Book Description
For over three decades, Ray Kurzweil has been one of the most respected and provocative advocates of the role of technology in our future. In his classic The Age of Spiritual Machines, he argued that computers would soon rival the full range of human intelligence at its best. Now he examines the next step in this inexorable evolutionary process: the union of human and machine, in which the knowledge and skills embedded in our brains will be combined with the vastly greater capacity, speed, and knowledge-sharing ability of our creations.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastic insight into a possible, plauible future of humans and the universe.......2007-10-07
This is one the the favorite books I have ever read. It is not an easy read for a non-scientist, but absolutely rewarding. It is surprisingly accessible, despite the technical and intellectual scope. The logical and insightful nature of Kurzweil's arguments make it a compelling and inspirational read. The book has had a huge impact on my thinking and introduced me to the whole subject of futurism. It is affecting my investment and career decisions. There were numerous mind-bending, mind-expanding moments during reading this as the gravity of the concepts sank in. Garreau's book, Radical Evolution, is a great follow-up read, comparing and contrasting Kurzweil's optimism with the pessimism of others. It is a joy and luxury to be exposed to the visions such "big thinkers".
Look-out future here we come.......2007-09-10
I read this book with such optimism for our future. I only hope to live long enough to see some of the exciting events in our future on this planet. Just when you think you have seen it all, you "ain't seen nutt'n yet". Come on world let's work together and solves some of the mysteries that are tearing us apart.
hold onto your hat.......2007-08-29
the future is going to be wild.
ray kurzweil is the leading guru of the not so far off world where key technologies merge to allow us to turn ourselves into non biological humans.
no crack pot he. when kurzweil presented his thesis at MIT the arguments centered on the when, not the if of kurzweils predictions
Not for non geeks!.......2007-07-26
Although the reading is tedious for someone who is not that scientifically or computer oriented, the concepts and ideas the book presents are fascinating and a bit scary!
Most important book of the next 50 yrs.......2007-07-25
At some point I hope that people will stop paying attention to Paris Hilton and read this book. Our species is at a crossroads and we have some very important decisions to make in the next few decades. This book more than any other will prepare us to make the right choices. Read it now, or be devoured by a swarm of nanobots in 2029 when Skynet takes over.
Book Description
Though it is the fastest-growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded in ignorance and fear for much of the West. In No god but God, Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed scholar of religions, explains this faith in all its beauty and complexity. Beginning with a vivid account of the social and religious milieu in which the Prophet Muhammad forged his message, Aslan paints a portrait of the first Muslim community as a radical experiment in religious pluralism and social egalitarianism. He demonstrates how, after the Prophet’s death, his successors attempted to interpret his message for future generations–an overwhelming task that fractured the Muslim community into competing sects. Finally, Aslan examines how, in the shadow of European colonialism, Muslims developed conflicting strategies to reconcile traditional Islamic values with the realities of the modern world, thus launching what Aslan terms the Islamic Reformation. Timely and persuasive, No god but God is an elegantly written account of a magnificent yet misunderstood faith.
Customer Reviews:
A good begining .......2007-08-27
If your interest in Islam stems from the media attention the religion receives then this book is a wonderful way of learning about the beginning of it all. Aslan's work is clearly structured and unbiased. I wants the reader to understand the gentleness of the religion as well as the powerful protectiveness of the muslims that practise this faith.
War can be found within any religion, just look at the Crusades.
The book is a wonderful piece that I would highly recommend to people who would like to learn more and make their own opinion rather than rely on the views of others.
Excellent Intro to Islam.......2007-08-18
After 9.11, there has been a sudden obsession with Islam. The extreme right-wing media would like to portray the religion as spewing hate and preaching violence. But what is the truth? There are so many versions out there trying to explain Islam to you -- but as an ignorant person, how do you determine what is true and what is fiction?
My knowledge of Islam is practically nil. With growing interest in the religion and my curiosity to learn the origin and spiritual leanings of Islam and the reasons behind the fanaticisms that seem to pervade through a section of the middle east - I decided to read No God but God. Basically, I wanted to form my own opinion rather than being fed with half-baked truths by the media, erroneously termed as facts.
I should also confess - I chose this book because of the author. Reza Aslan has appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher and on the Daily Show. On these shows, he appeared intelligent, eloquent, and exuded a firm grasp of the politics and history of the underpinings of the Islamic movement and the religion itself.
Needless to say, I was impressed. I wikkipedia-ed and googled him; read through his website and discovered he was a scholar - a major plus. Obviously, there are many books out there on Islam. However, as a researcher myself, I decided to go with my kind. I was not wrong with my choice.
The book is very well written. At no time, do you feel that you are getting a boring history lesson. The information is overwhelming, but at the back of my mind, I kept thinking - Does the author have an ulterior motive? Is there a hidden agenda? Is he espousing something specific? Unfortunately, it is difficult to know because I have nothing to compare to. He is a research scholar not the average novelist and therefore, I am inclined to accept his explanations and historical accounts.
The book does not disappoint, it is a fascinating read. I learned a lot and now have a better understanding of the nature of Islam and also, why a faction of Muslims are imposing their myopic interpretation of Islam.
He does a great job in narrating and combining history with current happenings. He beautifully leads us through the origins of the Prophet, his beliefs, principles, and persuasions behind the characterization of the Quran. You also read about the Ka'ba at Mecca, its inextricable link with the origins of Islam and the politics of the rulers that came and went. You learn about the struggle to dissociate Islam, the religion, from the politics of establishing law and governance, as espoused by the various Islamic sects. And finally, you learn about the continuing struggle - as Islam and its believers unravel what the Prophet truly hoped to establish and the future direction of this massive religious movement.
What I found most interesting was the confluence of the origins and teachings of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Ironically, despite the clear commonalities between these main religions, there is so much strife and hate.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more of Reza's work.
[...]
3 1/2 Stars. Not objective like the author intends, but still a good read.......2007-06-20
As a Muslim, I read this book with interest. In NO GOD BUT GOD, Reza Aslan attempts to narrate and analyze the Origins and Evolution of Islam, and a vision of its Future.
Starting with an exploration of Pre-Islamic Arabia, he details the life of the Prophet Muhammad (s), and follows up with the 4 Rightly Guided Caliphs. He then focuses on the evolution of Islamic thought, including the development of the Ulama in Sunni Islam, and the development of other schools of thought/sects such as Shiism and Sufism. He finishes by detailing the response of the Muslim world to colonialism, and modern issues today, especially Islam's struggle towards democracy.
