Hmm....If we want the flipside of Lucifer Principle we could go with Dawkins' The Selfish Gene

The UN-TV and the 10MPH Car: Experiments in Personal Freedom and Everyday LifeIt's a book full of experiments in sociology and anecdotes from students. The amazon link and links to other books I've read are here:www.soulaquarium.net/core/links.htm

The Illusion of Conscious Will by Daniel M. Wegner (MIT Press, 2002). This is one of the most fascinating books I have read. It embodies the ultimate skepticism

If we want to deviate from the context of evolutionary biology and sociology we could read Elaine Pagel's The Origin of Satan which I read last year. The book does not focus on the cultural roots of the idea of Satan but on the early Christian movement which "demonized" their enemies (Jews, Gnostics etc) under the umbrella of being "agents of the Devil." I feel that it is especially relevent in the world climate today where religious and political fanatics have brandished whatever outgroup they are opposed to as being Satanic and depraved. When our own president can paint the world in such a black and white fashion ("axis of evil"; "you're either for us or against us") it would be interesting to get into the dynamics of such thinking. Besides being erudite in her portrait of 1st century Palestinian religion, Pagels writing style is captivating. Might be kind of hard to get her as a chat guest, though.Bradley

JohnnyQuote:Might be kind of hard to get her as a chat guest, though.Why?

My three suggestions are from different literary disciplines: (and all of which have been on the all important New York Times Bestseller list):1) The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene"Greene peels away the layers of mystery surrounding the string theory to reveal a universe that consists of eleven dimensions, where the fabric of space tears and repairs itself, and all matter - from the smallest quarks to the most gargantuan supernovas - is generated by the vibrations of microscopically tiny loops of energy." 2) The Adventures of Lucky Pierre by Robert Coover"What is destiny in a world where there is no line between reality and the incresingly outrageous fantasy of the director and the camera? Recalling the protagonist of The Truman Show if George Bataille had written it, Lucky Pierre is both louche and innocent, a caricature of pornographic conventions and a stand-in for all human efforts to sort out vanity, performance, emotion, and motive from ecstacy that reveals us to ourselves. A sparkling love song to the magic of moving pictures and meditation - both joyous and serious - on how sex compels and invents us." 3) The Eagle's Shadow by Mark Hertsgaard"How can the world's most open society be so proud of its founding ideals yet so inconsistent in applying them? So loved for its pop culture but so resented for its high-handedness? Exploring such paradoxes, Hertsgaard exposes uplifting and uncomftable truths that forces natives and foreigners alike to see America with fresh eyes." Ando

The poll should be up within a day or two. Right now I think the following books make sense to be on the poll. I am considering many factors when choosing which books out of our long list, but these seem to fit with our vision very well.1. The Philosophy of Humanism - by Corliss Lamont2. Atheism: The Case Against God - by Goerge Smith3. How We Believe - Michael Shermer4. Steven Pinker - The blank slate: The modern denial of human nature.5. Jews, Christians, Muslims: A Comparative Intro to Monotheistic ReligionsChris

There are too many excellent suggestions for a poll of five. Lets do two rounds - the first 5 each a list of five, and then the five from the selected list

JeremyEven 5 choices is excessive for as few of members as we have. The winning book shouldn't be the book that gets only 2 total votes. We will probably have only a total of 10 people even casting votes.Chris