Jennifer Trusted

Beliefs and Biology

Theories of Life and Living

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

The purpose of this book is to show how the science of biology has been influenced by ethical, religious, social, cultural and philosophical beliefs as to the nature of life and our human place in the natural world. It follows that there are accounts of theories and investigations from those of Aristotle to research in molecular biology today. These have been selected to illustrate the theme and there is no intention to present a comprehensive history of biology. It is suggested that ethical beliefs in particular have a greater influence in biology than in other sciences, such as physics and chemistry, and this is because biology includes the study of ourselves and involves us in consideration of the value and purpose of life. Attitudes to non-human life are also coloured by ethical beliefs and though some philosophers, for example Descartes, thought that only human beings were capable of thought and feeling the general view has always been that animals were sentient. Our treatment of animals and our attitudes toward them have also been conditioned by religious views as to the position of humans in relation to the natural world.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Palgrave Macmillan / Palgrave Macmillan UK / Springer Palgrave Macmillan
• Artikelnr. des Verlages: 978-1-4039-1222-0
• 2. Aufl.
• Seitenzahl: 228
• Erscheinungstermin: 15. April 2003
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 216mm x 140mm x 13mm
• Gewicht: 293g
• ISBN-13: 9781403912220
• ISBN-10: 140391222X
• Artikelnr.: 35661722

Autorenporträt

JENNIFER TRUSTED has been a part-time lecturer in the Department of Continuing and Adult Education at the University of Exeter and a part-time tutor for History and Philosophy of Science courses at the Open University. Her publications include The Logic of Scientific Inference, An Introduction to the Philosophy of Knowledge, Free Will and Responsibility, Inquiry and Understanding, Moral Principles and Social Values, and Physics and Metaphysics: Theories of Space and Time.

Inhaltsangabe

Preface Primitive Beliefs, Classical Theories, Early Practices From the Middle Ages to the Renaissance: from Scholasticism to the Study of Nature The Appeal to Physical Explanations Interactions - Fact and Theory Arguments and Counter-arguments: the Creation Idealism and Materialism Natural Selection and Progress Secular Beliefs - Suppositions and Presuppositions Molecular Biology - Metaphorical Animism and a New Teleology