Third Culture: Beyond the Scientific Revolution

by John Brockman

Paperback, 1996

Status

Available

Call number

500

Publication

Touchstone (1996), Edition: 1st Touchstone Ed, Paperback

Description

The Third Culture is an eye-opening look at the intellectual culture of today - in which science, not literature or philosophy, takes center stage in the debate over human nature and the nature of the universe. Thirty-five years ago, C.P. Snow, in a now famous essay, wrote about the polarization of the "two cultures"--Literary intellectuals on the one hand, and scientists on the other. Although he hoped for the emergence of a "third culture" that would bridge the gap, it is only recently - when books such as Daniel C. Dennett's Consciousness Explained, Stephen Jay Gould's Wonderful Life, Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, Roger Penrose's The Emperor's New Mind, and Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct became bestsellers - that science has changed the intellectual landscape.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member szarka
Brockman ties together material from interviews with scientists working on problems related to complexity in different disciplines to build an interesting picture of the state of the art in the mid-90s. This is one of those books that will make you want to go read a bunch of other books.
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[2005-12-25]
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LibraryThing member gbsallery
Massively illuminating, wide-ranging summary of the points of debate and research across the scientific spectrum (as of 15 years ago). I wonder whether there's a follow-up? Even if the essays presented do not quite bridge the gap between C P Snow's "Two Cultures", they go a long way toward a basic
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curriculum for all who are interested in the general state of science; the way each essay is followed by reactions from various other contributors really illustrates the idea that interesting things happen at the boundaries of things.
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Language

Physical description

416 p.; 8.4 inches

ISBN

0684823446 / 9780684823447
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