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Joseph Vining - Song Sparrow the Child: Claims of Science and Humanity - 9780268043629 - V9780268043629
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Song Sparrow the Child: Claims of Science and Humanity

€ 28.26
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Description for Song Sparrow the Child: Claims of Science and Humanity Hardcover. Tracing the roots of brutal 20th-century human experimentation and extermination to worldviews that dehumanize perpetrators and victims in distinctive ways, Vining finds a parallel between them and "total theory" - beautiful and helpful explanations through attention to system and process that claim to account for the universe and everything in it. Num Pages: 184 pages, Illustrations. BIC Classification: PDA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade); (P) Professional & Vocational; (U) Tertiary Education (US: College). Dimension: 229 x 159 x 19. Weight in Grams: 490.

In this thought-provoking book, distinguished legal scholar Joseph Vining traces the complex roots of brutal twentieth-century human experimentation and extermination to worldviews that dehumanize both perpetrators and victims in distinctive ways, stripping them of their individuality as well as their intrinsic dignity and value. Vining finds a disturbing parallel between these worldviews and what he calls “total theory.” Total theories are “beautiful and helpful explanations through attention to system and process” that aggressively claim to account for the universe and everything in it. Vining maintains that some of the most gifted intellectuals and scientists of our time profess these theories ... Read more

Using the example of the song sparrow and the child, Vining opens our eyes to the ramifications of total theory. He challenges readers to question casual acceptance of the total theories that are widely and quietly taught in contemporary biology, physics, and mathematics—theories that Vining maintains cannot be and are not actually believed by the people espousing them. This book is an invitation to recall our individuality and to take seriously the connection between thought and action, theory and practice. He asks readers to think deeply about what actual belief is and how what we believe in science has crucial consequences for the future of humanity and the natural world.

To assist readers in understanding total theory, Vining draws upon the legal sensibilities commonly shared by scientist and nonscientist alike. He extends his consideration to include the dignity not only of humans, but also of animals. In elegant, highly readable prose, The Song Sparrow and the Child offers a reconciliation of spirit and mind, serious science and a serious sense of purpose and meaning.

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Product Details

Format
Hardback
Publication date
2004
Publisher
University of Notre Dame Press
Condition
New
Number of Pages
212
Place of Publication
Notre Dame IN, United States
ISBN
9780268043629
SKU
V9780268043629
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-1

About Joseph Vining
Joseph Vining is Hutchins Professor of Law at the University of Michigan.

Reviews for Song Sparrow the Child: Claims of Science and Humanity
“The Song Sparrow and the Child is a powerful indictment of the impulses toward intellectual imperialism that have arisen in the wake of the fragmentation of the human and natural sciences. Vining has given us an important book, illuminating as only he can the hidden connections among seemingly unrelated phenomena.” —Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand Professor of Law, Harvard University ... Read more

Goodreads reviews for Song Sparrow the Child: Claims of Science and Humanity


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