Life Is a Miracle

Why read it

• You will question the faith that everything can in the end be explained by science, and see what that faith leaves out
• You will learn where Berry says reductionism is a fair way to understand things and where it is used inappropriately
• You will spot the presumption of treating life as knowable, predictable and within our control, which Berry finds in King Lear

Who it is for

• A biology or ecology student wary of treating living things as machines
• A farmer worried that modern land use is harming rural communities
• A reader who wants a humanist critique of science

Contents

1. I. Ignorance
2. II. Propriety
3. III. On Edward O. Wilson’s Consilience
4. 1. Materialism
5. 2. Materialism and Mystery
6. 3. Imperialism
7. 4. Reductionism
8. 5. Creatures as Machines
9. 6. Originality and the “Two Cultures”
10. 7. Progress Without Subtraction
11. IV. Reduction and Religion
12. V. Reduction and Art
13. VI. A Conversation Out of School
14. VII. Toward a Change of Standards
15. VIII. Some Notes in Conclusion

More books like this

• A Beautiful MindNasar, Sylvia
• A Beautiful QuestionFrank Wilczek
• A Brief History of TimeStephen Hawking
• A City on MarsKelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
• A Mathematician’s ApologyG. H. Hardy
• A Short History of Nearly EverythingBill Bryson
• A Universe From Nothing · Why There Is Something Rather Than NothingKrauss, Lawrence M.
• Adaptation and natural selection; a critique of some current evolutionary thoughtGeorge C. Williams
• Adventures in the AnthropoceneGaia Vince
• Advice to a Young ScientistMedawar, P. B.
• An Immense WorldEd Yong
• Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake BayWilliam W. Warner