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A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings
About this book
Why do we think ourselves superior to all other animals? Are we right to think so? In this book, Michael Ruse explores these questions in religion, science and philosophy. Some people think that the world is an organism - and that humans, as its highest part, have a natural value (this view appeals particularly to people of religion). Others think that the world is a machine - and that we therefore have responsibility for making our own value judgements (including judgements about ourselves). Ruse provides a compelling analysis of these two rival views and the age-old conflict between them. In a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion, he draws on Darwinism and existentialism to argue that only the view that the world is a machine does justice to our humanity. This new series offers short and personal perspectives by expert thinkers on topics that we all encounter in our everyday lives.
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access A Philosopher Looks at Human Beings by Michael Ruse in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Philosophy & Ethics in Science. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half-title
- Series information
- Title page
- Copyright information
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Status of Humans
- 2 Mechanism versus Organicism
- 3 Darwinian Evolution
- 4 Mechanism and Human Nature
- 5 Organicism and Human Nature
- 6 The Problem of Progress
- 7 Morality for the Organicist
- 8 Morality for the Mechanist
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
