Climbing Mount Improbable

How could such an intricate object as the human eye - so complex and so precise - have come about by chance? In this masterful piece of popular science, Richard Dawkins builds a powerful and carefully reasoned argument for evolutionary adapatation as the force behind all life on earth. The metaphor of 'Mount Improbable' represents the combination of perfection and improbability that we find in the seemingly 'designed' complexity of living things. And through it all runs the thread of DNA, the molecule of life, responsible for its own destiny on an unending pilgrimage through time. Evocative illustrations accompany Dawkins' eloquent descriptions of astonishing adaptations in the living world..

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Climbing Mount Implausible showcases a writer's growth though nearly fifty years of questing into the future. It includes his first published stories, plus detailed notes on his own evolution as a writer, his recent Philip K. Dick tribute, "Dead Air," and an outrageously funny collaboration with Paul Di Filippo, "Cockroach Love.".

In Science and Christianity: CONFLICT OR COHERENCE? Dr. Henry F. Schaefer's university lectures have been expanded to full-length essays. Thus we have a first-hand account of the lively current science/Christianity discussions by one of the major participants. Science and Christianity describes why and how Dr. Schaefer became a Christian as a young professor of Chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley. Throughout, the book retains the highly personal character of the university lectures, general respect for those with whom the author disagrees, and a delightful sense of humor..

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Commentary (books not included). Pages: 34. Chapters: A Devil's Chaplain, Climbing Mount Improbable, River Out of Eden, The Ancestor's Tale, The Blind Watchmaker, The Extended Phenotype, The God Delusion, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, The Magic of Reality, The Selfish Gene, Unweaving the Rainbow. Excerpt: The Ancestor's Tale (subtitled A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life) is a 2004 popular science book by Richard Dawkins, with contributions from Dawkins' research assistant Yan Wong. It follows the path of humans backwards through evolutionary history, meeting humanity's cousins as they converge on common ancestors. The book was nominated for the 2005 Aventis Prize for Science Books. Cladogram showing relationship between mammalian species as recounted in the bookThe narrative is structured as a pilgrimage, with all modern animals following their own path through history to the origin of life. Humans meet their evolutionary cousins at rendezvous points along the way, the points at which the lineage diverged. At each point Dawkins attempts to infer, from molecular and fossil evidence, the probable form of the most recent common ancestor and describes the modern animals that join humanity's growing travelling party. This structure is inspired by Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The pilgrimage visits a total of 40 "rendezvous points" from rendezvous zero, the most recent common ancestor of all of humanity, to rendezvous 39, eubacteria, the ancestor of all surviving organisms. Though Dawkins is confident of the essential shape of this phylogenetic taxonomy, he enters caveats on a small number of branch points where a compelling weight of evidence had not been assembled at the time of writing. At each rendezvous point, Dawkins recounts interesting tales concerning the cousin animals which are about to join the....

The essays in The Philosophy of Spirituality address spirituality as a subject of philosophical interest independent of religion and respecting diverse spiritual traditions: African, atheist, Indigenous, Indian, Stoic, and Sufic perspectives, as well as Western analytic and continental views..

Monthly current affairs magazine from a Christian perspective with a focus on politics, society, economics and culture..

Provocative and immensely well informed, The Order of Things represents a substantial and original contribution to the fields of systematic theology, historical theology, and the science and religion dialogue. Leading theologian, Alister E. McGrath explores how the working methods and assumptions of the natural sciences can be used to inform and stimulate systematic theology. Written by one of today's best-known Christian writers Explores how the working methods and assumptions of the natural sciences can be used to inform and stimulate systematic theology Continues McGrath’s acclaimed exploration of scientific theology, begun with his groundbreaking three-volume work, A Scientific Theology Includes a landmark extended analysis of whether doctrinal development can be explained using Darwinian evolutionary models, and exploration of how the transition from a “scientific theology” to a future “scientific dogmatics” might be made Supported by a published review of McGrath’s scientific theology project, which is currently the best brief introduction to his thought..

REINCARNATION REFUTED is the first definitive proof that reincarnation does not happen. Opposing the grain of New Age thinking, the approach is logical, self-contained and free of religious dogma. Published for the first time is the Impossibility Theorem; the spiritual constitution of the self and the relationship between spirit possession and obsession; mind-body interaction and how it produces the strange phenomena often attributed to reincarnation; an original critique of reincarnationism's best known work, Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation. Whatever the reader's interests, beliefs or religious persuasion, REINCARNATION REFUTED is a fascinating journey of discovery into belief, logic and the paranormal..