Aslan aims to portray what he feels is an 'objective' portrayal of Islamic history, by correcting what he feels are errors by past scholars, especially Muslim scholars with idealized views. However, ultimately, he is not very successful in his quest. While he criticizes early Islamic historians for portraying '9th century Baghdad' rather than '7th century Madina', one can argue that his view of Islamic history is '21 century American' rather than '7th century Madinan.' His biases are evident, and are typical of 21st century America and the West: Denial of supernatural events, resistance to established historical (especially religious) authority, preference for free-flowing spirituality versus formalized doctrines of law, and importance given to issues such as democracy. (Note, as an American, I share some of these biases, but its important to note their existence as biases in a quest for objectivity.)
Aslan usually starts each section by presenting 'the idealized' view of a topic, as narrated by early Muslim scholars (what he terms as 'myth') and then presents what he believes 'really happened' (history). Myth typically includes miracles, and heroic portrayals of people involved. Those inclined to believe in miracles (and I am one) may have difficulty with this approach, as he flatly says that it doesn't matter whether or not miracles happened (ie, whether Jesus raised the dead) but rather, what role such myths play in shaping the beliefs of a particular religious community. I heartily disagree with Aslan here- I believe it matters a great deal whether or not the beliefs of a religious community are shaped by actual historical events (including wonderous, amazing ones) or whether such beliefs are based on, in the end, lies and falsehood. In any case, Aslan was not there to witness events such as Lazarus rising from the dead, and neither were the early historians, so ultimately, it is up to each person to make up their own mind about the actual historicity of such supernatural events.
Aslan also occasionally over stretches himself in his attempts to deny miracles. For instance, he suggests that its unlikely that the Prophet (s) was illiterate, because as a merchant, he supposedly had to be able to read and write. Clearly Aslan has not spent much time with illiterate people- and is unable to recognize just how much these people can do without reading and writing. (illiterate people today are health workers treating pneumonia and malaria using complex medical regimens, and performing internationally recognized research, including recording results, about endangered species).
However, I must admit that I greatly appreciated Aslan's candor about the religious personalities involved. Sunni Islamic scholarship presents early Islamic historical figures (such as the first 4 Caliphs) and the early Muslim community as incredible, nearly error free, almost absolutely perfect, human beings- almost super-beings. I was always struck at the incongruity of such idealized descriptions and the fact that within a few decades after the death of the Prophet (s), the early Islamic community entered a massive civil war from which one could argue Islam never recovered. I wondered, how could such a supposedly perfect community made with such supposedly perfect people get into such a serious mess so quickly? Reading Aslan's descriptions (which included Sunni, Shii, and western sources) of the personalities involved was very helpful in this regard: they weren't perfect people, but were deeply religious, well meaning people who, yes, had their share of faults, misunderstandings, and disagreements (about Islam and a lot of other things) which built up over the years, and in the chaotic transition after the Prophet's death, exploded into civil war.
Aslan is unable to hide his obvious disdain of the Ulama (Islamic Scholars who have codified Islamic Law, or Shariah). He paints them entirely in a negative light, as a power hungry, control-mad group which has stifled all flexibility from the religion. While this view undoubtedly has a good deal truth to it (I am extremely sympathetic), it must also be admitted that the Scholars did a great deal of work to preserve the religion, and its history, without which we may not even have the religion today, and certainly would know far less about the events surrounding its birth and rise. Aslan is equality negative about the Ayatollah Khomeni, who he feels promised democracy but in reality bamboozled the Iranian people into accepting a theocracy (in reality, a dictatorship under his rule) through his powerful persona. Aslan's views on Khomeni are understandable given the fact that he lived his early life in Iran, experienced the hope that the Iranian people felt during the revolution, only to have to flee the country with his family.
On the other hand, Aslan is quite positive about Sufism, the spiritual branch of Islam, defending all its variations, despite admitting that at least some Sufi beliefs don't square very well with the basic Islamic creed, "No God but God." Aslan correctly states that Sufism is quite complex, and is not generalizable. However, he occasionally tries to generalize anyway, with a view of defending Sufism against the barrage of negative criticism it has received for the unorthodox views of some of its branches. However, this approach leads to occasional contradictions: for example Aslan states that all Sufis follow Islamic acts of worship such as 5 daily prayers, but then also says that some Sufis believe acts of religious worship are only important for the masses, and others believe it is a shell that can be cast off once deeper layers of spirituality are realized.
Aslan's biases are finally represented in his vision of Islam's future. He clearly believes in Islamic pluralism, and believes that it can best be represented by a democracy. Furthermore, he believes that when God's law and the popular will contradict, the popular will should win out. The limits of Islamic pluralism is hotly debated today in the Muslim world, but for me, the claim, "No God but God" is the key to Islam, along with the belief in Muhammad (s) Prophethood. These two aspects should be the backbone of anyone calling themselves a Muslim.
The issue of popular sovereignty over divine law (properly understood and contextualized) is considerably more complex. I ultimately agree with Aslan, one cannot force on a community any law, including a law from God, over a people who do not believe in it, or do not want it implemented in their community. However, Aslan leaves it there, as if that is the end of the story. I would argue that every effort should be made to make the community see the wisdom of divine laws, emphasizing positive consequences in implementing them (improved justice, equality, social harmony, etc) and pointing out negatives of not following them (chaotic society, broken down families, etc), both in this world and in the afterlife.
As other reviewers mention, Aslan is a good writer. His writing is clear and he is able to explain complex concepts deftly. I actually found his 'idealized' sections (the 'myths') often even better written and more powerful than this supposedly objective analysis that follows: his 'myths,' whether of the Prophet (s), the companions, the Caliphs, or Sufi legends are dramatic and pulsating with life. After reading them, it was a bit of a let down (and at times, even irritating) to be told, 'well this is what REALLY happened' and reading an analysis of events that I did not find objective. Aslan should try his hand at fiction!
