Quest for the Unity of Knowledge

Quest for the Unity of Knowledge

Author: David Lowenthal

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-11-01

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 0429876432

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Is unity of knowledge possible? Is it desirable? Two rival visions clash. One seeks a single way of explaining everything known and knowable about ourselves and the universe. The other champions diverse modes of understanding served by disparate kinds of evidence. Contrary views pit science against the arts and humanities. Scientists generally laud and seek convergence. Artists and humanists deplore amalgamation as a threat to humane values. These opposing perspectives flamed into hostility in the 1950s "Two Cultures" clash. They culminate today in new efforts to conjoin insights into physical nature and human culture, and new fears lest such syntheses submerge what the arts and humanities most value. This book, stemming from David Lowenthal’s inaugural Stockholm Archipelago Lectures, explores the Two Cultures quarrel’s underlying ideologies. Lowenthal shows how ingrained bias toward unity or diversity shapes major issues in education, religion, genetics, race relations, heritage governance, and environmental policy. Aimed at a general academic audience, Quest for the Unity of Knowledge especially targets those in conservation, ecology, history of ideas, museology, and heritage studies.


Book Synopsis Quest for the Unity of Knowledge by : David Lowenthal

Download or read book Quest for the Unity of Knowledge written by David Lowenthal and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-11-01 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is unity of knowledge possible? Is it desirable? Two rival visions clash. One seeks a single way of explaining everything known and knowable about ourselves and the universe. The other champions diverse modes of understanding served by disparate kinds of evidence. Contrary views pit science against the arts and humanities. Scientists generally laud and seek convergence. Artists and humanists deplore amalgamation as a threat to humane values. These opposing perspectives flamed into hostility in the 1950s "Two Cultures" clash. They culminate today in new efforts to conjoin insights into physical nature and human culture, and new fears lest such syntheses submerge what the arts and humanities most value. This book, stemming from David Lowenthal’s inaugural Stockholm Archipelago Lectures, explores the Two Cultures quarrel’s underlying ideologies. Lowenthal shows how ingrained bias toward unity or diversity shapes major issues in education, religion, genetics, race relations, heritage governance, and environmental policy. Aimed at a general academic audience, Quest for the Unity of Knowledge especially targets those in conservation, ecology, history of ideas, museology, and heritage studies.

Consilience

Consilience

Author: E. O. Wilson

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2014-11-26

Total Pages: 485

ISBN-13: 0804154066

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "A dazzling journey across the sciences and humanities in search of deep laws to unite them." —The Wall Street Journal One of our greatest scientists—and the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for On Human Nature and The Ants—gives us a work of visionary importance that may be the crowning achievement of his career. In Consilience (a word that originally meant "jumping together"), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. He explores the chemistry of the mind and the genetic bases of culture. He postulates the biological principles underlying works of art from cave-drawings to Lolita. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.


Book Synopsis Consilience by : E. O. Wilson

Download or read book Consilience written by E. O. Wilson and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2014-11-26 with total page 485 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "A dazzling journey across the sciences and humanities in search of deep laws to unite them." —The Wall Street Journal One of our greatest scientists—and the winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for On Human Nature and The Ants—gives us a work of visionary importance that may be the crowning achievement of his career. In Consilience (a word that originally meant "jumping together"), Edward O. Wilson renews the Enlightenment's search for a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to biology, the social sciences and the humanities. Using the natural sciences as his model, Wilson forges dramatic links between fields. He explores the chemistry of the mind and the genetic bases of culture. He postulates the biological principles underlying works of art from cave-drawings to Lolita. Presenting the latest findings in prose of wonderful clarity and oratorical eloquence, and synthesizing it into a dazzling whole, Consilience is science in the path-clearing traditions of Newton, Einstein, and Richard Feynman.

Knowledge

Knowledge

Author: Steve Fuller

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-05-08

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 1317592468

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The theory of knowledge, or epistemology, is often regarded as a dry topic that bears little relation to actual knowledge practices. Knowledge: The Philosophical Quest in History addresses this perception by showing the roots, developments and prospects of modern epistemology from its beginnings in the nineteenth century to the present day. Beginning with an introduction to the central questions and problems in theory of knowledge, Steve Fuller goes on to demonstrate that contemporary epistemology is enriched by its interdisciplinarity, analysing keys areas including: Epistemology as Cognitive Economics Epistemology as Divine Psychology Epistemology as Philosophy of Science Epistemology as Sociology of Science Epistemology and Postmodernism. A wide-ranging and historically-informed assessment of the ways in which man has - and continues to - pursue, question, contest, expand and shape knowledge, this book is essential reading anyone in the Humanities and Social Sciences interested in the history and practical application of epistemology.


