The Difference of Man and the Difference It Makes

by Adler, Mortimer J.

• ISBN13: 9780823215355
• ISBN10: 0823215350
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-01-01
• Publisher: Ingram Publisher Services, Inc.

Summary

In this classic work, Adler explores how man differs from all other things in the universe, bringing to bear both philosophical insight and informed scientific hypotheses concerning the biological and behavioral characteristics of mainkind. Rapid advances in science and technology and the abstract concepts of that influence on man and human value systems are lucidly outlined by Adler, as he touches on the effect of industrialization, and the clash of cultures and value systems brought about by increased communication between previously isolated groups of people. Among the other problems this study addresses are the scientific achievements in biology and physics which have raised fundamental questions about humanity's essential nature, especially the discoveries in the bilogical relatedness of all living things. Thrown into high relief is humanity's struggle to determine its unique status in the natual world and its value in the world it has created. Ultimately, Adler's work develops an approach to the separation between scientific and philosophical questions which stands as a model of thought on philosophical considerations of new scientific discoveries and its consequences for the human person.

Author Biography

Mortimer J. Adler was the director of the Institute for Philosophical Research in Chicago and a member of the board of editors of the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

Table of Contents

Author's Preface to the 1993 Edition
Introduction
Preface
The Modes of Difference
The Question About Man	p. 3
The Possible Answers	p. 19
The State of the Question, Past, Present, and Future	p. 36
The Difference of Man
The Philosophers Give All the Answers and Establish None	p. 51
Why Darwin Answered the Question As He Did	p. 66
The Line Drawn by the Fossils	p. 81
The Laboratory Findings and Their Interpretation	p. 99
The Pivotal Fact: Human Speech	p. 112
The Pivotal Issue: Language and Thought	p. 125
Resolution of the Pivotal Issue (I): The Negative Argument	p. 141
Resolution of the Pivotal Issue (II): The Positive Argument	p. 165
The Efforts of the Philosophers to Resolve the One Issue That Remains	p. 191
The Three Prongs of the Cartesian Challenge	p. 227
The Third Prong: From Descartes to Turing	p. 240
The Future Resolution of the One Remaining Issue	p. 247
The Difference It Makes
To Whom It Makes a Difference	p. 255
The Consequences for Action	p. 259
The Consequences for Thought	p. 281
Notes	p. 297
References	p. 371
Index of Proper Names	p. 391
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