Know thy enemy.......2007-06-10
Being an agnostic, I look at this book as an analysis of Islam from a present and future aspect. I did not realize that there were so many sects within Islam. Most members of this faith that I have known or been acquainted with have been normal members of society,mainly of Pakistani origin. I am of Jewish origin and some Islamists, mainly from Egypt, would not talk to me. This is against the teachings of Mohammed, a fact unknown by most Mohammedans. The politicalization of this faith is also contrary to his teachings.Since there is so little organization within the relgious factions, I can now understand how the faith can be manipulated by a few. It is almost like the takeover of Germany in the 1930's by Adolph Hitler and his group. I used to think it was sloganism when people said that the faith was hijacked by radical politicians. Now It seems to me, after reading this text, to be a reality .I think it should be a must reading especially by our politicians,but also people of all faiths, especially Islamists!
Wishfull thinking.......2007-06-08
Not in our grandchildren's lifetimes will they see anything remotely resembling enlightened Islam. The author's major problem is that he grew up in America, and understanably, sees the Islamic world and history from that Christianized perspective. The Koran is written in an old fashioned language and script that is not easily accessible to the modern arabic reader. Couple that with the fact that illiteracy rates are very high in many Islamic-dominant countries, except his home country of Iran, and they are at the mercy of the mullahs who preach and teach whatever they interpret as "holy writ". With over 240 admonitions to control, convert, or kill the infidel, and only one or two mentions of Love in a Christian sense, it's no wonder the Islamic fundamentalist have won the reformation battle. Game over. Anyone who espouses a modernistic reform agenda will be be rooted out, and struck down. It's dangerous wishful thinking otherwise.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
Book Description
Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.
Customer Reviews:
Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03
Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.
Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19
Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09
There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.
For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.
Very Interesting.......2007-03-07
It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.
History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10
Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.
I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.
Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.
Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.
I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.
This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
Amazon.com
Jared Diamond states the theme of his book up-front: "How the human species changed, within a short time, from just another species of big mammal to a world conqueror; and how we acquired the capacity to reverse all that progress overnight." The Third Chimpanzee is, in many ways, a prequel to Diamond's prize-winning Guns, Germs, and Steel. While Guns examines "the fates of human societies," this work surveys the longer sweep of human evolution, from our origin as just another chimpanzee a few million years ago. Diamond writes:
It's obvious that humans are unlike all animals. It's also obvious that we're a species of big mammal down to the minutest details of our anatomy and our molecules. That contradiction is the most fascinating feature of the human species.
The chapters in The Third Chimpanzee on the oddities of human reproductive biology were later expanded in Why Is Sex Fun? Here, they're linked to Diamond's views of human psychology and history.
Diamond is officially a physiologist at UCLA medical school, but he's also one of the best birdwatchers in the world. The current scientific consensus that "primitive" humans created ecological catastrophes in the Pacific islands, Australia, and the New World owes a great deal to his fieldwork and insight. In Diamond's view, the current global ecological crisis isn't due to modern technology per se, but to basic weaknesses in human nature. But, he says, "I'm cautiously optimistic. If we will learn from our past that I have traced, our own future may yet prove brighter than that of the other two chimpanzees." --Mary Ellen Curtin
Book Description
The Development of an Extraordinary Species
We human beings share 98 percent of our genes with chimpanzees. Yet humans are the dominant species on the planet -- having founded civilizations and religions, developed intricate and diverse forms of communication, learned science, built cities, and created breathtaking works of art -- while chimps remain animals concerned primarily with the basic necessities of survival. What is it about that two percent difference in DNA that has created such a divergence between evolutionary cousins? In this fascinating, provocative, passionate, funny, endlessly entertaining work, renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning author and scientist Jared Diamond explores how the extraordinary human animal, in a remarkably short time, developed the capacity to rule the world . . . and the means to irrevocably destroy it.
Customer Reviews:
Tiger by the Tail?.......2007-10-08
There's a lot to this very broad ranging and thoughtful book, some of which, but not all, seems intriguingly fresh and original. Jared Diamond takes off from the recently recognized biological fact that only about 1.6% of the entire human genome separates us from the chimpanzee, making that ape our nearest living relative. Of course, Diamond notes, there is quite an obvious gap between us and our closest relatives but it's a gap, he suggests, which is not nearly as great as we're likely to imagine from surface differences -- not least, perhaps, because a significant portion of the genetic differences between us and chimps is mere genetic "noise" with little or no implications for the creatures built to its blueprint.
For Diamond the obvious implication of this narrow genetic difference obliges us to reconsider ourselves, from the outside looking in, and examine what we are as we would examine any other creature on this planet. We must, he proposes, treat humanity as what it really is: a member of the animal world. Taking his own advice, Diamond proceeds to examine the history and development of man as a visitor from another planet might, as merely one species among many. What Diamond proceeds to describe for us is the appearance and evolution of an unusually successful, exceedingly voracious primate which has the propensity to devour its own environment if left unchecked. Diamond convincingly shows how humans may have developed characteristics which have their roots in, but are still unique and different from, anything found in the rest of the animal world. In the process he points out, repeatedly, how man's historic successes have resulted in loss for our fellow species, over and over again, as one after another is hunted to extinction with the advent of modern man beginning some 50,000 years ago. Nor is this limited to other species as Diamond notes for man has a propensity for hunting and killing his own along with other creatures.
Diamond's greatest concern, in the end, seems to be for the environment which he sees being eaten away everywhere man has appeared (by now roughly the entire planet, given mankind's ubiquitous success in the competitive game of evolution). As a self-described bird-watcher, he takes his lessons from the loss of bird species in New Guinea and other exotic locales where he has applied his skills and interests. He makes some good and fascinating observations along the way including: 1) his points about how our sexual characteristics would have evolved and might have contributed to our further evolution (reflecting the need for mates to bond long term), 2) how geographic factors might have influenced variation in civilizations' technological accomplishments in the course of human societal development (Africa and the Americas exist on a north-south axis, limiting the spread and cross-pollenization of agricultural technology among human groups, while Europe, the Middle East and Asia lie on an east-west axis), 3) how unwise modern governments and scientists may be in sending signals into outer space announcing our presence (since he concludes there's no reason to doubt the operation of evolutionary competition there, too), and 4) how the dynamic of human evolution seems to have placed us on a trajectory of inevitable self-destruction.