Book Synopsis Knowledge by : Steve Fuller

Download or read book Knowledge written by Steve Fuller and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-05-08 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The theory of knowledge, or epistemology, is often regarded as a dry topic that bears little relation to actual knowledge practices. Knowledge: The Philosophical Quest in History addresses this perception by showing the roots, developments and prospects of modern epistemology from its beginnings in the nineteenth century to the present day. Beginning with an introduction to the central questions and problems in theory of knowledge, Steve Fuller goes on to demonstrate that contemporary epistemology is enriched by its interdisciplinarity, analysing keys areas including: Epistemology as Cognitive Economics Epistemology as Divine Psychology Epistemology as Philosophy of Science Epistemology as Sociology of Science Epistemology and Postmodernism. A wide-ranging and historically-informed assessment of the ways in which man has - and continues to - pursue, question, contest, expand and shape knowledge, this book is essential reading anyone in the Humanities and Social Sciences interested in the history and practical application of epistemology.

The Unity of Knowledge and Action

The Unity of Knowledge and Action

Author: Warren G. Frisina

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 0791488667

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Building upon insights from the sixteenth century Neo-Confucian Wang Yang-ming, the American pragmatist John Dewey, and the process philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, this book argues that knowledge is best understood as a form of action. Many of the most puzzling philosophic problems in the modern era can be traced to our tendency to assume that knowledge is separate from action. Letting go of the sharp knowledge-action distinction, however, makes possible a more coherent theory of knowledge that is more adaptive to the way we experience one another, the world, and ourselves. By responding directly to problems raised by contemporary thinkers like Charles Taylor, Donald Davidson, Richard Rorty, Daniel Dennett, Mark Johnson, George Lakoff, and Robert Neville, this book maps out a strategy for making progress in the contemporary quest for a "nonrepresentational theory of knowledge."


Book Synopsis The Unity of Knowledge and Action by : Warren G. Frisina

Download or read book The Unity of Knowledge and Action written by Warren G. Frisina and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building upon insights from the sixteenth century Neo-Confucian Wang Yang-ming, the American pragmatist John Dewey, and the process philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, this book argues that knowledge is best understood as a form of action. Many of the most puzzling philosophic problems in the modern era can be traced to our tendency to assume that knowledge is separate from action. Letting go of the sharp knowledge-action distinction, however, makes possible a more coherent theory of knowledge that is more adaptive to the way we experience one another, the world, and ourselves. By responding directly to problems raised by contemporary thinkers like Charles Taylor, Donald Davidson, Richard Rorty, Daniel Dennett, Mark Johnson, George Lakoff, and Robert Neville, this book maps out a strategy for making progress in the contemporary quest for a "nonrepresentational theory of knowledge."

The Transcendent Unity of Religions

The Transcendent Unity of Religions

Author: Frithjof Schuon

Publisher: Quest Books

Published: 1984-01-01

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 9780835605878

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Schuon asserts that to transcend religious differences, we must explore the esoteric nature of the spiritual path back to the Divine Oneness at the heart of all religions.


Book Synopsis The Transcendent Unity of Religions by : Frithjof Schuon

Download or read book The Transcendent Unity of Religions written by Frithjof Schuon and published by Quest Books. This book was released on 1984-01-01 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Schuon asserts that to transcend religious differences, we must explore the esoteric nature of the spiritual path back to the Divine Oneness at the heart of all religions.

