The Purpose of it AllThis book, an expanded version of eight lectures the author delivered in Oxford in November 1989, offers an answer to the question: "What is the purpose of life?" True to his reputation as an internationally acclaimed philosopher and historian of science, the author casts in a new mould the argument from design. In doing so he submits its traditional and modern forms, among them the anthropic principle and process philosophies, to insightful and unsparing criticism. He shows that both historically and conceptually the idea of purposeful progress is rooted in the Biblical recognition of free will as a carrier of eternal responsibilities and prospects. |
Contents
PROGRESS FOR SCANT PURPOSE | 3 |
PURPOSELESS EVOLUTION | 32 |
PATTERN VERSUS DESIGN | 59 |
Copyright | |
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Alexander animal anthropic principle appear atomic belief Bergson biological biologist C. S. Lewis century chapter Charles Darwin Christ Christian claim consciousness context Copenhagen interpretation Copernicus cosmic cosmological cosmological argument course creation Creator Crystal Palace Darwinian Darwinists design argument divine earth Einstein élan vital emergence Essays eternal evolution evolutionary existence fact freedom Gabor Gifford Lectures God's Gould human Ibid idea of progress intellectual J. B. S. Haldane large number Lectures less Letters living logical London man's matter means mechanistic metaphor metaphysical mind modern moral natural selection Newman objective organism Origin Oxford Paley Paley's perspective philosophical physical physicists planets pose proof quantum mechanics question Quoted reality reason reference remark revealed scientific scientist sense of purpose Socrates soul specific Stent T. H. Huxley teleology theory things thought tion turn ultimate University Press Whitehead wonder word York