Review: Science Writing & Philosophy
I noticed in surprise (maybe I didn't look good enough) that such a section is missing, so I decided to make this thread.
What are the most important books about science and philosophy? I have read some and I'll give a short description and subjective 'rating' as to present an overview for interested readers. Others are welcome to join and add their suggestions. I will edit my post and keep it updated.
I'll just list what I have read so far, ignoring the (only few) books that were complete nonsense or completely boring. I'll list them in order of my rating, the best one first. With two exceptions, the first two books I list are special because they itself present an overview on science writing:
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing - Richard Dawkins
Rating 9.5/10 - Very Strongly Recommended
An anthology of popular science writing excerpts. It covers all fields, cosmology, physics, biology, math and chemistry. Perfect for people who want an overview of what is out there in 'science writing'. Hence if you're not very familiar but interested in it, this (or any other anthology) is strongly suggested.
A brief history of nearly everything - Bill Bryson
Rating: 8.5/10 - Recommended (with limitations)
It really covers everything important and is hence the perfect introduction to science. It is writting vividly and it has lots of funny anecdotes. It doesn't go into complex details, and anyone who has paid attention in highschool or college knows some of the stuff already, so it's not for the expert. But if you're interested and not experienced with science, this is the perfect book to start with!
The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins
Rating: 10/10 - Must Read!
It's a classic, and anyone who even remotely cares about science or philosophy should read this. The first chapter is called 'why are people?' and indeed, the book provides a basis for answer some of the oldest questions of philosophy. It has lots of awesome and interesting facts about biology, and probably the most important thing: It explains how 'selfish genes' produce altruism under certain conditions. It also introduces the new science of memetics, a concept which has proven to be highly useful in philosophy of the mind. I recommend the newest version of the book (it came out in 1976 or 1978) where some things have been rephrased and added.
Consciousness Explained - Daniel Dennett
Rating 10/10 - Must Read (with limitations)!
As description I'll just quote a review:
"Consciousness Explained has perhaps the most arrogant title of any book of this year or any other year, and proceeds to justify that arrogance by doing precisely what it claims" (Roz Caveny in 'City Limits')
The book changes the way you think about thinking, and in general. The problem is that it is pretty complicated, and some parts are a bit technical (I had to read some parts three times until i understood them), altough I must emphasize that Dennett does an outstanding job at explaining. Thought experiments vividly illustrate his points and make it clear to everyone. So if you're curious as to why you're conscious and why you experience 'qualia' such as seeing colors the way they are, I can really recommend this book.
Unweaving The Rainbow - Richard Dawkins
Rating 9.5/10 - Very Strongly Recommended
This book is about the beauty and poetry of science. Especially in a literature forum like here, people tend to look down on science as 'killing imagination'. This book shows that this isn't the case. Altough not much 'revolutionary science' is presented, the way Dawkins explains and presents things is wonderful. Anyone who has such prejudices against science should read this book;)
Darwin's Dangerous Idea - Daniel Dennett
Rating 9.5/10 - Very Strongly Recommended (with limitations)
Here's a quote from the book as summary:
"Darwin’s idea had been born as an answer to questions in biology, but it threatened to leak out, offering answers – welcome or not – to questions in cosmology (going in one direction) and psychology (going in the other direction). If redesign could be a mindless, algorithmic process of evolution, why couldn’t that whole process itself be the process of evolution, and forth, all the way down? And if mindless evolution could account for the breathtakingly clever artifacts of the biosphere, how could the products of our own ‘real’ minds be exempt from an evolutionary explanation? Darwin’s idea thus also threatened to spread all the way up, dissolving the illusion of our own authorship, our own divine spark of creativity and understanding."
Some parts are a bit technical, but altogether the book is very important for anyone with an interest in philosophy that's based on facts and not metaphysical speculation.
some observations on the Psychology of thinking about free will - Daniel Dennett
Rating 9.5/10 - Very Strongly Recommended
That's actually 'just' a paper, not a book, you can find it here: http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/papers/...rBaerfinal.pdf
It explores questions about free will and human responsibility (when it comes to morality). This stuff is also covered in more detail in his books 'Elbow Room' and 'Freedom Evolves', which, I'm afraid, I haven't read (yet). Anyone who has wondered about free will should read that paper, it leaves open many things but is an excellent input for deep thinking.
