Creationism and Its Critics in Antiquity

By:

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis
The world is configured in ways that seem systematically hospitable to life forms, especially the human race. Is this the outcome of divine planning, or simply of the laws of physics? Ancient Greeks and Romans famously disagreed on whether the cosmos was the product of intelligent design or of accident. In Creationism and its Critics in Antiquity, David Sedley examines this question and illuminates new historical perspectives on the pantheon of thinkers who laid the foundations of western philosophy and science. Versions of what today we call the "creationist" option were widely favored by the major thinkers of classical antiquity, including Plato, whose ideas on the subject prepared the ground for Aristotle's celebrated teleology. But Aristotle himself excluded any role for divine intervention, in this respect aligning himself with the anti-creationist lobby, whose most militant members--the atomists--sought to show how a world just like ours would inevitably form by sheer accident, given only the infinity of space and matter. This stimulating study explores seven major thinkers or philosophical movements who were enmeshed in the debate: Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Socrates, Plato, the atomists, Aristotle, and the Stoics. An epilogue considers their debate from the viewpoint of Galen, the great second-century A. D. doctor, who was also a leading voice of creationism. Adapted from Sedley's 2004 Sather Lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, this the first book-length study of an old debate.
Copyright:
2008

Book Details

Book Quality:
Excellent
Book Size:
270 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780520253643
Publisher:
University of California Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
The Regents Of The University Of California
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Nonfiction, Science, Religion and Spirituality, Philosophy
Submitted By:
Daproim Africa
Proofread By:
Daproim Africa
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

Reviews

No Rating Yet