Diamond himself notes that in many cases he did not fully develop many of the ideas presented here, reserving that for subsequent books (Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed). His main goal in this one, besides outlining some of these ideas, seems to be to galvanize his readers to embrace his strong concerns for environmentalism. He repeatedly details the destruction of pristine ecological environments which follows on the appearance of man, from the earliest ages, when men may have speedily hunted the great mammals still preserved in the fossil record to extinction, to the era of European exploration only a few centuries ago when Europeans permanently destroyed the ecological systems they found on previously untrod oceanic islands. In the interim, he blames humans for destroying the majority of the creatures that have walked the Earth since man's first appearance and warns of worse to come.
In one interesting passage he recounts how a single development of a particular site for housing resulted in the destruction and loss of many species of small creatures found nowhere else on the planet, inviting us to imagine how many times, and to what devastating effect, this has happened before in our history. But this, certainly, is the flaw in what is an otherwise compelling narrative of human development. It is certainly true that man's presence alters his environment wherever he finds himself and that that alteration is generally permanent, irrevocable and, indeed, terrible for the creatures on the receiving end. Diamond calls on us to adopt a supportive stance toward environmentalism based on this knowledge, even as he has done in his work. But the truth is that humans cannot avoid leaving a footprint wherever we tread and it is certainly true that each and every tiny corner of this earth may, and probably does, harbor various unique species if only on the microscopic level.
His advocacy for environmental awareness is certainly wise and good advice for humankind overall since it is better to preserve and nurture our environment than devour it like locusts. As far as we know, at least for now, there is only one Earth and, thus, one human home so we must attend to it. But it's unrealistic to imagine that man can avoid impacting his environment entirely or sufficiently so as to avoid displacing other species at all. That one development Diamond cites is a useful example but how many other developments, as he rightly notes, have done as much or more around the planet? We can't cease developing the world around us unless we alter our own growth trajectory and aim to diminish rather than enhance our numbers.
But diminishing the number of human beings, besides being against our natural biological imperative (to pass on our genes), intoduces the risks of civilizational breakdown and failure since fewer and fewer members of the various population groups will be called on to support more and more of the aging members of their groups. At the same time, unless all of mankind can be diminished in numbers simultaneously, there will be competition for space and resources which will see larger and more robust population groups impinging on the holdings of the diminishing groups (as we see in Europe today where an aggressive external Muslim population presses on a more inward-looking diminishing native population). This must lead to its own conflicts and disasters. Perhaps a worldwide plague or devastating war would do the trick but to what terrible effect for those living through it? And what about the tangential effects on the environments in which the self-destroying human populations are enduring plague and/or war?
Despite Diamond's important points about the human propensity to eat its own, we are chimps hanging onto an evolutionary tiger by its tail. We cannot let it go without being devoured but suspect that holding on will not be in our own best interests either. Diamond's written a good and important book here with lots of insight and new perspectives worth pondering. But he has no solution for us because, in the end, we are evolution's children. Perhaps we may grow ourselves out of this present quandary. Or perhaps not. Either way, it's certainly worthwhile reading Diamond's take on this.
SWM
Another high quality Diamond.......2007-09-29
The Third Chimpanzee is another contribution by Jared Diamond that forces people to think about man's past as well as what we are doing, and could be doing, for our future. He makes you think.
Better understanding our evolution - and our nature.......2007-09-19
Jared Diamond explains in his awesome style how we are related to the various ape species and why the chimps are our closest cousins (or rather brothers). Based on the differences and similarities between us, do we have the right to consider ourselves so much different from animals, and do we have the right not to grant at least some human rights to our closest relatives...
I'm 98% chimp.......2007-09-12
What species is most closely related to the chimp? If you guessed humans, you're right! Chimps and humans share more than 98% of the same genes. Given this fact, Jared explores human behavior and is somehow able to do this from outside of the human perspective. While we like to think of ourselves as being far above other species, Jared is careful to recognize other less flattering and uniquely human traits such as our addiction to chemical substances and our practice of genocide. The Third Chimpanzee offers a unique and balanced perspective of the human animal and the role we play in the global environment. Read this book to gain a more complete understanding of what it means to be human, where we came from, and where we might be headed.
Wonderful book by Diamond.......2007-07-12
Biologist Jared Diamond's book, originally published in 1992, doesn't have a unifying theme as in his later "Guns, Germs and Steel". Rather, we have different themes tackled in different chapters. Among those themes are the origins of the Indoeuropeans (the mysterious people, also knowns as the Aryans, from whom most Europeans and Indians descend), why Europeans were able to conquer much of the world in the last century (a subject he would later return to in Guns...), why he believes the attempts to overcome aging will fail, his skepticism about the possibility of contacting extraterrestrial civilizations (even if we are able to contact the few aliens that might exist, they might try to conquer us, he claims), the last first contacts between modern civilizations and bands of hunter gatherers still living on the Stone Age, an explanation of sexual selection and the origins of the human races, why the handicap principle bring forward by biologist Amotz Zahavi explain many seeming self-destructive behavior by human beings, an interesting overview of genocide in human history, and so forth. Diamond's environmentalism is quite radical: he believes for example, as some luddites do, that man's fall started when he switched from hunting and gathering to agriculture. Still, this is a wonderful book, enlivened by Diamond's erudition and wonderful writing.
Amazon.com
Some books are like revelations, they open the spirit to unimaginable possibilities. The Chalice and the Blade is one of those magnificent key books that can transform us and...initiate fundamental changes in the world. With the most passionate eloquence, Riane Eisler proves that the dream of peace is not an impossible utopia. -- Isabelle Allende, author of The House of the Spirits
Book Description
The phenomenal bestseller, with more than 500,000 copies sold worldwide, now with a new epilogue from the author--The Chalice and the Blade has inspired a generation of women and men to envision a truly egalitarian society by exploring the legacy of the peaceful, goddess-worshipping cultures from our prehistoric past.
Customer Reviews:
Dumbest Book Ever Written.......2007-05-20
This is the weirdest, dumbest book I've ever read. It's a pity that a lot of college professors are using this doorstop as a textbook in their classes. What a crock. This book is the scholarly and intellectual equivalent of R.L Stine's Goosebumps series. If this book were food, it would probably be something like stewed okra. I would've rated this with no stars but, interestingly enough, Amazon doesn't seem to think that authors are capable of writing completely and utterly unredeeming books.
A Vivogenic Template for Human Beings .......2007-05-13
The Chalice and the Blade ranks in the top ten paradigm shaking books of the Late, Great Twen-Cen. Those continuing to puzzle over where we went wrong, as a species, will be well served by this outstanding scholarship.