The Third Chimpanzee - Jared Diamond
Rating 9/10 - Strongly Recommended
What distinguishes humans from other animals? Diamond takes some crucial features of human nature, i.e. language and art, menopause in women, genocide and xenophobia, and explains them in an evolutionary perspective. He offers examples of 'precursors' of these traits in other species and shows how they could have evolved. It raises awareness that many 'primitive' instincts are still in us today, and especially the section on genocide is very shocking and makes you think. The book is rather easy, so perfect for people who are not (yet) fully familiar with evolutionary biology. Others who have read many other books might find some passages a bit boring, yet still I think it's worth the read.
The Extended Phenotype - Richard Dawkins
Rating: 9/10 - Strongly Recommended (with limitations)
Dawkins has stated that this is his best book. It is written primarily for other biologists, hence it's difficult to read, but if you read 'the selfish gene', you'll understand it if you put some effort into it. It explores the 'long reach of the genes', i.e. beaver dams as products of certain genes, or even behavior in one species as product of genes in another species (i.e. coevolution of flowers and bees, ants 'brain-washing and controlled' by flukes etc). Altogether, highly interesting stuff, I strongly recommend it for everyone who loves biology.
River out of Eden - Richard Dawkins
Rating: 9/10 - Strongly Recommended
A wonderful introduction to a Darwinian world view. It covers many topics while not going into the technical details. Perfect for people interested in biology that don't have much background knowledge. These kind of books get you hooked with the subject for a lifetime, I read it when I was sixteen and now I'm addicted to science writing. If however you have read 'the selfish gene' already and maybe 'the blind watchmaker', then it will be repetitive (it's a short book, more of a summary of Dawkin's other ones, presented with an awesome metaphore of a river of genes flowing through time)..
Guns, Germs and Steel - Jared Diamond
Rating: 9/10 - Strongly Recommended
Why did the Europeans conquer the Americas, and not the other way around? Why did history unravel at different pace in different regions? What factors are important for cultural leaps and new discoveries and inventions? This book provides a perspective-changing new view on history (kinda like 'the selfish gene of history'). I gave it a 9/10 because history is only my third favorite subject, but everyone who likes (ancient) history 'must' read this. Actually it's not a 'history book' in the typical sense though, a lot of it has to do with evolution too and linguistics and other disciplines.
The Ancestor's Tale - Richard Dawkins
Rating 9/10 - Strongly Recommended
This book (again) shows Dawkin's exceptional talent in explaining science to the public. The format makes it very interesting to read: A 'pilgirmmage' backwards from present day to the origin of life. At each 'evolutionary branching point', the reader needs another species that joins the pilgrimmage and tells a 'tale' that illustrates some aspect of evolution. The book has a lot of diagramms, I loved getting a sense of a timescale and the different levels of relatedness between different classes of animals. The book is very long and sometimes tough, but I consider it a masterpiece.
A Devil's Chaplain - Richard Dawkins
Rating 8.5/10 - Strongly Recommended
Short essays on a diverse range of topics, included are ethics, truth, science and memes. I like the format of short essays, it never gets boring and some of them are really awesome.
The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins
Rating 8.5/10 - Strongly Recommended (with limitations)
Why there most certainly is no God. The book is persuasive and witty. People consider it intolerant or offending but actually it isn't really that bad. It has interesting parts on memes and the evolution of religion too. For the ones who would rather read a book that is written with 'less anger' (again I really don't think it's that bad, but there are people who just don't want to read it) I can recommend Dennett's 'Breaking the Spell', it has the same topic. I havent read it but it must be good, and it's less 'attacking' so to speak. Back to 'The God Delusion', I especially recommend it for believers and people interested in religion. It is a good book, but Dawkins has written better ones on his favorite subject: Biology.
The Blind Watchmaker - Richard Dawkins
Rating 8.5/10 Strongly Recommended (for 'beginners' in biology)
It explains how exactly evolutions works and introduces some great metaphores. Also there is a part about computer programs that simulate evolution, quite interesting. However, people who have a good knowledge in biology will probably find it a bit boring, even though it has lots of interesting facts.. Perfect as an introduction to biology though!
How the Mind Works - Stephen Pinker
Rating 8.5/10 - Strongly Recommended
The title says it all. The book is really well written and very informative. There's one problem with it though: Great parts of it cover the same subjects as 'Consciousness Explained', and that only superficially. Pinker couldn't answer all the question Dennett tackled. Because it's a bit easier to read, this book is a good introduction to 'Consciousness Explained'. It is more 'popular science' than 'professional philosophy / science' though (depending on the audience that can well be a good thing).
