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This eloquent volume reconciles our contemporary scientific understanding of reality with our timeless spiritual yearnings. Addressing ideas like evolution, emotions, sexuality, and death,
The Sacred Depths of Nature allows even non-scientists to appreciate that the origins of life and the universe are no less meaningful in light of our scientific understanding of them. This new edition offers a deepened consideration of emergent properties and emergent dynamics, as well as an exploration of their role as the generators of life's complexity. Goodenough also expands upon the ethic of ecomorality in a new chapter, and incorporates new quotes, figures, and poems in her analysis.
List of contents
- Personal 1997 (first edition)
- Personal 2022 (second edition)
- Introduction
- How This Book Is Put Together
- 1 Origins of the Earth
- 2 Origins of Life
- 3 How Life Works
- 4 How an Organism Works
- 5 How Evolution Works
- 6 The Evolution of Biodiversity
- 7 Awareness and the I-Self
- 8 Interpretations and Feelings
- 9 Sex
- 10 Intimacy
- 11 Multicellularity and Death
- 12 Human Evolution
- 13 Human Morality and Ecomorality
- Epilogue: Emergent Religious Principles
- The Religious Naturalist Orientation
- Endnotes: Legends for Cover Image and Chapter Frontispieces
- Endnotes: References and Further Reading/Resources
About the author
Ursula Goodenough is Professor Emerita of Biology at Washington University. One of America's leading cell biologists, she is the author of a bestselling textbook on genetics, is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, and has served as President of the American Society of Cell Biology and of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science. She lives in Chilmark, Massachusetts, on Martha's Vineyard.
Summary
For many of us, the great scientific discoveries of the modern age--the Big Bang, evolution, quantum physics, relativity--point to an existence that is bleak, devoid of meaning, pointless. But in The Sacred Depths of Nature, eminent biologist Ursula Goodenough shows us that the scientific world view need not be a source of despair. Indeed, it can be a wellspring of solace and hope.
This eloquent volume reconciles the modern scientific understanding of reality with our timeless spiritual yearnings for reverence and continuity. Looking at topics such as evolution, emotions, sexuality, and death, Goodenough writes with rich, uncluttered detail about the workings of nature in general and of living creatures in particular. Her luminous clarity makes it possible for even non-scientists to appreciate that the origins of life and the universe are no less meaningful because of our increasingly scientific understanding of them. At the end of each chapter, Goodenough's spiritual reflections respond to the complexity of nature with vibrant emotional intensity and a sense of reverent wonder. This new edition offers a deepened consideration of emergent properties and emergent dynamics, as well as an exploration of their role as the generators of life's complexity. Goodenough also expands upon the ethic of ecomorality in a new chapter, and incorporates new quotes, figures, and poems in her analysis.
A beautifully written celebration of molecular biology with meditations on the spiritual and religious meaning that can be found at the heart of science, this volume makes an important contribution to the ongoing dialog between science and religion. This book will engage anyone who was ever mesmerized--or terrified--by the mysteries of existence.
Additional text
Extensively revised with full-color photos and diagrams, each chapter begins with a story about the dynamics of Nature, including the origins and evolution of the universe and life on Earth. The book's construction is like a science-based "daily devotional" and can best be read as such. It is rich and detailed enough that you may want to read it over time. Like the first edition, each topic is carefully yet poetically examined objectively through the lens of science, followed by the author's personal reflections on each.
