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Author: Michael Shermer Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 9780198033813 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 448
Book Description
Virtually unknown today, Alfred Russel Wallace was the co-discoverer of natural selection with Charles Darwin and an eminent scientist who stood out among his Victorian peers as a man of formidable mind and equally outsized personality. Now Michael Shermer rescues Wallace from the shadow of Darwin in this landmark biography. Here we see Wallace as perhaps the greatest naturalist of his age--spending years in remote jungles, collecting astounding quantities of specimens, writing thoughtfully and with bemused detachment at his reception in places where no white man had ever gone. Here, too, is his supple and forceful intelligence at work, grappling with such arcane problems as the bright coloration of caterpillars, or shaping his 1858 paper on natural selection that prompted Darwin to publish (with Wallace) the first paper outlining the theory of evolution. Shermer also shows that Wallace's self-trained intellect, while powerful, also embraced surprisingly naive ideas, such as his deep interest in the study of spiritual manifestations and seances. Shermer shows that the same iconoclastic outlook that led him to overturn scientific orthodoxy as he worked in relative isolation also led him to embrace irrational beliefs, and thus tarnish his reputation. As author of Why People Believe Weird Things and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, Shermer is an authority on why people embrace the irrational. Now he turns his keen judgment and incisive analysis to Wallace's life and his contradictory beliefs, restoring a leading figure in the rise of modern science to his rightful place.
Author: Michael Shermer Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 9780198033813 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 448
Book Description
Virtually unknown today, Alfred Russel Wallace was the co-discoverer of natural selection with Charles Darwin and an eminent scientist who stood out among his Victorian peers as a man of formidable mind and equally outsized personality. Now Michael Shermer rescues Wallace from the shadow of Darwin in this landmark biography. Here we see Wallace as perhaps the greatest naturalist of his age--spending years in remote jungles, collecting astounding quantities of specimens, writing thoughtfully and with bemused detachment at his reception in places where no white man had ever gone. Here, too, is his supple and forceful intelligence at work, grappling with such arcane problems as the bright coloration of caterpillars, or shaping his 1858 paper on natural selection that prompted Darwin to publish (with Wallace) the first paper outlining the theory of evolution. Shermer also shows that Wallace's self-trained intellect, while powerful, also embraced surprisingly naive ideas, such as his deep interest in the study of spiritual manifestations and seances. Shermer shows that the same iconoclastic outlook that led him to overturn scientific orthodoxy as he worked in relative isolation also led him to embrace irrational beliefs, and thus tarnish his reputation. As author of Why People Believe Weird Things and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, Shermer is an authority on why people embrace the irrational. Now he turns his keen judgment and incisive analysis to Wallace's life and his contradictory beliefs, restoring a leading figure in the rise of modern science to his rightful place.
Author: Manfred Velden Publisher: V&R unipress GmbH ISBN: 3899717783 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 124
Book Description
Evolutionary Psychology, an offspring of Sociobiology, claims to explain human mental (psychological) functions on the basis of evolution theory. Researchers in the field try to monopolize Darwin for their purpose by calling themselves Darwinists or by putting his portrait on the cover of their books. It is shown that Darwin, who actually tried to explain some human behavior, like altruistic behavior, in the context of evolution theory, found the intellectual and moral faculties to be predominantly shaped by sociocultural, not biological factors, however. It is also shown that the tendency to reduce mental functions to biological ones, biologism, affects many fields of inquiry to their detriment, such as education, criminology, psychiatry, or philology. Biologism's dehumanizing effect on our view of the human condition is the dominant topic of the book.
Author: Michael Shermer Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand ISBN: 0195148304 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 443
Book Description
A biography of the English naturalist covers his work in natural history, his relationship with Darwin, and his contribution to evolutionary theory.
Author: Devin Griffiths Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1009181173 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 275
Book Description
This book explores the philosophy and writings of Charles Darwin and their contribution to theories of philosophy, evolution, and beauty.