A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking
Rating 8.5/10 - Strongly Recommended
I only understood like 25% of the book, but those 25% were absolutely awesome. By 'understand' I mean really understand, of course I kinda got what he was talking about but the stuff was just too mind-boggling.. In a way this makes it cool to read. I actually find it easier to read than most people think (many say they never finished it). It's about black holes, relativity, thermodynamics, big bang, quantum mechanics, basically about everything. Very interesting stuff (and there's only one formula in it, so don't be too scared).
Sophie's World - Jo Steingaardner
Rating: 8.5/10 - perfect for children or newcommers to philosophy
This is a basic (very simple) introduction to philosophy packed into a novel for children. The perfect Christmas gift for children (of age 13-16 I'd say). It covers the essential stuff like Plato's cave analogy in easily understandable language. I'd give it a 10/10 for the particular audience of children.
Avoid Boring People - James Watson
Rating 8/10 - Recommended
This is the only Auto-Biography I've read. It presents the life of a (great) scientist. It has funny anecdotes and shows 'how it is like to be a scientist'. I thought it provided interesting insight into a world most people are not familiar with. Watson is pretty funny, but the topic (laboratory science) is rather 'dull' for the average person, so only recommended for people who love science.
The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution - Richard Dawkins
Rating 8/10 - Recommended (with limitations)
I was very disappointed with this book.. Having read Dawkin's other books, I expected a lot from this one. It should completely demolish creationism and destroy even the faintest doubt. It should show statistics and lines of evidence that just blow your mind, full of jaw-dropping comparisons of probability and stuff.
The book didn't meet my (very high) expectations. Of course the book presented good evidence, and of course any sensible creationist should be persuaded by it. But I think the 'certain something' was missing, I think I could write a better, more spectacular account of the evidence for evolution myself (Dawkins didn't include ERVs for example).
Of course there are also many good things about the book, but if you are familiar with biology, it will be boring. If you know what DNA comparison is and how it produces nested hierarchies, I don't see much point in reading the book. Except if your a biology fan, then it presents some interesting facts about embryology. And actually there was one chapter about ecology and interconnected systems like rain forests that was pretty awesome (the way I expected the whole book to be). Maybe my expectations were too big;)
The Emerald Planet - David Beerling
Rating 7.5/10 - Recommended (with limitations)
How plants changed the face of the earth. Beerling notes in the beginning, how few space in books popular authors of evolutionary science writing (i.e. Dawkins) have devoted to plants. Plants were indeed very important, and this book shows why. But it also kinda shows the reason why most authors didn't really bother: Unfortunately, plants seem to be a bit boring.. The book has some very interesting facts and makes you understand the bigger 'picture' of evolution, but again, plants kinda suck.. It's definately worth reading for biology fans, because it really does show an underappreciated field, but it's a tough read;)
Climbing Mount Improbable - Richard Dawkins
Rating 7/10 - Recommended (with severe limitations)
If you've read 'the blind watchmaker', part of it will be repetitive. It has good metaphores to think about natural selection, but if you're familiar with biology, it might be boring. Only for the fanatic biology lovers (like me).
Okay that was what I can comment on. What's missing in that list?
Well I'm ashamed to admit it, but I havent yet read anything by E.O. Wilson. It must be very good from all I've heard. I love sociobiology, and after all, Wilson founded that discipline. Maybe others can give reviews? I will once I've read his books. (Tinbergen would be another candidate for this field, I've read about some of his experiments in Dawkin's work, and they're fantastically designed!).
And even more ashamed am I of not having read 'On the Origin of Species'. But in my defense, I know probably 10% of the book by heart now already, for it is quoted everywhere. I read too much evolutionary science, now it would be boring to read Darwin. I know the content of the book fairly well though. I heard it's amazing, and the most amazing thing is if you read it in the historical context, and wonder at how much of it is perfectly on spot.
String Theory and Quantum Mechanics (especially Heisenberg uncertainty priniciple) are touched in other books, but I'd like to read a discussion of it that can be understood by non-geniuses. Does anyone know any good books about this stuff?
Noam Chomsky on linguistics is definately missing.. It just doesn't sound interesting, but maybe it is..
Then there's this 'piraha' controversy..
Feynman is missing, I'd love to read some of his books. Any suggestions?
Penrose is missing too, but some of his ideas seem kinda weird..
Stuff about math? Altough I'm kinda scared of it, it could be highly interesting. Discussions about Gödel's theorem might be worth checking out..
Susan Blackmore?
Books on Artificial Intelligence?
Of course many philosophical classics are missing. This is due to the fact that I don't really like most of philosophy, but I'm interested in hearing suggestions of good works here in this thread!
Oh wow I forgot Carl Sagan! How could I? I've read some excerpts and summaries, his book are definately worth reading.
