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Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin

Stephen Jay Gould

3.9/5 ( ratings)

The human mind has a trusty device for simplifying a complex world: reduce to averages and identify trends. Although valuable, the risk is that we ignore variations and end up with a skewed view of reality. In evolutionary terms, the result is a view in which humans are the inevitable pinnacle of evolutionary progress, instead of, as Stephen Jay Gould patiently argues, "a cosmic accident that would never arise again if the tree of life could be replanted." The implications of Gould's argument may threaten certain of our philosophical and religious foundations but will in the end provide us with a clearer view of, and a greater appreciation for, the complexities of our world.

Language: English

Pages: 256

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)

Release: September 16, 1997

ISBN: 0609801406

ISBN 13: 9780609801406

Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin

Stephen Jay Gould

3.9/5 ( ratings)

The human mind has a trusty device for simplifying a complex world: reduce to averages and identify trends. Although valuable, the risk is that we ignore variations and end up with a skewed view of reality. In evolutionary terms, the result is a view in which humans are the inevitable pinnacle of evolutionary progress, instead of, as Stephen Jay Gould patiently argues, "a cosmic accident that would never arise again if the tree of life could be replanted." The implications of Gould's argument may threaten certain of our philosophical and religious foundations but will in the end provide us with a clearer view of, and a greater appreciation for, the complexities of our world.

Language: English

Pages: 256

Format: Paperback

Publisher: Three Rivers Press (CA)

Release: September 16, 1997

ISBN: 0609801406

ISBN 13: 9780609801406

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