Author: Richard G. Delisle Publisher: Springer ISBN: 3030172031 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 276
Book Description
This book offers a thorough reanalysis of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, which for many people represents the work that alone gave rise to evolutionism. Of course, scholars today know better than that. Yet, few resist the temptation of turning to the Origin in order to support it or reject it in light of their own work. Apparently, Darwin fills the mythical role of a founding figure that must either be invoked or repudiated. The book is an invitation to move beyond what is currently expected of Darwin's magnum opus. Once the rhetorical varnish of Darwin's discourses is removed, one discovers a work of remarkably indecisive conclusions. The book comprises two main theses: (1) The Origin of Species never remotely achieved the theoretical unity to which it is often credited. Rather, Darwin was overwhelmed by a host of phenomena that could not fit into his narrow conceptual framework. (2) In the Origin of Species, Darwin failed at completing the full conversion to evolutionism. Carrying many ill-designed intellectual tools of the 17th and 18th centuries, Darwin merely promoted a special brand of evolutionism, one that prevented him from taking the decisive steps toward an open and modern evolutionism. It makes an interesting read for biologists, historians and philosophers alike.
Author: Julia Voss Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 030016310X Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 351
Book Description
"Not only does Voss weave about these images a story on the development and presentation of Darwin's theory, she also addresses the history of Victorian illustration, the role of images in science, the technologies of production, and the relationship between specimen, words, and images."--Jacket.
Author: Iain McCalman Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1847377181 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 498
Book Description
Darwin's Armadatells the stories of Charles Darwin, Thomas Huxley, Joseph Hooker and Alfred Wallace, four young amateur naturalists from Britain who voyaged to the southern hemisphere during the first half of the nineteenth century in search of adventure and scientific fame. It charts their thrilling voyages to the strange and beautiful lands of the southern hemisphere that reshaped the young mariners' scientific ideas and led them, on returning to Britain, to befriend fellow voyager Charles Darwin. All three crucially influenced the publication and reception of his Origin of Speciesin 1859, one of the formative texts of the modern world. For the first time the Darwinian revolution of ideas is seen as a genuinely collective enterprise and one that had its birth in a series of gripping and human travel adventures. Many of the most urgent ecological and social issues of our times are seen to be prefigured in this compelling story of intellectual discovery.
Author: Charlie Liebert Publisher: WestBow Press ISBN: 1512762261 Category : Religion Languages : en Pages : 164
Book Description
Without 3 Miracles Darwins Dead! will settle the question, Is Evolution possible? In the mind of the reader and any intelligent, open-minded person the answer must be, Evolution is IMPOSSIBLE!, because: Evolution is NOT science; its a faith statement about the past! Evolution breaks 3 unbreakable scientific LAWS! Evolution has never been observed in a laboratory or in the field, but Richard Dawkins said. Evolution has been observed. Its just that it hasnt been observed when its happening. In Evolution all the missing links are still missing, In Evolution there are some creatures whose behavior, design and amazing complexity cant be explained. The history of Evolution contains many frauds. Ill highlight two. How do Evolution proponents explain these issues? Denial, rationalization or just plain lying! Evolution has damaging effects on our culture and wastes valuable resources that could be used to improve health and living conditions, but millions, of our money, is spent on research that can NEVER bring any value to mankind. The answer to the question, Where did we come from? can ONLY be, We are created in Gods image for purpose. We did not come from an explosion of Hydrogen gas and pond scum!
Author: Iain McCalman Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company ISBN: 0393071294 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 414
Book Description
"Sparkling…an extraordinary true-adventure story, complete with trials, tribulations and moments of exultation." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review Award-winning cultural historian Iain McCalman tells the stories of Charles Darwin and his staunchest supporters: Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley, and Alfred Wallace. Beginning with the somber morning of April 26, 1882—the day of Darwin's funeral—Darwin's Armada steps back and recounts the lives and scientific discoveries of each of these explorers, who campaigned passionately in the war of ideas over evolution and advanced the scope of Darwin's work.
Author: James T. Costa Publisher: Harvard University Press ISBN: 0674416473 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 351
Book Description
Darwin is credited with discovering evolution through natural selection, but Alfred Russel Wallace saw the same process at work in nature and elaborated the same theory. Dispelling misperceptions of Wallace as a secondary figure, James Costa reveals the two naturalists as equals in advancing one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time.
Author: Michael Shermer
Author: Michael Shermer
Author: Manfred Velden
Author: Michael Shermer
Author: Devin Griffiths
Author: Richard G. Delisle
Author: Julia Voss
Author: Iain McCalman
Author: Charlie Liebert
Author: Iain McCalman
Author: James T. Costa