Download or read book Francis Huxley and the Human Condition written by Ron Roberts and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-08 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focused on the life and work of Francis Huxley (1923–2016), this book offers an exploration of the search to understand the human condition, one which is simultaneously biographical, philosophical, cultural, historical, political and epistemological. A member of the illustrious Huxley dynasty, Francis Huxley forged an unusual and innovative career, making key contributions to social anthropology, mental health care and the protection of indigenous peoples. His story reveals how the production and dissemination of ideas can be understood in an intergenerational context which is familial and sociological. The book reflects on the contemporary relevance of Huxley’s work, forging links between the central philosophical, cultural, scientific and political themes that dominate the turbulent early 21st century and the enduring questions that have driven human beings in the search to understand themselves and their place in the world. It will be of interest to scholars from across the social sciences and humanities.
Download or read book Our Posthuman Future written by Francis Fukuyama and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2017-06-15 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is a baby whose personality has been chosen from a gene supermarket still a human? If we choose what we create what happens to morality? Is this the end of human nature? The dramatic advances in DNA technology over the last few years are the stuff of science fiction. It is now not only possible to clone human beings it is happening. For the first time since the creation of the earth four billion years ago, or the emergence of mankind 10 million years ago, people will be able to choose their children's' sex, height, colour, personality traits and intelligence. It will even be possible to create 'superhumans' by mixing human genes with those of other animals for extra strength or longevity. But is this desirable? What are the moral and political consequences? Will it mean anything to talk about 'human nature' any more? Is this the end of human beings? Our Posthuman Future is a passionate analysis of the greatest political and moral problem ever to face the human race.
Download or read book Those Barren Leaves written by Aldous Huxley and published by Standard Ebooks. This book was released on 2022-03-04T03:01:11Z with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mrs. Aldwinkle, an English aristocrat of a certain age, has purchased a mansion in the Italian countryside. She wishes to bring a salon of intellectual luminaries into her orbit, and to that end she invites a strange cast of characters to spend time with her in her palazzo: Irene, her young niece; Ms. Thriplow, a governess-turned-novelist; Mr. Calamy, a handsome young man of great privilege and even greater ennui; Mr. Cardan, a worldly gentleman whose main talent seems to be the enjoyment of life; Hovenden, a young motorcar-obsessed lord with a speech impediment; and Mr. Falx, a socialist leader. To this unlikely cast is soon added Mr. Chelifer, an author with an especially florid, overwrought style that is wasted on his day job as editor of The Rabbit Fancier’s Gazette, and the Elvers, a scheming brother who is the guardian of his mentally-challenged sister. As this unlikely group mingles, they discuss a great many grand topics: love, art, language, life, culture. Yet very early on the reader comes to realize that behind the pompousness of their elaborate discussions lies nothing but vacuity—these characters are a satire of the self-important intellectuals of Huxley’s era. His skewering of their intellectual barrenness continues as the group moves on to a trip around the surrounding country, in a satire of the Grand Tour tradition. The party brings their English snobbery out in full force as they traipse around Rome, sure of nothing else except in their belief that Italy is culturally superior simply because it’s Italy. As the vacation winds down, we’re left with a biting lampoon of the elites who suppose themselves to be at the height of art and culture—the kinds of personalities that arise in every generation, sure of their own greatness but unable to actually contribute anything to the world of art and culture that they feel is so important. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.
Download or read book The Visual Process written by Hugh Davson and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2014-05-12 with total page 819 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Eye: Volume 2, The Visual Process is a compendium of papers that describes the physiology of the eye, particularly the visual functions, the photobiology of the visual process, and the visual pathway. One paper describes the light stimuli used in physiological experiments concerning vision in terms of their spectral energy distribution, particularly the amounts of light absorbed by the photosensitive substances contained in the retinal receptors. Another paper explains the mosaic-like arrangement of the receptors and the variations of this mosaic in the different regions of the retina, including the Purkinje phenomenon which can cause errors in visual measurements. One paper examines the directional properties of the rods at long wavelengths and the theory of the Stiles-Crawford effect. Other papers investigate the limits of the visible spectrum, the scotopic luminous efficiency, theories of dark-adaptation, as well as the minimum retinal illumination, the minimum flux of energy, and the minimum amount necessary for vision. One paper notes that whereas one rod can be stimulated by one quantum (a discrete process involving one pigment molecule), it is not sufficient to make a human subject see a light stimulus. The compendium is invaluable for researchers and investigators involved in physiology, psychology, ophthalmology, and in all branches of ocular physiology.
