The Myths We Live ByHow myths work -- Our place in the world -- Progress, science and modernity -- Thought has many forms -- The aims of reduction -- Dualistic dilemmas -- Motives, materialism and megalomania -- What is action -- Tidying the inner scene : why memes? -- The sleep of reason produces monsters -- Getting rid of the ego -- Cultural evolution? -- Selecting the selectors -- Is reason sex-linked? -- The journey from freedom to desolation -- Biotechnology and the yuk factor -- The new alchemy -- The supernatural engineer -- Heaven and earth, an awkward history -- Science looks both ways -- Are you an animal? -- Problems about parsimony -- Denying animal consciousness -- Beasts versus the biosphere? -- Some practical dilemmas -- Problems of living with otherness -- Changing ideas of wildness. |
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actually animals atomising atoms attitude B. F. Skinner behaviour biology Biophilia body brain central century civilisation claim clash concepts conflict consciousness course creatures culture Daniel Dennett Darwin deal Dennett Descartes E. O. Wilson earth emotional Enlightenment entities evolution explanation fact feeling genes hard human ical idea ideals important individual instance intelligible involved J. B. S. Haldane J. D. Bernal James Lovelock kind lives London look machine Marxist matter meaning memes metaphysical mind moral motives move myth nature non-human notion objective one’s ourselves parsimony particular patterns physical science physicists planet political principle problems psychology question rational reason reductive religion Richard Dawkins scientific scientists seems seen Selfish Gene sense serious simply social Sociobiology species suggested supposed surely symbolism theory things thinking Thomas Nagel thought tion tradition trying understand University Press whole wider wild