Texts about knowledge versus superstition

[dann]

A colleague of mine is going to teach a class this winter. Theme: knowledge/superstition. Level: (Danish) highschool (approximately 16 to 19-year-olds).
What would you recommend? Preferably articles, not long books. And preferably texts that can be accessed on the www.

 

[scotth]

Well, this doesn't follow your criteria at all, but it is so good, I'll post it anyway.

Carl Sagan's "Demon Haunted World". I would think it is available in Dutch and Danish by now.

It is a book. But, it's chapters are more like a collection of essays.

 

[Myriad]

Two indispensible articles by Susan Blackmore:

The Elusive Open Mind (1987)
Why I Have Given Up (2001)

These two articles could (and should) provide a framework for a whole unit on paranormal phenomena and parapsychology, as it relates to the broader topic of belief and superstition.

Respectfully,
Myriad

 

[dann]

Thank you, scotth. I have the book, I've read it, but so many years ago that I forgot that the chapters can probably be read as individual articles. I don't think there is a Danish translation, but my colleague teaches English, so ... Dutch does not resemble Danish much, and most Danes don't understand it. Norwegian and Swedish are very similar to Danish, but today most young Danes would probably prefer to read the book in English.

And thank you, Myriad. I have already translated a couple of articles where former woowoos describe how hard it has been for them to give up the drug,
http://skeptica.dk/2005/woowoo.htm http://skeptica.dk/2004/mclaren.htm (links to the articles in English at the bottom of the pages), so it is interesting to read the article by P. Kurtz, who has given up for lack of hard evidence, but is still hoping ...

 

[dann]

... so it is interesting to read the article by P. Kurtz, who has given up for lack of hard evidence, but is still hoping ...

Sorry, not by P. Kurtz, but by Susan Blackmore, like you wrote. I confused the editor with the writer.