John Shacklefree

The End of Heresy: the Impact of Doublethink in Human History John Shacklefree

Publisher Marketing: George Orwell's book 'Nineteen-Eighty Four' describes a fictional world in which the manipulation of human thought by the political system has become so pervasive that the people involved in the manipulation do not realize how indoctrinated they have become. Orwell describes doublethink as "the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. ... To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them." Shacklefree's book 'The End of Heresy?' asks us to consider if doublethink is part of our thinking and whether we are complicit in the process of using reason to justify what we want to believe. Is there such a thing as self-evident truths and if so what part can reason play in helping us to find it? These are the questions raised in Shacklefree's book and the evidence presented covers a large part of human history from the time of the ancient Greek philosophers up to the present and explores the areas of faith, science and reason. Its pages document the abuse of reason throughout history not only by despots but also by scientists, clerics and modern democratically elected leaders. The book explains how doublethink and newspeak are very much a part of modern democracies and asks us all to consider if we are part of the problem rather than the solution. The book is a call to the normal person to cast off the modern indoctrination branded as freedom and think critically about what our modern day prophets are telling us.