When women were equal.......2007-01-14
"The Chalice and The Blade" is a wonderful book about the history of peaceful civilizations who worshiped the goddess and warring civilizations who worshiped male gods. Eisler's theory is that there was a global shift from egalitarian to patriarchal societies. Eisler shows how women were degraded to pawns controlled by men, and that without women as equals, men turned to violence. This book is a must read for anyone interested in women's history.
More timely now than ever!.......2007-01-12
This book answers these questions, "Where did humans go wrong?" "Why are we so cruel and allowing of cruelty?" and "Why does the majority of our world not value women, their work, their ideas?" I liked this book so much - after reading it I bought 10 more copies to hand out to friends because it is soooo encouraging. It does show us a different way of living is possible and humans use to live that way. NOTE: Since reading this book I have seen history channel explore the remains of the culture's Eisler talks about. BUT history channel only focused on the buildings being far advanced over Rome's. The program NEVER TALKED ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED THERE. Eisler talks about the people. And women were valued to those people. ALSO, huge media figures are now mentioning that society needs fundamental change. Eisler identifies where that change lies. In 'Conservatives without Conscience' Dean explores basic beliefs, attitudes and prejudices and how those are incorporated into our society and dialogue. Eisler's book goes straight to the heart of where those authoritarian beliefs, attitudes and prejudices come from, what we look like without them and how we can get back to living without them.
Nerissa Oden
Other Options for the Human Race.......2006-02-14
It was wonderful and freeing to read this book. Even if there were some oversimplifications, how liberating to have other possible explanations of and options for human history! This book has inspired me to question and reexamine beliefs and attitudes that are so ubiquitous in our society that it's hard to even know that we hold them, let alone question them. I'll always be grateful to Ms. Eisler for helping me find greater freedom in all aspects of my life.
Customer Reviews:
Good, although a little dated..........2006-12-20
It is indeed a weighty volume that as the other reviewer said must have been a labour of love. It contains all kinds of topics, from hypnosis and meditation to rolfing and biofeedback and many, many others. I ended up giving my copy away though. I bought it for use as I was studying psychology/counseling and wanted something that had a good overview of the healing modalities available, along with some objective comment. It certainly had that and is well researched, yet in the end I felt that if I wanted to learn about many of the topics in this book, I'd just do my own research, probably beginning on the web and then picking a few good books on that topic and I think I'd have gotten a much better outline than a few pages on each area can really give. That said, it must have been a monumental effort to combine such a volume and the author is to be commended for that.
An encyclopedia about the human body.......2006-09-12
This book is a must ready for anyone interested in increasing their human potential. Murphy cites countless studies done on the human body, ranging from the normal to the paranormal. In my case, as a writer and long time yoga teacher this book has been invaluable for quoting to my students. I recommend it to people who want to open their minds to ever expanding human potentials.
Modern classic missing pertinent content, yet, a must read!.......2006-01-27
The Future of the Body is what I would consider a "modern classic."
It is one of the truly comprehensive texts published on modern consciousness and transformative studies. I can't recommend it enough as mandatory reading for any student in the field of consciousness, transpersonal, and transformative psychology (or any field directly related to human potentials). However, my only reservation is that there is virtually no mention of psychoactives, those taboos of human culture, within the text as a whole. This fact alone keeps it from being truly comprehensive in terms of transformative capacities and forms of transcendence as defined by leaders in the field such as Susanne Cook-Greuter and even Ken Wilber (though I recognize his lack of attendance to this issue). Despite this omission, this text is, in my opinion, required reading for all students of consciousness-related studies.
-Ph.D student at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology
Who is the subject of evolution?.......2004-02-23
With some reservations I found this compendium of disparate information a useful survey and a flying question mark about the meaning of the term 'evolution', a term long since fallen into a ditch whence it stumbles forth into still more confusion, with a black eye from the brain-dead Darwin debate. The number of wild pitches (the phantom index in most such books being high)is not out of hand. The New Age attempts to define the term 'evolution' are at their best as an indirect comment on Darwinian versions, but fail as soon as they attempt to remap its meaning in 'spiritual' terms. Nevertheless this text indicates the only avenue of approach, which is to map out just what creature it is that we are supposed to be explaining. And the answer is that we don't know. The temporary ongoing 'conclusion' is that we can't produce a theory of evolution because we haven't the foggiest what man's 'evolutionary psychology' really is. But one thing is clear, Darwinism is very far off the mark, and the current ostrich style of pontificating the subtle side of man out of existence in the name of Darwin's phoney theory can't go on forever. Or maybe it can. Scientists simply don't respond to suggestions that they don't have a grip on man, and who man is.
The standard problem with books like this (and this one is much better than most)is the 'passing of bad pennies', sudden passages of garbage in, garbage out. That is, metaphysical versions of occult or other 'spiritual' phenomena. The road is long and hard here, but, taken with reserve, we have grounds for protest at the amputation of man being enforced in an age of Big Science dogma.
One problem is that New Age thinking has spawned a category of 'self-evolution' and this has become the favorite of many gurus, and others. This attempt to appropriate the word 'evolution' adds still more confusion. The problem is that 'evolution' is confused with 'self-realization', the evolution of that self being unknown, a mystery of the descent of humans in the Paleolithic. Sometimes evolution and involution are confused or braided together. It is not true that realized men have a better understanding of evolution. Indeed, the legacy of gurus show they can't reckon their own history,let alone the large scale development of the species man. It is worth noting the legacy of German classical philosophy, as this suggests, prior to such figures as Hegel, the 'noumenal' aspect of the conscious subject. That insight might be helpful in putting the labyrinth in perspective, for the New Age field is littered with metaphysical zoo items mixed with the genuine insights into the sheer complexity of human nature that make the 'sociobiology crammed down our throats' an episode of primitive hi-tech cavemen. The implications of the Axial Age concept and data give one hint of the scale of 'macro evolution' that transcends even the insights of the Enlightened, for there we see the 'generated' aspect of world religion, acting beyond the realm of the oblivious yogi, what to say of the mechanized monotheist.
Usefully provoking book, taken with considerable caution.
