Midgley Science and Poetry

Erscheinungsjahr 2013
ISBN: 978-1-134-55955-8
Verlag: CRC Press
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 240 Seiten

Crude materialism, reduction of mind to body, extreme individualism. All products of a 17th century scientific inheritance which looks at the parts of our existence at the expense of the whole.
Cutting through myths of scientific omnipotence, Mary Midgley explores how this inheritance has so powerfully shaped the way we are, and the problems it has brought with it. She argues that poetry and the arts can help reconcile these problems, and counteract generations of 'one-eyed specialists', unable and unwilling to look beyond their own scientific or literary sphere.
Dawkins, Atkins, Bacon and Descartes all come under fire as Midgely sears through contemporary debate, from Gaia to memes, and organic food to greenhouse gases. After years of unquestioned imperialism, science is finally forced to take a step back and acknowledge the arts.

Zielgruppe

Adult: General. Academic/professional/technical: Research and professional

Autoren/Hrsg.

Midgley, Mary

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Philosophie: Allgemeines, Methoden

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part 1: Visions of Rationality 1. The Sources of Thought 2. Knowledge Considered as Weed-Killer 3. Rationality and Rainbows 4. The Origin of Disillusion 5. Atomistic Dreams; The Quest for Permanence 6. Memes and Other Unusual Life-Forms

Part 2: Mind and Body; The End of Apartheid 7. Putting Our Selves Together Again 8. Living in the World 9. The Strange Persistence of Fatalism 10. Chess-Boards and Presidents of the Immortals 11. Doing Science on Purpose 12. One World but a Big One 13 A Plague on both their Houses 14. Being Scientific about Our Selves

Part 3: In What Kind of World? 15. Widening Responsibilities 16. The Problem of Humbug 17. Individualism and the Concept of Gaia 18. Gods and Goddesses; The Role of Wonder 19. Why There is Such a Thing as Society 20. Paradoxes of Sociobiology and Social Darwinism 21. Mythology, Rhetoric and Religion

Über Autor(innen)

Mary Midgley is a moral philosopher and author of many books, including The Ethical Primate, Wisdom, Information and Wonder, Science as Salvation and Utopias, Dolphins and Computers.