Download or read book The Huxleys written by Alison Bashford and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2022-11-16 with total page 570 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New Yorker and Economist Best Book of the Year Two hundred years of modern science and culture told through one family history. This momentous biography tells the story of the Huxleys: the Victorian natural historian T. H. Huxley (“Darwin’s Bulldog”) and his grandson, the scientist, conservationist, and zoologist Julian Huxley. Between them, they communicated to the world the great modern story of the theory of evolution by natural selection. In The Huxleys, celebrated historian Alison Bashford writes seamlessly about these omnivorous intellects together, almost as if they were a single man whose long, vital life bookended the colossal shifts in world history from the age of sail to the Space Age, and from colonial wars to world wars to the cold war. The Huxleys’ specialty was evolution in all its forms—at the grandest level of species, deep time, the Earth, and at the most personal and intimate. They illuminated the problems and wonders of the modern world and they fundamentally shaped how we see ourselves, as individuals and as a species. But perhaps their greatest subject was themselves. Bashford’s engaging, brilliantly ambitious book interweaves the Huxleys’ momentous public achievements with their private triumphs and tragedies. The result is the history of a family, but also a history of humanity grappling with its place in nature. This book shows how much we owe—for better or worse—to the unceasing curiosity, self-absorption, and enthusiasm of a small, strange group of men and women.
Download or read book The Human Situation written by Aldous Huxley and published by HarperCollins Publishers. This book was released on 1977 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Inquiries Into Human Faculty and Its Development written by Francis Galton and published by . This book was released on 1883 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The word Eugenics first appears in this book. Also, in this book, Galton shows mathematically "the results of his experiments on the relations between the powers of visual imagery and of abstract thought."
Download or read book Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley and published by Rosetta Books. This book was released on 2011-07-01 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This classic novel of a perfectly engineered society is “one of the most prophetic dystopian works of the twentieth century” (The Wall Street Journal). Half a millennium from now, in the World State, the watchword is that every one belongs to every one else. No matter what class of human you are bred to be—from the intellectual Alphas to the Epsilons who provide the manual labor—you are a part of the efficient, well-oiled whole. You are nourished, secure, and blissfully serene thanks to the freely distributed drug called soma. And while sex is strongly encouraged, the old way of procreation is forbidden, eliminating even the pains of childbirth. But when a man and woman journey beyond these confines to where the “savages” reside, and bring back two outsiders, the cracks begin to show. Named as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the twentieth century by the Modern Library, Brave New World is one of the first truly dystopian novels. Influenced by the historic events of Huxley’s era yet as relevant today as ever, it is a remarkable depiction of the conflict between progress and the human spirit. “Chilling. . . . That he gave us the dark side of genetic engineering in 1932 is amazing.” —Providence Journal-Bulletin “It is a frightening experience, indeed, to discover how much of his satirical prediction of a distant future became reality in so short a time.” —The New York Times Book Review
Download or read book The Perennial Philosophy written by Aldous Huxley and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-02-14 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An inspired gathering of religious writings that reveals the "divine reality" common to all faiths, collected by Aldous Huxley "The Perennial Philosophy," Aldous Huxley writes, "may be found among the traditional lore of peoples in every region of the world, and in its fully developed forms it has a place in every one of the higher religions." With great wit and stunning intellect—drawing on a diverse array of faiths, including Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christian mysticism, and Islam—Huxley examines the spiritual beliefs of various religious traditions and explains how they are united by a common human yearning to experience the divine. The Perennial Philosophy includes selections from Meister Eckhart, Rumi, and Lao Tzu, as well as the Bhagavad Gita, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Diamond Sutra, and Upanishads, among many others.
Download or read book The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell written by Aldous Huxley and published by . This book was released on 2017-03-22 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two great classics come to life in one of the most loved books in American History. Remastered to include Illustrated exercises, a biography of Aldous Huxley, and including the full essay of Heaven and Hell, and The Doors to Perception, this book is a great gift to those who are unfamiliar with his work, or may have forgotten about Huxley's famous contemplations of life and death. - ZKBS(c) All Rights Reserved.
