The Essential Mary Midgley

by Midgley; David

• ISBN13: 9780415346412
• ISBN10: 041534641X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-07-19
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Feared and admired in equal measure, Mary Midgely has carefully, yet profoundly challenged many of the scientific and moral orthodoxies of the twentieth century.The Essential Mary Midgleycollects for the first time the very best of this famous philosopher's work, described by theFinancial Timesas "commonsense philosophy of the highest order." This anthology includes carefully chosen selections from her best-selling books, includingWickedness, Beast and Man, Science and PoetryandThe Myths We Live By. It provides a superb and eminently accessible insight into questions she has returned to again and again in her renowned sharp prose, from the roots of human nature, reason and imagination to the myths of science and the importance of holism in thinking about science and the environment. It offers an unrivalled introduction to a great philosopher and a brilliant writer, and also includes a specially written foreword by James Lovelock.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Acknowledgements	x
Introduction	1	(20)
Part One The Roots of Human Nature	21	(122)
1 Have We a Nature?	23	(16)
2 Animals and the Problem of Evil	39	(19)
3 Speech and Other Excellences	58	(20)
4 The Problem of Natural Evil	78	(10)
5 The Elusiveness of Responsibility	88	(12)
6 Selves and Shadows	100	(10)
7 Emotion, Emotiveness and Sentimentality	110	(12)
8 Equality and Outer Darkness	122	(10)
9 Is a Dolphin a Person?	132	(11)
Part Two Philosophizing Out in the World	143	(82)
10 Philosophical Plumbing	146	(7)
11 Wisdom and Contemplation	153	(10)
12 The Withdrawal of Moral Philosophy	163	(21)
13 Escaping from Solitude	184	(14)
14 The Human Heart and Other Organs	198	(20)
15 On Trying Out One's New Sword on a Chance Wayfarer	218	(7)
Part Three The Myths of Science	225	(78)
16 Salvation and the Academics	228	(11)
17 Evolutionary Dramas	239	(7)
18 The Irresistible Escalator	246	(11)
19 The Service of Self and the Service of Kali	257	(12)
20 Biotechnology and the Yuk Factor	269	(12)
21 The Supernatural Engineer	281	(9)
22 The Remarkable Masculine Birth Of Time	290	(13)
Part Four Reason and Imagination	303	(44)
23 The Sources of Thought	306	(13)
24 Atomistic Visions: The Quest for Permanence	319	(11)
25 Putting Our Selves Together Again	330	(10)
26 A Plague on Both Their Houses	340	(7)
Part Five Gaian Thinking: Putting it All Together	347	(32)
27 Individualism and the Concept of Gaia	349	(10)
28 Gods and Goddesses: The Role of Wonder	359	(8)
29 Why there is Such a Thing as Society	367	(6)
30 The Unity of Life	373	(6)
Notes	379	(21)
Bibliography	400	(5)
Index	405