Among educated people there is a constellation of accepted "truths" about the world. Often only superficially plausible, they are uncontested because they reflect what much of 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, conclusion based on a faulty view of the world are always unsuccessful.
In Part One of When Wish Replaces Thought - "Why We Behave as We Do" - Goldberg examines the death penalty; the question of "normality"; the meaning of behavioural 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 science. Because Goldberg addresses widely held but erroneous beliefs with an energetic logic rarely found in writings on this subject, this volume is a refreshingly direct response to our "politically correct" times.
Steven Goldberg is chairman of the Department of Sociology at City College, City University of New York. He is the author of The Inevitability of Patriarchy, called by one reviewer "by far the most significant work on sex differences in ages".
216 pages
ISBN 0-87975-711-6
Return to Social Science and Current Events List