Download or read book The Educational Prophecies of Aldous Huxley written by Ronald Zigler and published by . This book was released on 2016-11-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Visionary for the twentieth century -- Brave new world : pseudo-utopian vision and populist nightmare -- Ape and essence : dystopian neurotheological vision and theocratic nightmare -- An Island for the new age : a true utopian vision -- The future of our prophecies
Download or read book Island written by Aldous Huxley and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Parapsychology written by David Groome and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2024-06-28 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new edition of Parapsychology continues to challenge and provoke readers with some of psychology’s most puzzling phenomena. Whether believers or sceptics, the book provides readers with the opportunity to further their understanding of the paranormal, bridging the gap between traditional psychology and fringe areas. With contributions from leading paranormal researchers, this edition has been thoroughly updated and includes new chapters on dreams, precognition and prediction of future events and anthropology. The book has been reorganised to help readers frame each phenomenon within the context of cognition, science and religion, and chapters are structured around science and experience, cognition and belief, religious belief and science, and further topics in parapsychology. The book covers a range of topics that can be considered parapsychological; including reincarnation, entity encounters, astrology, mediumship and near-death experiences. Providing a balanced introduction to parapsychology that explores the strengths and limitations of scientific investigation, this is essential reading for students and professionals in the field, along with anyone interested in learning more about the science of the paranormal.
Download or read book The Philosophy of Human Nature written by Howard P. Kainz and published by Open Court. This book was released on 2015-11-05 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What, exactly, is human nature? What makes humans different from animals (if there is any difference)? In this book, Howard Kainz presents a philosophical analysis of the various concepts of human nature and the many controversies that have surrounded them for centuries. He explores issues such as whether human beings are truly free, whether human instincts differ from animal instincts, and the realities of human maturity.
Download or read book Fear Wonder and Science in the New Age of Reproductive Biotechnology written by Scott Gilbert and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-08 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does one make decisions today about in vitro fertilization, abortion, egg freezing, surrogacy, and other matters of reproduction? This book provides the intellectual and emotional intelligence to help individuals make informed choices amid misinformation and competing claims. Scott Gilbert and Clara Pinto-Correia speak to the couple trying to become pregnant, the woman contemplating an abortion, and the student searching for sound information about human sex and reproduction. Their book is an enlightening read for men as well as for women, describing in clear terms how babies come into existence through both natural and assisted reproductive pathways. They update “the talk” for the twenty-first century: the birds, the bees, and the Petri dishes. Fear, Wonder, and Science in the New Age of Reproductive Biotechnology first covers the most recent and well-grounded scientific conclusions about fertilization and early human embryology. It then discusses the reasons why some of the major forms of assisted reproductive technologies were invented, how they are used, and what they can and cannot accomplish. Most important, the authors explore the emotional side of using these technologies, focusing on those who have emptied their emotions and bank accounts in a valiant effort to conceive a child. This work of science and human biology is informed by a moral concern for our common humanity.
Download or read book The Impact of Science on Society written by B. Russell and published by Рипол Классик. This book was released on 1952 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this concices and luminous book ... [Russell] examines the changes in modern life brought about by science. he suggests that its work in transforming society is only just beginning"--from inside upper cover.
Download or read book Aldous Huxley and Self Realization written by Dana Sawyer and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on 2019-07 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout his writing career, and especially in the last thirty years of his life, Aldous Huxley exhibited a deep interest in human potentialities, which he often described as our greatest unused natural resource. The present volume is the first book to focus on this Huxleyan core concern. It is based on presentations given at the Sixth International Aldous Huxley Symposium held in 2017 at the University of Almería (Spain). This volume collects essays by eleven scholars from eight countries that discuss Huxley's concept of human potentialities from an interdisciplinary perspective. This is another innovative feature of this book, since today Huxley is mainly remembered as a novelist, although only eleven of his fifty published works belong to that genre. The topics of this volume span Huxley's mature philosophy, including his theories relating to the expansion of consciousness, the development of nonverbal humanities, the need to improve bio-ethics, the role of nature, the role of beliefs and prejudice, and other subjects. These essays review Huxley's various positions, shedding light on their possible significance for today. Huxley marshalled his remarkable intellect to the project of improving the human condition, and here we find an up-to-date report card of his theories and their efficacy.