Interesting Book.......2003-05-01
I gave this book 5 stars because it is very extensive in its scope - it is not, however, the final word on this topic, there is more - I guess there is always more and there are always even more amazing stories. The book explores different phenomena, some rather rare and unusual, as in the following excerpt:
"Thurston quoted a sister Margherita Cortonesi:
"On one occasion, among others, when [Sister Veronica] being in a trance state was reciting her Office alternately with some invisible being, she was observed gradually to stretch out until the length of her throat seemed to be out of all proportion in such a way that she was altogether much taller than usual. We, noticing this strange occurrence, looked to see if she was raised from the ground, but this, so far as our eyes could tell, was not the case. So, to make sure, we took a yard-measure and measured her height, and afterwards when she had come to herself we measured her again, and she was at least a span (ten inches or more) shorter. This we have seen with our own eyes, all of us nuns who were in the chapel."
In 1629, a Donna Hortenzia Ghini stated under oath that:
"Sister Lisabetta Pancrazi, formerly a nun in the same convent, told me that on one occasion, seeing that the said Sister Veronica when in ecstasy seemed taller than in her normal state, took a yard-measure and measured her height, and that after the said Sister Veronica came to herself she measured her again with the said yard-measure, and she found that she was half an arm's length shorter."
Among other religious who allegedly exhibited elongation, the Capuchiness Abbess Costante Maria Castreca was said to have grown a considerable height from the ground during a religious ecstasy; the Venerable Domenica dal Paradiso grew taller in trance, according to her spiritual director and confidants. Because such phenomena were not thought to be marks of holiness, they were noted simply because they were unusual.
I include such phenomena in this discussion because they indicate the body's responsiveness to altered states of mind. When consciousness is released from some of its ordinary constraints, whether in ecstasies or dissociated states, ligaments and muscles are sometimes liberated too.:
Book Description
Charles Darwin has been at the center of white-hot public debate for more than a century. In Living With Darwin, Philip Kitcher peers into the flames swirling around Darwin's theory, sifting through the scientific evidence for evolution, Creation Science, and Intelligent Design, and revealing why evolution has been the object of such vehement attack. Kitcher ranges back in time to provide valuable perspective on the present controversy, describing the many puzzling issues that blocked evolution's acceptance in the early years, and explaining how scientific research eventually found the answers to these conundrums. Interestingly, Kitcher shows that many of these early questions have been resurrected in recent years by proponents of Intelligent Design. In fact, Darwin himself considered the issue of intelligent design, and amassed a mountain of evidence that effectively refuted the idea. Kitcher argues that the problem with Intelligent Design isn't that it's "not science," as many critics say, but that it's "dead science," raising questions long resolved by scientists. But after providing a convincing case for evolution, Kitcher points out that it is also important to recognize the cost of Darwin's success--the price of "living with Darwin." Darwinism has a profound effect on our understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe, on our religious beliefs and aspirations. It is in truth the focal point of a larger clash between religious faith and the discoveries of modern science. Unless we can resolve this larger issue, the war over evolution will go on. Evolution is a dangerous idea. In this balanced and sympathetic volume, Philip Kitcher illuminates this idea while suggesting ways to defuse the danger, suggestions that embrace both the religious impulse and the force of scientific evidence.
Customer Reviews:
Darwin's Personal Life.......2007-09-05
An excllent sumary in small hard-cover format of Charles Darwin's life. It reflects the agony he experienced in knowing that his discoveries were totally contrary to the 1800's teachings of the Church and startling contradictions to the book of Genesis.
Carl Bauer, Prescott AZ
Finding the true path.......2007-09-05
It's a bit depressing, seeing a man of global outlook having to produce a book of such limited audience. Kitcher's philosophical study is an excellent summation of the false ideas forwarded by anti-Darwin forces in the US. His approach is a needed one, that "creationists" of various stripes there must be addressed in rational terms, and on their own ground. He accomplishes the task with extraordinary skill and reserve. It's a badly-needed book, but it's a pity is that this is so. It's to be hoped Kitcher's well-reasoned techniques applied here will reach a significant portion of that targeted readership.
His approach is to categorise the themes of creationist writers as regards the value of the "science" they purport to espouse. He puts creationists in three basic forms: "Genesis" - the biblical "literalists"; "novelty" - special acts of creation by some supernatural interference; and the "anti-selectionists" - composed of the newer "Intelligent Design" advocates. "Anti-selectionism" has found a niche by contesting the concept of the Tree of Life, the graphic representation of gradual change in organisms over time to produce new forms. It isn't evolution itself these writers contest, but the details not readily explained by what we know now. Aimless mutations aren't enough to explain the complexity of some elements in certain organisms, they argue. Some undetectable "force" must be involved. The first two forms are adhered to by sincere, if dogmatic followers. The third is one that must be considered on the evidence under study. That consideration must adhere to the rules of scientific investigation to be valid.
Kitcher understands that the challenge of the anti-selectionists isn't based on scientific, but on cultural, values. He recognises that the real agenda of "Intelligent Design" is to give religious people a way to grasp Darwin's concept within a framework of supernatural forces. They have been forced to concede that "young-Earth" biblical creation is untenable. They also recognise that "special creations" aren't supported by the fossil or genetic record. The only way to allow their deity a means of keeping its hand in is to give some tampering power. Bacterial flagella and some internal functions of the body argue against Darwin's "descent with modification". Building up certain proteins to perform the tasks they do today cannot be sustained, they contend. Kitcher responds by noting that while the "anti-selectionists" can make this arguement due to lack of hard fossil evidence for how these functions evolved, neither do the Darwin-detractors offer any evidence for divine tampering to establish them.
The author's classifications may be novel, but the issues involved have been presented often. What makes this book important and necessary is Kitcher's resistance to sinking into wearying invective. His prose is bright and conversational, his lining out of evidence firmly dispassionate and his conclusions irrefutable. He makes no unwarrented claims, and fully recognises that gaps in our knowledge remain to be filled.
