False Truths: The Error of Relying on Authority (Key Concepts in Philosophy)

In False Truths, Edward C. Mendler contends that many of the beliefs, tenets, conclusions, and understandings that are widely accepted as “truths” are, in fact, not valid at all. Such dubious and false concepts arise not only in philosophy and theology but also under the rubrics of cosmology, quantum physics, democracy, freedom, economics, and various aspects of “human nature” and evolution. We accept and absorb these false ideas because they were and are propounded by “authorities,” both ancient and modern. Mendler asserts that we should challenge them all ― from Plato on to contemporary theorists in all of those fields ― and question and analyze every element of their conclusions.

Edward C. Mendler grew up in South Bend, Indiana. He served as a Navy radio technician in Guam during the Bikini A-bomb tests in 1946. He graduated from the Lawrenceville School, from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University (magna cum laude), and from Harvard Law School. Mendler practiced law in Boston for fifty years. He has studied and written about philosophy, science, law, and government as well as fiction.