"This book offers a multivalent diagnosis of the problem of evil in an evolutionary context. This diagnosis consists of an analysis of what is at stake, scientifically and theologically. More importantly, it offers an array of synthetic proposals for how theology might move beyond current difficulties, opening new directions for thought, and clearer understandings of evil."--BOOK JACKET..

Are your children being taught scientific "proofs" that have already been disproven? Much of the world has been convinced to abandon God because of a few classic "proofs of evolution" in schoolbooks. The Vanishing Proofs of Evolution shows how one after another of these very convincing "proofs" has been found to be untrue. Don't just stand and watch while your kids and their teachers are being deceived. Give them the knowledge that will build their faith and help them help others. It's all explained in this scientifically-sound book, which clearly shows that true science supports the Creation position and disproves evolution. The book presents powerful evidence that God is the Creator, and concludes with an introduction to Him. Discover how easy it can be to defend the Creation position. Recommendation: “The Vanishing Proofs of Evolution” is an excellent source of the positive evidence for creation while describing the scientific evidence against the theory of evolution." (Duane Gish, Ph.D, Vice President, Institute for Creation Research.).

This book is divided in two parts, the first of which shows how, beyond paleontology and systematics, macroevolutionary theories apply key insights from ecology and biogeography, developmental biology, biophysics, molecular phylogenetics and even the sociocultural sciences to explain evolution in deep time. In the second part, the phenomenon of macroevolution is examined with the help of real life-history case studies on the evolution of eukaryotic sex, the formation of anatomical form and body-plans, extinction and speciation events of marine invertebrates, hominin evolution and species conservation ethics. The book brings together leading experts, who explain pivotal concepts such as Punctuated Equilibria, Stasis, Developmental Constraints, Adaptive Radiations, Habitat Tracking, Turnovers, (Mass) Extinctions, Species Sorting, Major Transitions, Trends and Hierarchies – key premises that allow macroevolutionary epistemic frameworks to transcend microevolutionary theories that focus on genetic variation, selection, migration and fitness. Along the way, the contributing authors review ongoing debates and current scientific challenges; detail new and fascinating scientific tools and techniques that allow us to cross the classic borders between disciplines; demonstrate how their theories make it possible to extend the Modern Synthesis; present guidelines on how the macroevolutionary field could be further developed; and provide a rich view of just how it was that life evolved across time and space. In short, this book is a must-read for active scholars and because the technical aspects are fully explained, it is also accessible for non-specialists. Understanding evolution requires a solid grasp of above-population phenomena. Species are real biological individuals and abiotic factors impact the future course of evolution. Beyond observation, when the explanation of macroevolution is the goal, we need both evidence and theory that enable us to explain and interpret how life evolves at the grand scale..

A fully updated new edition of a critically acclaimed examination of the theories and writings of Richard Dawkins by a world-renowned expert on the relation of science and religion Includes in-depth analysis of Dawkins’ landmark treatise The God Delusion (2006), as well as coverage of his later popular works The Magic of Reality (2011) and The Greatest Show on Earth (2011),and a new chapter on Dawkins as a popularizer of science Tackles Dawkins’ hostile and controversial views on religion, and examine the religious implications of his scientific ideas including a comprehensive investigation of the ‘selfish gene’ Written in an accessible and engaging style that will appeal to anyone interested in better understanding the interplay between science and religion.

In this book a team of expert academics trained in mathematics, engineering, philosophy, physical anthropology, physics, astrophysics, biology and more investigate the prospects for intelligent design. Edited by William Dembski..

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A Faithful Guide to Philosophy is the only British Christian introduction to philosophy, a book that will be used as a course textbook and by church study groups and individual readers alike. It covers a broad range of subjects of central importance to the Christian worldview, and will be prized by many..

In May 2005 Penguin will publish 70 unique titles to celebrate the company's 70th birthday. The titles in the Pocket Penguins series are emblematic of the renowned breadth of quality of the Penguin list and will hark back to Penguin founder Allen Lane's vision of good books for all'. In this extract from Climbing Mount Improbable Richard Dawkins, bestselling author of The Blind Watchmaker, gives an introduction to evolutionary biology and unravels the mysteries of the highest peak of all: the eye..