Description
Essays. History. Science. Nonfiction. HTML:A lyrical and meditative tour de force that traces the evolution of man and science, including the rise of scientific inquiry In The Firmament of Time�??nominated for a National Book Award�??Loren Eiseley offers a series of brilliant, provocative excursions through the history of science. A paleontologist with the soul and skill of a poet, he reflects on the many ways in which the quest for knowledge has been shaped by the changing cultures in which it emerged and developed. Examining the role of metaphor in scientific thought, anticipations of scientific discoveries in the works of poets and novelists, and the �??unconscious conformity�?� of scientific theory to prevailing orthodoxies, he argues for the ongoing relevance of dreams, the imagination, and the irrational to scientif… (more)
Library's review
'The author is a master of the technical matter. His prose is hauntingly beautiful. ...The book tells more about the history of the development of scientific thought than many a heavy tome or set of books.'-Moris E. Opler, New York Herald Tribune
'This is a sensitive and stirring
'It is doubtful if anyone ever said more on so large a subject in so short a compass.'-Joseph Wood Krutch, Saturday Review
'An irresistible inducement to partake of the almost forgotten excitements of reflection.'-The New Yorker
'His clear expositions constitute a brilliant history of mans's scientific thought about the world in which he lives.'-American Scholar
Contents
I How the World Became Natural
II How Death Became Natural
III How Life Becam Natural
IV How Man Became Natural
V How Human is Man?
VI How Natural is 'Natural'?
Bibliography