Gaia Hypothesis
"It is difficult to believe that yet another book on Darwin and the Darwinian Revolution could add anything new or contain any surprises. Michael Ruse's book is an exception on all counts. Darwin scholars and the general reader alike can learn from it." -David L. Hull, Nature "Useful and highly readable.... Skillfully organized and written with verve, imagination, and welcome touches of humor." -John C. Greene, Science"
In 1965 English scientist James Lovelock had a flash of insight: the Earth is not just teeming with life; the Earth, in some sense, is life. He mulled this revolutionary idea over for several years, first with his close friend the novelist William Golding, and then in an extensive collaboration with the American scientist Lynn Margulis. Les mer
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Gaia emerged in the 1960s, a decade when authority was questioned and status and dignity stood for nothing, but its story is much older. Ruse traces Gaia's connection to Plato and a long history of goal-directed and holistic-or organicist-thinking and explains why Lovelock and Margulis' peers rejected it as pseudoscience. But Ruse also shows why the project was a success. He argues that Lovelock and Margulis should be commended for giving philosophy firm scientific basis and for provoking important scientific discussion about the world as a whole, its homeostasis or - in this age of global environmental uncertainty - its lack thereof. Melding the world of science and technology with the world of feeling, mysticism, and religion, The Gaia Hypothesis will appeal to a broad range of readers, from students and scholars of the history and philosophy of science to anyone interested in New Age culture.
Detaljer
- Forlag
- University of Chicago Press
- Innbinding
- Innbundet
- Språk
- Engelsk
- Sider
- 272
- ISBN
- 9780226731704
- Utgivelsesår
- 2013
- Format
- 2 x 2 cm
Anmeldelser
"It is difficult to believe that yet another book on Darwin and the Darwinian Revolution could add anything new or contain any surprises. Michael Ruse's book is an exception on all counts. Darwin scholars and the general reader alike can learn from it." -David L. Hull, Nature "Useful and highly readable.... Skillfully organized and written with verve, imagination, and welcome touches of humor." -John C. Greene, Science"