater proficiency with the skills they are learning. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

According to anthropologists, religion arose in the Neolithic period, a time that began 12 thousand years ago when people abandoned the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and started settling down in communities. By the time of the ancient Egyptians, religion had reached a significant level of development. The spirits of the seeds and the weather had evolved into gods. In the end, the gods numbered more than a thousand; every god required a temple, and every temple needed a priest, or several of them. Following the death of Jesus, for the Christian god to reach its final form took an additional three hundred years. It was accomplished through the work of dozens of bishops who wrestled with the problem of how a god consisting of three persons could really be one entity.Religious orthodoxy as we know it today is the result of the countless solutions proposed by priests, not the result of divinely inspired texts or teachings, with various bishops condemning some proposals as heretical and blessing others as conventional. But how were orthodoxy and heresy distinguished? Any position that increased the power of the bishops was, by definition, orthodox, and any position that undermined it was heretical. Thus, the Christian god that we have today is a construct assembled over many years, and for two thousand years it has served to augment and solidify the power of the bishops who created it and who sustain it.Religion, Power & Illusion concludes that priestly power is so firmly rooted in the human condition that religion is not likely to disappear any time soon. It also explores the defective logic used by religious promoters, and what is necessary for experiences to be non-illusory.