Another gap, however, must also be contended with. What to do about those who feel that "faith" is a human necessity? The author offers an historical synopsis of what the Enlightenment contributed to our view of the supernatural. Of all the challenges to Christian belief, it was Darwin's that was the most devastating. It was one thing to displace the Earth from the centre of the universe. It was quite another to remove any supernatural element from life's workings. In particular, it's devastating to some to learn that humans are not the subject focus of divine attention. Kitcher's answer is that a new form of "faith" must emerge, and be encouraged. That "faith" will not resist natural selection, but embrace it. That new religion will combine a form of Darwinist humanism with a sense of the spiritual as a social mucilage. There will be no "god", but there will be a drive to reduce pain and suffering so far as possible. It won't be easy to establish such a concept, particularly in a nation with such vocal forces objecting to natural selection having a role in human affairs. But success depends on the withdrawal of artificial objections to Darwin's ideas. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Another Round in the Darwin-Intelligent Design Wars.......2007-08-29
I found this to be a very helpful addition to the literature on the continuing conflict between evolutionists and those supporting intelligent design. Unlike some other books on this topic, the author does not try to dispose of ID by declaring it unscientific; rather his view is to demonstrate that it represents "dead science," discarded in 1859-1870, much like alchemy. In other words, the scientific "basis" for ID has not progressed since the days of Paley's "Natural Theology" (1826), while the scientific evidence supporting Darwin has grown tremendously in depth and reach. It is also helpful that the book covers the entire history of creationism, since the author addresses "genesis creationism," "novelty creationism", and "anti-selectionism." The author effectively demonstrates in language generally understandable to the layperson why each of these three approaches is defective in analysis and foundation. His discussion of how DNA and modern genetics support evolution is particularly effective and helpful.
Along the way, he poses some tough questions for those advocating ID. For example, when does "intelligence" act, and how does it affect life. The author's discussion of the "concrete case" argument, i.e., how could complex structures such as the human eye be the result of evolution, and what he terms the "computational argument" that invokes mathematical probabilities as an argument against evolution, casts much welcome light on these contentions. Kitcher is quick to admit there are gaps in the fossil records, and that as of the present some important dimensions of evolution have not yet been proven. But in his view the direction science is going suggests that more and more of these issues will be resolved in the future.
The final chapter, "A Mess of Pottage," focuses upon a key point. For the author, there really is no way Darwinism can be compatible with religion that posits supernatural dimensions. For him, it is either Drawin or God, and there is no way to compromise. There is certainly room to disagree with the book on this point. Instead, the author suggests that there is still room for what he terms "spiritual religion." Much like the author's "Abusing Science: The Case Against Creatinism" (1982), this book is very well written, and at 186 pages fairly compact, including 19 pages of helpful notes. Whichever side one is on in this debate, this book is challenging and worthy of consideration.
Living IN Darwin.......2007-08-05
Although my parents insisted I attend and participate in a christian church environment, they also insisted that I could make up my own mind when I was of age. After visiting various denominational churches,I reached the conclusion that although the basic tenets of Christian religion were commendable,notions of 'creation by a diety'were unacceptable for me.
When a friend gave me a copy of 'Origin of Species' I virtually devoured it.
It is important for a reader of this work to do so with a truly open mind but in the final analysis they will be faced with confronting their ingrained 'faith' or beliefs because those lessons taught in sunday school to impressionable young minds are difficult to abandon.
I have become an unrepentant Atheist and have in turn exposed my children to scientific analysis rather than non-scientific faith based education.
I have confidently offered this book to them for extra reading as it deals with the issues of evolution Vs creationism in a scientific manner without emotional religious bigotry.
Perhaps the fact that I came to live in Darwin Northern Territory Australia, named after Charles Darwin who visited here during his voyages has heightened my interest in his theories and laid a solid foundation to scientific study
I believe I can live with Darwin.......2007-08-03
Ever since the Origin of Species was published in 1859, Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection has been viewed as dangerous to Christian faith. This is especially true for adherents of biblical literalism who view it as a threat and have taken various steps to assuage its effects on the faithful. The most recent of which comes under the title "Intelligent Design." [ID] In his book, Living with Darwin, philosopher of science Philip Kitcher sets out to attack claims made by proponents of Intelligent Design by showing their weakness as a "scientific" as well as a "religious" hypothesis." And ultimately demonstrating why a Darwinian orthodox explanation is still the best option available.
In chapter one, "Disinterring Darwin," Kitcher refers to [ID] as "dead science" a doctrine that "once had its day in scientific inquiry and discussion but has rightly been discarded" (8). This means that at some point in the past it was seriously considered a workable scientific hypothesis but for good reasons it was abandoned and left for dead, to be replaced by a hypothesis that does a better job of explaining the natural world. But Kitcher recognizes that this is not the last word for proponents of [ID], or as he likes to call them "resurrection men." The [ID] proponents have other tricks up their sleeve as Kitcher demonstrates. For one, there isn't just one strand of intelligent design that evolutionists have to deal with. Kitcher concentrates on a total of three anti-evolution approaches: "Genesis creationism," "novelty creationism," and "anti-selctionism" respectively. This makes it a little more difficult for proponents of evolution to refer to [ID] as non-science (nonsense) because aspects of these other hypothesis could easily meet the requirements of a science. Instead, Kitcher seriously considers the [ID] program by playing their game and addressing their objections to Darwinian orthodoxy. Secondly, Kitcher recognizes a two-part distinction between a "negative thesis' and a "positive thesis" in [ID]. The negative thesis says that life as a whole is too complex to have come about the way the theory of natural selection explains it. On the other hand, the positive thesis says that there is an alternative causal agency to natural selection which is thought to be intelligent. Now it shouldn't automatically be assumed that this "intelligence" is the supernatural creator God of the Bible. Kitcher will address this subject in the final chapter (chapter 5). Suffice it to say that merely labeling something "intelligent" doesn't get one closer to the supernaturalism one wishes to prove. In fact, it may just make that understanding of a designer more problematic when one actually considers what kind of world actually exists.
