A Meaning to Life, Michael Ruse
A Meaning to Life, Michael Ruse
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
Club: $7.99

A Meaning to Life

Author: Michael Ruse

Narrator: John Lee

Unabridged: 5 hr 16 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/31/2019


Synopsis

Does human life have any meaning? Does the question even make sense today? For centuries, the question of the meaning or purpose of human life was assumed by scholars and theologians to have a religious answer: life has meaning because humans were made in the image of a good god. In the 19th century, however, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution changed everything—and the human organism was seen to be more machine than spirit. Ever since, with the rise of science and decline of religious belief, there has been growing interest—and growing doubt—about whether human life really does have meaning. If it does, where might we find it?

The historian and philosopher of science Michael Ruse investigates this question, and wonders whether we can find a new meaning to life within Darwinian views of human nature. If God no longer exists—or if God no longer cares—rather than promoting a bleak nihilism, many Darwinians think we can convert Darwin into a form of secular humanism. Ruse explains that, in a tradition going back to the time of Darwin himself, and represented today by the evolutionist E. O. Wilson, evolution is seen as progress—"from monad to man."

About Michael Ruse

Michael Ruse, born (in 1940) in England, taught philosophy for thirty-five years at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada, and then for twenty years at Florida State University. He is an expert on the history and philosophy of evolutionary biology and has written or edited over sixty books. He is particularly interested in the relationship between science and religion, and was a witness for the ACLU in 1981 in its successful attempt to overturn a law mandating the compulsory teaching of Creationism in Arkansas. He has been awarded a Guggenheim fellowship (USA) and a Killam fellowship (Canada). A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, he has been a Gifford Lecturer and is the recipient of four honorary degrees.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Daniel on July 28, 2019

He doesn't take much of a firm stance, yet his comments on the thoughts of others, the perspectives of various religious ideologies, and importance of consciousness were all well put.......more

Goodreads review by Patrick on March 28, 2020

I guess I agree with his overall points: without god, meaning is what we make it. There's no obstacle to having a meaning to life without god. We could possibly explain our desire for meaning through a Darwinism lens. And I guess it's a clever title that it's not called The Meaning Of Life. But Ruse......more

Goodreads review by Mike on August 20, 2024

A Darwinian look at a possible meaning to life. Not the strongest stance is taking but it is rather honest one.......more