Complicated Presence

Complicated Presence

Author: Jussi Backman

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2015-03-16

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 1438456506

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From its Presocratic beginnings, Western philosophy concerned itself with a quest for unity both in terms of the systematization of knowledge and as a metaphysical search for a unity of being—two trends that can be regarded as converging and culminating in Hegel's system of absolute idealism. Since Hegel, however, the philosophical quest for unity has become increasingly problematic. Jussi Backman returns to that question in this book, examining the place of the unity of being in the work of Heidegger. Backman sketches a consistent picture of Heidegger as a thinker of unity who throughout his career in different ways attempted to come to terms with both Parmenides's and Aristotle's fundamental questions concerning the singularity or multiplicity of being—attempting to do so, however, in a "postmetaphysical" manner rooted in rather than above and beyond particular, situated beings. Through his analysis, Backman offers a new way of understanding the basic continuity of Heidegger's philosophical project and the interconnectedness of such key Heideggerian concepts as ecstatic temporality, the ontological difference, the turn (Kehre), the event (Ereignis), the fourfold (Geviert), and the analysis of modern technology.


Book Synopsis Complicated Presence by : Jussi Backman

Download or read book Complicated Presence written by Jussi Backman and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2015-03-16 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From its Presocratic beginnings, Western philosophy concerned itself with a quest for unity both in terms of the systematization of knowledge and as a metaphysical search for a unity of being—two trends that can be regarded as converging and culminating in Hegel's system of absolute idealism. Since Hegel, however, the philosophical quest for unity has become increasingly problematic. Jussi Backman returns to that question in this book, examining the place of the unity of being in the work of Heidegger. Backman sketches a consistent picture of Heidegger as a thinker of unity who throughout his career in different ways attempted to come to terms with both Parmenides's and Aristotle's fundamental questions concerning the singularity or multiplicity of being—attempting to do so, however, in a "postmetaphysical" manner rooted in rather than above and beyond particular, situated beings. Through his analysis, Backman offers a new way of understanding the basic continuity of Heidegger's philosophical project and the interconnectedness of such key Heideggerian concepts as ecstatic temporality, the ontological difference, the turn (Kehre), the event (Ereignis), the fourfold (Geviert), and the analysis of modern technology.

Branching Off

Branching Off

Author: Vlad Alexandrescu

Publisher: Zeta Books

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 417

ISBN-13: 9731997431

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Book Synopsis Branching Off by : Vlad Alexandrescu

Download or read book Branching Off written by Vlad Alexandrescu and published by Zeta Books. This book was released on 2009 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Dialogues with Scientists and Sages

Dialogues with Scientists and Sages

Author: Renée Weber

Publisher: Routledge & Kegan Paul Books

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13:

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This is the first book in which contemporary scientists and mystics share with us-in their own words-their views on space, time, matter, energy, life, consciousness, creation and on our place in the scheme of things. The book is also the story of an American philosopher who-with these dialogues-ventures into ground-breaking territory, and of her search in America, Europe, India and Nepal for people whose work is at the center of our understanding of reality.


Book Synopsis Dialogues with Scientists and Sages by : Renée Weber

Download or read book Dialogues with Scientists and Sages written by Renée Weber and published by Routledge & Kegan Paul Books. This book was released on 1986 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book in which contemporary scientists and mystics share with us-in their own words-their views on space, time, matter, energy, life, consciousness, creation and on our place in the scheme of things. The book is also the story of an American philosopher who-with these dialogues-ventures into ground-breaking territory, and of her search in America, Europe, India and Nepal for people whose work is at the center of our understanding of reality.

Mapping Scientific Frontiers

Mapping Scientific Frontiers

Author: Chaomei Chen

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2013-07-30

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 1447151283

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This is an examination of the history and the state of the art of the quest for visualizing scientific knowledge and the dynamics of its development. Through an interdisciplinary perspective this book presents profound visions, pivotal advances, and insightful contributions made by generations of researchers and professionals, which portrays a holistic view of the underlying principles and mechanisms of the development of science. This updated and extended second edition: highlights the latest advances in mapping scientific frontiers examines the foundations of strategies, principles, and design patterns provides an integrated and holistic account of major developments across disciplinary boundaries “Anyone who tries to follow the exponential growth of the literature on citation analysis and scientometrics knows how difficult it is to keep pace. Chaomei Chen has identified the significant methods and applications in visual graphics and made them clear to the uninitiated. Derek Price would have loved this book which not only pays homage to him but also to the key players in information science and a wide variety of others in the sociology and history of science.” – Eugene Garfield “This is a wide ranging book on information visualization, with a specific focus on science mapping. Science mapping is still in its infancy and many intellectual challenges remain to be investigated and many of which are outlined in the final chapter. In this new edition Chaomei Chen has provided an essential text, useful both as a primer for new entrants and as a comprehensive overview of recent developments for the seasoned practitioner.” – Henry Small Chaomei Chen is a Professor in the College of Information Science and Technology at Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA, and a ChangJiang Scholar at Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Information Visualization and the author of Turning Points: The Nature of Creativity (Springer, 2012) and Information Visualization: Beyond the Horizon (Springer, 2004, 2006).


