Product Description

Charles Darwin transformed our understanding of the universe and our place in it with his development of the theory of evolution. 150 years later, we are still puzzling over the implications. John Dupré presents a lucid, witty introduction to evolution and what it means for our view of humanity, the natural world, and religion. He explains the right and the wrong ways to understand evolution: in the latter category fall most of the claims of evolutionary psychology, of which Dupré gives a withering critique. He shows why the theory of evolution is one of the most important scientific ideas of all time, but makes clear that it can't explain everything - contrary to widespread popular belief, it has very little to tell us about the details of human nature and human behaviour, such as language, culture, and sexuality. Darwin's Legacy clears a path through the confusion and controversy surrounding evolution; anyone who is interested in understanding what the theory of evolution can and can't do will find this a compelling and enjoyable introduction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #428688 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Independent on Sunday, 30 October 2005
Dupre's wonderfully succinct explanation of evolutionary theory is a good enough reason in itself to buy this book.

Review
...a stimulating and sometimes entertaining account of Darwin's theory and of its continuing influence on our lives today. (Contemporary Review )

Vigorously argued and very readable, Darwin's Legacy is a razor-sharp analysis of the limits and the power of evolution. (The Guardian )

Dupré's account of how he believes evolutionary theory has inflicted a "fatal injury" to "the pretensions of religion" provides a wonderful counterpoint to Creationist dogma. . . . Dupré's wonderfully succinct explanation of evolutionary theory is a good enough reason in itself to buy this book; however, with the forces of the religious right keen to mount an offensive on these shores, it's the eloquent and uncompromising argument that may prove indispensable. (The Independent )

About the Author
John A. Dupré is Professor of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Exeter. He lectures extensively in the U.K., North America, and Europe. His main area of research is the philosophy of science with special interest in the philosophy of biology, the role of values in science, and the nature of biological species. His books include Human Nature and the Limits of Science (OUP).

Customer Reviews

Update on evolution - critical, anti-design, atheist ...
Did you read Dawkins's "The Selfish Gene" and "The Blind Watchmaker" with some enthusiasm? Have sociobiological plausibilities become a part of your world view? Be prepared to revise some of your ideas. Dupré lines up against a gene-centred shortening of evolutionary theory. He advocates things like multi-level selection and especially developmental systems theory ("...the smallest unit in terms of which evolutionary process can be properly understood is the full developmental cycle from one stage of the life cycle through all the intervening stages needed to reproduce that stage in the next generation ..." "... the genome is merely one developmental resource - no doubt a very important one ...", p. 86). But that's not all: the author is well aware of the importance cultural development has for human behaviour. "Victorian country gentry almost surely engaged in less sexual activity than, say, contemporary british holiday-makers in Ibiza, and not because of any difference in their genes." (p. 116) Whether in biology or in philosophy Dupré is an unerring critic of the "Zeitgeist". No wonder that he doesn't have any sympathy for the contemporary appeasement strategy for reconciling science and religion which is derived from the so-called Argument from Design and has become a whole intelligent-design movement. In his chapter on "Human Origines and the Decline of Theism" Dupré leaves no doubt that he wants "to claim that whatever Darwin's goals, and whatever his contemporaries may have made of his ideas, the growth of evolutionary theory that he launched has provided a fatal injury to the pretensions of religion." (p. 41/42) But even if you are not inclined to naturalism: read the book, at least as a biological layman it will at once complicate and clarify your ideas about evolution and perhaps provoke further reading (appropriate hints at the end of the book).