The Meaning of Human Existence, Edward O. Wilson
The Meaning of Human Existence, Edward O. Wilson
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The Meaning of Human Existence

Author: Edward O. Wilson

Narrator: Jonathan Hogan

Unabridged: 5 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 10/06/2014


Synopsis

Searching for meaning in what Nietzsche once called "the rainbow colors" around the outer edges of knowledge and imagination, Edward O. Wilson bridges science and philosophy to create a twenty-first-century treatise on human existence. Once criticized for his over-reliance on genetics, Wilson unfurls here his most expansive and advanced theories on human behavior, recognizing that, even though the human and spider evolved similarly, the poet's sonnet is wholly different than the spider's web. Whether attempting to explicate "the Riddle of the Human Species," warning of "the Collapse of Biodiversity," or even creating a plausible "Portrait of E.T.," Wilson does indeed believe that humanity holds a special position in the known universe. Alarmed, however, that we are about to abandon natural selection by redesigning biology and human nature as we wish them, Wilson concludes that advances in science and technology bring us our greatest moral dilemma since God stayed the hand of Abraham. Edward O. Wilson is widely recognized as one of the world's leading scientists. He is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the author of the best-selling THE SOCIAL CONQUEST OF EARTH and LETTERS TO A YOUNG SCIENTIST.

About Edward O. Wilson

Edward O. Wilson (1929-2021) was the author of more than thirty books, including Anthill, Letters to a Young Scientist, and The Conquest of Nature. The winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he was a professor emeritus at Harvard University.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Valeriu on May 14, 2025

Din păcate, în cartea lui Wilson tocmai problema sensului vieții nu e discutată suficient. Știm cu siguranță mai multe despre om decît anticii și medievalii (chiar știm!), dar asta nu înseamnă că sensul vieții noastre a devenit limpede, transparent, vădit: tot nu știm de ce am ajuns aici. Și atunci,......more

Goodreads review by David on May 19, 2015

This is a wonderful little book by a preeminent biologist, Edward Wilson. He has remarkable insights into the world and the nature of progress. If there is a single theme in the book, it is that human progress depends on both science and the humanities. Neither is sufficient by itself. Wilson writes......more

Goodreads review by Clif on September 02, 2015

The narrative in this book reads much like the ruminations of a wise old professor talking about social evolution, the evolution of life, the humanities, instinct, religion, free will, and the fate of human existence. The author draws from a long career as a biologist and naturalists and speaks as o......more

Goodreads review by Jimmy on April 30, 2016

Meaning of Human Existence is a collection of essays by a great science writer. Probably never answers the title question, but who cares. I know the answer already anyway. Individual-Level Selection VS. Group-Level Selection: Humans are conflicted between the two. On the one hand, we evolved to thin......more

Goodreads review by Sara on April 16, 2019

Loved. Wasn’t religious based which I love yet he included many aspects of science, religious views by others and how they correlate to humanity. There is alien talk, questioning if free will is real or just a figment of humans imagination, as well as marine life and micro organisms plus their impor......more