|
Showing 1 - 15 of
15 matches in All Departments
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not
used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad
quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are
images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to
keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the
original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain
imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made
available for future generations to enjoy.
Why life?' Questions of this type were for a long time the
prerogative of philosophers who left the how' question to
scientists. Nowadays, Darwin's successors no longer have any qualms
about addressing the why' as well as the how'. Over a century ago,
Darwin modestly admitted having 'thrown some light on the origin of
species - this mystery of mysteries'. Two major advances in the
following decades helped biologists answer many of the questions he
left unsolved. The first was the discovery of the laws of heredity,
the second that of DNA. Both provided Darwinian theory with the
foundations that were lacking and led to the all-embracing
neo-Darwinian synthesis. Since then, Theodosius Dobzhansky's
aphorism nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of
evolution' has proven true more than once. This does not suit
everyone, as evolutionist ideas have not lost their power to cause
a scandal.
Darwin toppled man from his pedestal. Evolutionary genetics -
the subject of this book - sends the individual crashing.
Considered until recently to be the target of selection and the
focus of evolution, the individual has been usurped by the gene.
The individual is nothing but the gene's avatar.
2011: fifty years separate us from the flight of Yuri Gagarin.
Fifty years of extraordinary successes, with the kind of apotheosis
represented by the first man on the moon; fifty years also of
bitter failures, even tragic when they involved the deaths of human
beings; finally, fifty years during which space largely contributed
to the scientific and technical, political and economic, cultural
and social transformation of humanity. This is a critical analysis
of the decisions and the actions which constituted and constitute
still the field of astronautic activities, to analyse this field's
strategies and choices, their consequences on the natural
environment and on humans, in short to work out and apply an
ethical investigation. This work is the fruit of research carried
out by the French Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) over
the past ten years, in collaboration with many organisations,
astronautical or not: ESA, NASA and especially ESPI.
This collection of essays looks at Darwin, Darwinism and evolution
from several faith perspectives: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and
Judaism. Contributors come from across the globe to examine their
particular religious belief and views on evolution.
'A cloth spread under an apple tree can catch only apples', wrote
Antoine de Saint Exupery in Terre des hommes (Land of Men),
(English title: Wind, Sand and Stars), 'and a cloth spread under
stars can catch only stardust ...What was most marvellous was that,
there, standing on the planet's rounded back, between this magnetic
cloth and those stars, was a man's consciousness in which that
star-fall could be reflected as in a mirror.' And a few pages
further on he writes: 'I was but a mere mortal lost between sand
and stars, aware simply of the sweet pleasure of breathing.' From
the author of those lines to the writer of the first well known
verses of the Bible: 'In the beginning God created the heaven and
the earth ...', stretch centuries of time and an intellectual and
cultural abyss as well. What could there be in common between the
pilot of the first air route from Toulouse to Dakar and the direct
descendants of Semitic nomads? Certainly not much, but for those
star-pierced nights that deserts alone can offer for contemplation,
combined with the tormenting question: what a thing is man,
confronted by the cosmos, magnificent and terrible at the same
time? This question has been haunting humanity from the beginning
and gnaws at each of us: 'Who am I? Where did I come from? Where
does my destiny lie?' To these questions, the desert dwellers, and
the aviator lost like all their brothers in humanity, have given
the same response. Certainly we are mortal beings, lost in the
middle of the cosmos as in a desert, crushed by the weight of
reality as by the immense celestial vault. And yet, we are unique,
singular, irreplaceable; we are not less than the consciousness of
the world, and, believers among them will say, we are even created
in the image of God. Is that courage or lack of awareness,
pretentiousness or faith?
`Why life?' Questions of this type were for a long time the
prerogative of philosophers who left the `how' question to
scientists. Nowadays, Darwin's successors no longer have any qualms
about addressing the `why' as well as the `how'. Over a century
ago, Darwin modestly admitted having 'thrown some light on the
origin of species - this mystery of mysteries'. Two major advances
in the following decades helped biologists answer many of the
questions he left unsolved. The first was the discovery of the laws
of heredity, the second that of DNA. Both provided Darwinian theory
with the foundations that were lacking and led to the all-embracing
neo-Darwinian synthesis. Since then, Theodosius Dobzhansky's
aphorism `nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of
evolution' has proven true more than once. This does not suit
everyone, as evolutionist ideas have not lost their power to cause
a scandal. Darwin toppled man from his pedestal. Evolutionary
genetics - the subject of this book - sends the individual
crashing. Considered until recently to be the target of selection
and the focus of evolution, the individual has been usurped by the
gene. The individual is nothing but the gene's avatar.
