The Essential Mary Midgley by Midgley, Mary; Midgley, David;

Short description:

This is a must-have anthology, incorporating carefully selected excerpts from her bestselling books, this 2nd edition includes work published in the last 20 years. Expertly edited and introduced by David Midgley, it also includes a new Foreword by Rachael Wiseman.

Long description:

Feared and admired in equal measure, Mary Midgley has carefully yet profoundly challenged many of the scientific and moral orthodoxies of the twentieth century.

The Essential Mary Midgley is a must-have anthology of the very best of Midgley's philosophy, whose work is described by the Financial Times as 'common sense philosophy of the highest order'. Incorporating carefully selected excerpts from Mary Midgley's bestselling books, including Wickedness, Beast and Man, Science and Poetry, and The Myths We Live By, this second edition includes some of her best work from the last twenty or so years, including The Solitary Self, Are you an Illusion?, and What Is Philosophy For?

The Essential Mary Midgley presents a superb introduction to her work, covering the topics that she returned to frequently, such as the roots of human nature, reason and imagination, the myths of science, the importance of holism in thinking about science and the environment and the nature of the self.

Expertly edited and introduced by David Midgley, this second edition includes a new Foreword by Rachael Wiseman.

'She has, perhaps, the sharpest perception of any living thinker of the dangerous extremism that lurks behind so much contemporary scientistic discourse.' - Bryan Appleyard, The Sunday Times

'One of the sharpest critical pens in the West.' - Times Literary Supplement

'The value of Mary's thinking is that she questions the assumptions and investigates what she calls 'philosophical plumbing' and the role of different ideas in helping map our world...Having the whole of Mary's thinking summarised in one volume is enormously valuable, enabling the reader to access the essence of her approach.' - The Science and Medical Network Review

Table of Contents:

Foreword Rachael Wiseman  Acknowledgements  Preface to Second Edition David Midgley  Introduction David Midgley  Part 1: The Roots of Human Nature  1. Have We a Nature?  2. Animals and the Problem of Evil  3. Speech and Other Excellences  4. Pseudo-Darwinism and Social Atomism  5. The Natural Springs of Morality  6. The Problem of Natural Evil  7. The Elusiveness of Responsibility  8. Selves and Shadows  9. Emotion, Emotiveness and Sentimentality  10. Equality and Outer Darkness  11. Is a Dolphin a Person?  Part 2: Philosophizing Out in the World  12. Philosophical Plumbing  13. Wisdom and Contemplation  14. The Withdrawal of Moral Philosophy  15. Escaping from Solitude  16. Sciencephobia and its Sources  17. What is Materialism? (And, by the way, what is matter?)  18. The Human Heart and Other Organs  19. On Trying Out One’s New Sword on a Chance Wayfarer  Part 3: The Myths of Science  20. Salvation and the Academics  21. Evolutionary Dramas  22. The Irresistible Escalator  23. The Service of Self and the Service of Kali  24. Biotechnology and the Yuk Factor  25. The Supernatural Engineer  26. The Remarkable Masculine Birth Of Time  Part 4: Reason and Imagination  27. The Sources of Thought  28. Atomistic Visions: The Quest for Permanence  29. Putting Our Selves Together Again  30. A Plague on Both Their Houses  Part 5: Gaian Thinking: Putting it All Together  31. Individualism and the Concept of Gaia  32. Gods and Goddesses: The Role of Wonder  33. Why there is Such a Thing as Society  34. The Unity of Life  Part 6: The Life of a Philosopher - A Reflective Overview  35. Six Early Life – Ancestors and Downe House School  36. Oxford – The Philosophical Scene  37. Escaping from Oxford – Plotinus, Wittgenstein, and the Consolations of Philosophy.  Bibliography  Index