Book Synopsis Mapping Scientific Frontiers by : Chaomei Chen

Download or read book Mapping Scientific Frontiers written by Chaomei Chen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-07-30 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an examination of the history and the state of the art of the quest for visualizing scientific knowledge and the dynamics of its development. Through an interdisciplinary perspective this book presents profound visions, pivotal advances, and insightful contributions made by generations of researchers and professionals, which portrays a holistic view of the underlying principles and mechanisms of the development of science. This updated and extended second edition: highlights the latest advances in mapping scientific frontiers examines the foundations of strategies, principles, and design patterns provides an integrated and holistic account of major developments across disciplinary boundaries “Anyone who tries to follow the exponential growth of the literature on citation analysis and scientometrics knows how difficult it is to keep pace. Chaomei Chen has identified the significant methods and applications in visual graphics and made them clear to the uninitiated. Derek Price would have loved this book which not only pays homage to him but also to the key players in information science and a wide variety of others in the sociology and history of science.” – Eugene Garfield “This is a wide ranging book on information visualization, with a specific focus on science mapping. Science mapping is still in its infancy and many intellectual challenges remain to be investigated and many of which are outlined in the final chapter. In this new edition Chaomei Chen has provided an essential text, useful both as a primer for new entrants and as a comprehensive overview of recent developments for the seasoned practitioner.” – Henry Small Chaomei Chen is a Professor in the College of Information Science and Technology at Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA, and a ChangJiang Scholar at Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Information Visualization and the author of Turning Points: The Nature of Creativity (Springer, 2012) and Information Visualization: Beyond the Horizon (Springer, 2004, 2006).

John Dewey's Quest for Unity

John Dewey's Quest for Unity

Author: Richard M. Gale

Publisher:

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13:

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In this appreciation of John Dewey's enormous contribution to American philosophy, Richard M Gale argues that what makes Dewey's philosophy unique and exciting is his attempt to synthesize what Gale calls 'Prometheanism' with Dewey's unique brand of mysticism. As Gale points out, Dewey celebrated human beings as Promethean creators of meaning and value through the active control of nature. But at the same time, Dewey created a synthesis whereby a sort of mystical unifying experience results from the subject's active engagement with the environment through inquiry. Paradoxically, the active subject becomes passive in this synthesis to achieve unification with a shared spiritual reality, which Dewey expressed as a 'common faith'. Gale goes on to show that for Dewey artistic creation is the paradigm of this synthesis. In a work of art, both artist and all who appreciate the creation are united in a shared experience that is the result of an active, creative engagement with the environment. But this synthesis also holds for our efforts to gain knowledge and act morally. This in-depth analysis of one of America's great philosophers will make a valuable addition to the libraries of students and scholars of John Dewey and American philosophy.


Book Synopsis John Dewey's Quest for Unity by : Richard M. Gale

Download or read book John Dewey's Quest for Unity written by Richard M. Gale and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this appreciation of John Dewey's enormous contribution to American philosophy, Richard M Gale argues that what makes Dewey's philosophy unique and exciting is his attempt to synthesize what Gale calls 'Prometheanism' with Dewey's unique brand of mysticism. As Gale points out, Dewey celebrated human beings as Promethean creators of meaning and value through the active control of nature. But at the same time, Dewey created a synthesis whereby a sort of mystical unifying experience results from the subject's active engagement with the environment through inquiry. Paradoxically, the active subject becomes passive in this synthesis to achieve unification with a shared spiritual reality, which Dewey expressed as a 'common faith'. Gale goes on to show that for Dewey artistic creation is the paradigm of this synthesis. In a work of art, both artist and all who appreciate the creation are united in a shared experience that is the result of an active, creative engagement with the environment. But this synthesis also holds for our efforts to gain knowledge and act morally. This in-depth analysis of one of America's great philosophers will make a valuable addition to the libraries of students and scholars of John Dewey and American philosophy.