We live in an evolving and increasingly complex global community
and with this complexity comes a broad range of ethical issues. The
Ethics: Contemporary Perspectives brings together scholars from
across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, including
disciplines as diverse as philosophy, law, medicine and the study
of world religions, to discuss these broad ethical issues in
contemporary society. Its aim is explore our complex world,
addressing both old and new ethical issues through scholarly
discourse. This collection of essays looks Extraterrestrial life.
It looks at as a discipline itself and also the religious questions
that arise in the investigation of the topic. It also looks at the
topic of astrobiology and space exploration. The contributors are
Christian theologians, ethicists as well as those who study and
work at the International Space University based in France but with
links around the world.
There are several ways of envisioning creationism. Some believers
will see the mark of God in this struggle of his faithful to defend
the truth of the Bible and religious tradition. The atheist will
lament over the slight of these remnants of religion which continue
to trammel humanity in its march towards a better world, with gods
gotten rid of. The sociologist and historian will pore over these
ingredients that make up such a fascinating mixture and will find
the decline of the theme science and religion forever renewed. The
thinker nourished on evolutionism will wonder about the survivial
of such debates. But if we allow that the human species cannot do
withot either, the labour of the scientists or religious beliefs,
must we not conclude, from the persistence of the upheavals between
evolutionists and creationists, that the latter are also
indispensable to the vitality of our societies, and to public
debate?'
We live in an evolving and increasingly complex global community
and with this complexity comes a broad range of ethical issues. The
Ethics: Contemporary Perspectives brings together scholars from
across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, including
disciplines as diverse as philosophy, law, medicine and the study
of world religions, to discuss these broad ethical issues in
contemporary society. Its aim is explore our complex world,
addressing both old and new ethical issues through scholarly
discourse. This collection of essays looks Extraterrestrial life.
It looks at as a discipline itself and also the religious questions
that arise in the investigation of the topic. It also looks at the
topic of astrobiology and space exploration. The contributors are
Christian theologians, ethicists as well as those who study and
work at the International Space University based in France but with
links around the world.
'A cloth spread under an apple tree can catch only apples', wrote
Antoine de Saint Exupery in Terre des hommes (Land of Men),
(English title: Wind, Sand and Stars), 'and a cloth spread under
stars can catch only stardust ...What was most marvellous was that,
there, standing on the planet's rounded back, between this magnetic
cloth and those stars, was a man's consciousness in which that
star-fall could be reflected as in a mirror.' And a few pages
further on he writes: 'I was but a mere mortal lost between sand
and stars, aware simply of the sweet pleasure of breathing.' From
the author of those lines to the writer of the first well known
verses of the Bible: 'In the beginning God created the heaven and
the earth ...', stretch centuries of time and an intellectual and
cultural abyss as well. What could there be in common between the
pilot of the first air route from Toulouse to Dakar and the direct
descendants of Semitic nomads? Certainly not much, but for those
star-pierced nights that deserts alone can offer for contemplation,
combined with the tormenting question: what a thing is man,
confronted by the cosmos, magnificent and terrible at the same
time? This question has been haunting humanity from the beginning
and gnaws at each of us: 'Who am I? Where did I come from? Where
does my destiny lie?' To these questions, the desert dwellers, and
the aviator lost like all their brothers in humanity, have given
the same response. Certainly we are mortal beings, lost in the
middle of the cosmos as in a desert, crushed by the weight of
reality as by the immense celestial vault. And yet, we are unique,
singular, irreplaceable; we are not less than the consciousness of
the world, and, believers among them will say, we are even created
in the image of God. Is that courage or lack of awareness,
pretentiousness or faith?
|
You may like...
Tenet
John David Washington, Robert Pattinson
Blu-ray disc
(1)
R52
R44
Discovery Miles 440
Gloria
Sam Smith
CD
R383
Discovery Miles 3 830
Merry Christmas
Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff, …
CD
R118
R58
Discovery Miles 580
|