edward wilson the meaning of human existence

Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Good luck with that.Ĭlose overlay Buy Featured Book Title The Meaning of Human Existence Author Edward O.

In order to achieve this goal, apart from the unification of physics, scientists must convince the humanists to come onboard, welcoming this new way of thinking about their disciplines. And given that the humanities are a product of the human brain, they too will be encompassed by this sweeping approach to the unity of knowledge. Once we are there, we will have a clear understanding of the fundamental character of human emotions - and we are pretty much done.

The plan is to first unify physics, extrapolate to the other physical sciences, and then on to biology and the neurosciences. The argument goes somewhat like this: Since we are made of elementary particles of matter, understanding the laws that dictate the behavior of these particles is a precondition to understanding everything else. According to this view, the unity of the sciences starts and ends with physics, given that physics sets the rules from bottom up. Wilson's approach is based on the assumption that reductionism rules knowledge. 'Such, I believe, is the source of the Ionian Enchantment: Preferring a search for objective reality over revelation is another way of satisfying religious hunger,' he states. Get to it and you will crack the mystery of existence, from simple to complex, from electrons to love.Īccording to Wilson, the Ionian Enchantment equates science with a religious quest. The essential point is that deep below the chaos we perceive out there, there is an underlying unified structure. The meaning of this claim is more metaphysical than physical, of course. Being mainly interested in the material aspect of reality, Thales suggested that all matter is but water. The starting point, as Wilson argued in Consilience, is what Harvard historian of science Gerald Holton called 'The Ionian Enchantment.' This notion - that behind nature's manifest diversity there is a simple, unified explanation - can be traced back to the pre-Socratic Thales of Miletus.

(And that Wilson's prose is truly inspired and engaging, which is definitely the case.) The stakes are high, and the fact that The Meaning of Human Existence was shortlisted for the National Book Award means that people are paying attention. If we are successful, claims Wilson, we should arrive at a deeply transformative understanding of the meaning of our existence. In his recent book, The Meaning of Human Existence, the celebrated evolutionary biologist, entomologist and essayist Edward Wilson sets off to chart a possible path toward the unification of the sciences and the humanities - taking off from his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge.

Edward wilson the meaning of human existence