In chapter two Kitcher addresses genesis creationism and ultimately says "Good-bye to Genesis" and any compatibility of a literal interpretation of the flood story with the fossil record in the layers of rocks. The initial problem for adherents of a worldwide flood mentioned in the book of Genesis is that the layers give an ordered appearance with extinct animal fossils at the bottom with the most recent animals at the top (as it should be if the earth is very old and animals have gone extinct). There is, however, a hypothesis by Genesis creationists that Kitcher entertains. Genesis creationists propose that God created all of the animals at one time. If this is the case, then it is impossible that the fossils at the bottom of the strata can be older than the fossils at the top. Instead, they believe the Noahic flood could have mixed around the fossils and distributed them the way scientists currently observe. On problem with this interpretation is that the layers are ordered by ecologies so that it would be unlikely that, barring a miracle, the flood could have washed all of the fossils in the exact arrangement we have them. Not only would one have to grant that God caused the flood, but God also meticulously controlled where each animal would be deposited in the layers of strata. Another problem with a literal interpretation that besets Genesis creationism is the scene Kitcher paints of Noah and his family trying to care for all of the animals, making sure they stayed alive and didn't eat the other. There is also the trouble of creating artificial environments for each animal. If it truly was a worldwide flood then not all animals will obviously be able to survive in a sedentary environment like the ark. When one truly thinks on these things it does become harder to take the biblical account of the flood story seriously. I even found myself laughing when I read Kitcher's account of the birds that weren't taken onto the ark trying to find shelter while Noah and his family fought them off. I suppose God would be very displeased if any other birds than the two "He" told Noah to bring with him onto the ark got on board. When one actually consider the story and the fact that there are flood myths in other religious texts, you see that this is more likely story rife with symbolism and not an account of a historical even that can be used as scientific hypothesis. Kitcher doubts that even the "resurrection men" would want to bring this story back from the dead. As Kitcher explains in the chapter, it was rightly buried in 1831 by a reverend Adam Sedgwick who was a very meticulous geologist and had done the requisite legwork. If the good reverend saw fit to bury it, why not those others who adhere to a literalist interpretation?
In chapter three, "One Tree of Life," Kitcher examines the claims of novelty creationists. But when it comes down to it there are only two options. You can either believe that newer organism's branch from older ones in a tree-like fashion, or they are specially created by a supernatural intelligence. Kitcher exhibits patience once again by taking the claims of the novelty creationists seriously but ultimately showing that their hypothesis fails. For one, Kitcher points out that we cannot ultimately trust the competence of a "designer" who has the ability to create these newer organisms but leaves traces of the structure of previous organisms. Why not start from scratch with a better design than to reuse the same stuff that possibly caused an organism to go extinct? If evolution is correct, then it would appear that the newer organism is a modified descendent of the previous organism instead of one that came into existence ex nihilo (out of nothing) at the whimsy of the "designer." Examples such as this raise more questions than the novelty creationists can answer. Ironically, this is how [ID] thrives. As Kitcher observes, the task of explaining all the details of evolution to a novelty creationist is "Sisyphean, that no sooner has this particular stone reaches the summit than another one will appear requiring the same time-consuming work" (70-71). Evolution is not as quick to answer all of the objections as [ID] is to raise them. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing since it is mostly sophistry, and [ID] still has the problem of providing answers to the objections it raises to evolution's answers. And at the end of the day Darwinian evolution by descent with modification wins out over a special act of creation by a supernatural designer that can't seem to measure up to the omnipotent and omnibenevolent God of the Bible that proponents of [ID] ultimately wish to defend.
Chapter 4 examines the anti-selectionist's rhetoric and asks if natural selection is "at the mercy of chance?" In this chapter Kitcher identifies two types of arguments at the heart of the anti-selectionists. The first type is what Kitcher calls the "cumulative case argument." This is the view which states that challenges natural selection by calling into question it ability to act on certain types of organisms that are too "complex." The eye is a common example of an organ that couldn't have evolved via natural selection because it would need all of its working parts to have evolved. This was a problem that originally beset Darwin but was addressed in his time. Kitcher observes how anti-selectionists arbitrarily decide how these organisms must have been like and why there explanation is no better than an invention of his as to why we observe the eye as complex today. I think the point he is trying to make is that we don't know the initial conditions for how something as complex as the eye evolved. However, just because we haven't solved the problem doesn't mean it is unsolvable. Furthermore, Kitcher questions the "positive" alternative that the anti-selectionists offer in the way of what most likely is a supernatural intelligence. But why is this better explanation for how certain organisms evolved? Kitcher observes that any good theory is flexible enough to undergo change. As a scientific hypothesis a supernatural designer cannot be scrutinized. If this is the case, then it seems that we have reached the end of the road in scientific investigation. This is not good science and Kitcher knows it. The second approach is what Kitcher calls the "computational case argument." Unlike the concrete case, the computational case deals with probabilities instead of the complexity of an organism being intelligently designed. And it appears that the odds are not in favor of [ID] when one seriously considers the way they use probabilities. It all seems like a carefully crafted part of their rhetorical attack on evolution since it appears that they have an agenda in the way they use probability theory to their advantage. But through careful scrutinizing Kitcher walks through several arguments (e.g., blood-clotting mechanism) and ultimately shows why they fail.
The strengths of this book lie in the final chapter which he calls "A Mess of Pottage." The phrase is associated with a story in the Bible where Esau sells his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew. Kitcher uses this phrase as a metaphor for Darwinian evolution to show the concern of a supporter of supernaturalistic religion that they are surrendering something far more valuable and everlasting for something vacuous and temporal. For some the trade-off isn't worth it and instead they choose to remain faithful to their doctrines. What Kitcher does is introduce a "spiritual religion" into the conversation. This way one could have their lentil stew and eat it too. If you take Kitcher's critique of the doctrines of providentialist faith seriously, then this may be the only alternative open to live with Darwin without falling into an extreme secularism or atheism which strips all of the value from religion or falling back into supernaturalism with the problems it contains, most notably its insoluble problem of suffering vis-à-vis an intelligent designer who is omnipotent and omnibenevolent. And you can still have your most cherished stories without taking them as literal historical happenings. It is doubtful that everyone will be satisfied with Kitcher's approach. As a matter of fact, a cursory glance of reviews of his book show that some people cannot accept Kitcher's alternative. I say, so much for those folks. Personally, I found it enlightening and a suitable alternative for the time being. But I also have abandoned supernatural religion for a naturalistic approach called "Panentheism" adopted by philosophers such as Charles Hartshorne, David Ray Griffin, and John B. Cobb just to name a few, so I have less trouble agreeing with Kitcher. The doctrine of Panentheism literally states that "all is in God." So in this panentheistic approach one could use the analogy that we are individual cells in a supercellular organism, i.e. God. It is far beyond the scope of this review to go into detail with this approach. I brought it up because I thought it would be interesting to see how Kitcher would respond to a semi-popular theology such as this. Regardless, it seems clear that in order for one to live with Darwin she is going to have to abandon his faithfulness to supernatural theology.
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Time and the Technosphere: The Law of Time in Human Affairs
José Argüelles
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