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Summary: Consilience is a magnificent work, worthy of a Nobel Prize
Review: Having finished Wilson's Consilience last night, I can honestly say that no book has affected the way I think or the way I view society and science as this one has. Wilson puts it all together for us. Consilience is the center that defines the circle that is knowledge.
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Summary: Worth your while!
Review: ...Wilson's book allows you to gain knowledge spanning several topics which are often considered disjointed. I urge a careful reading of his work. Despite the few flaws I found, the book was highly educational overall. Indulge, and enjoy...
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Summary: first time i have seen my ancestral thoughts expressed !
Review: since it can be stipulated, initial conditions preceded the bigbang : subsequently the natural sciences followed first with physics (homogenous quarks, almost), chemical reactions of matter re-assembling quarks then biology duplicating / reproducing - the trinity follows with the solar explosion (hydrogen / helium) then the irridium meteorite accident with mammals evolving (human species) -
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Summary: Read it, twice!
Review: You can appreciate E. O. Wilson's easy cadence and almost hear his southern drawl as he passionately lays out what he sees as the ground work and challenges for the unification of knowledge. I read science not only for its fascinating discoveries but for it's philosophical fodder and implications. Anyone with the courage and wisdom to define religion and religious belief as "dwelling in the imagination and science as dwelling in the INFORMED imagination" has in my view, exposed a real wall between the two. And such realizations are the beginning of consilience. Wonderful book.
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Summary: This is a "once in a decade" book
Review: Consilience, by Edward O. Wilson,1998, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, Hardcover, 336 pp., $18.20 U.S. (from Amazon.com) "Still, scientific theories are a product of imagination--informed imagination. They reach beyond their grasp to predict the existence of previously unsuspected phenomena. They generate hypotheses, disciplined guesses about unexplored topics whose parameters the theories help to define. The best theories generate the most fruitful hypotheses, which translate cleanly into questions that can be answered by observation and experiment. Theories and their progeny hypotheses compete for the available data, which comprise the limiting resource in the ecology of scientific knowledge. The survivors in this tumultous environment are the Darwinian victors, welcomed into the canon, settling in our minds, guiding us to further exploration of physical reality, more surprises. And yes, more poetry." If you have the vocabulary to easily grasp the author's message in that paragraph, you will probably enjoy this book. Consilience, the title word (not in the average dictionary), means, according to one review, a "jumping together," but in my old 1913 dictionary is defined as "the coming into agreement of generalizations from widely differing inductions" and thus the author's theme is that it is time for the various scientific disciplines to share with each other in those areas of mutual interest. And he points out that many of the most momentous disciplines have a great many areas of overlapping interest. Edward O. Wilson was born in a good year, 1929, which is also the year of my birth. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and received his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Alabama, and in 1955, his Ph.D. in biology from Harvard, where he has since taught. He is the author of two Pulitzer prize-winning books, "On Human Nature," 1978, and "The Ants," 1990. His specialty, throughout his career as a scientist, has been ants, on ! which he is probably the world's foremost expert. But, as this book shows, he has not neglected other areas of human knowledge. Indeed, he might well be classed as a "generalist," for his wide range of interest and accumulated knowledge. Indeed, two chapters, "The Mind," and "Ethics and Religion," held me enthralled, although I am still trying to decide how to disagree with him. He makes a seemingly air-tight case for the mind's being simply a result, mechanical necessity, if you will, of the brain's electro-chemical processes. All of which is carefully documented and researched, labeled and identified. My problem with that is the phenomenon of awareness: self-knowledge. I know that I exist. If awareness is only a by-product of chemistry, electricity and physics, then the creation is surely greater than its creator. The brick overshadows the bricklayer. I have similar problems with his thoughts on religion, specifically: God. Wilson is a nominal Baptist, and calls himself a Deist, rather than a Theist. An empiricist, rather than a transcendentalist. And, he admits that he might be wrong. But, the purpose of this review is not to argue with him. In the first place, his formal educational credentials far exceed mine, and in the second place, I would not wish to detract from his book. It is the kind of book that you find once or twice in a decade: one that holds your interest with reasoned argument, and in which the author is worthy of your complete respect. His arguments are cogent, well-reasoned and careful, and the result of a long lifetime of careful observation. And that, alone, is refreshing in this age when every half-educated, semi-literate ignoramus eagerly exercises his right to loudly proclaim an opinion on any and every subject that crosses his mind, no matter how transiently, in seemingly inverse proportion to the amount of data he has on the subject. Those who are blessed with a decent vocabulary and an inquiring mind will enjoy this book,! whether you find yourself in total agreement with the author, or not. Those described in the last paragraph would be better off to save their money.
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Summary: Wilson hits the nail on the head
Review: Without a doubt Wilson's Consilience is a wonder and a marvel. He makes the connections that most scientists have refused to make because of biases and insecurities. The book is a long awaited piece to solve many puzzles. This book is the scientific work of the second half of the century.
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Summary: Serious, Responsible, and Powerful.
Review: Dr. Wilson's idea that the unity of knowledge from the sciences and the humanities represents our best chance of survival in the dangerous times we live is described in this book in a serious, responsible, and powerful way. He introduces us into the basics of population genetics, neurosciences, and evolutionary biology so that we will be able to understand not only the possibility of Consilience, but also the most important aspects of subsequent chapters like "Ethics and Religion" and "To What End". His very optimistic view percolates his words, and suggests that Consilience will be enough to keep us going. We are presented with strong evidence supporting most of the ideas in the book, and we will be convinced at the end that Consilience is possible and necesssary, but not enough I'm afraid, to ensure our survival. Not enough in spite of Dr. Wilson's most wishful thoughts. More understanding into cooperative behavior among humans is necessary. This is a must-read book for all those who love life, and are eager to understand it.
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Summary: Most stimulating and provocative book written in years.
Review: A truly masterful analysis of "what is knowledge?" Wilson persuasively points out what is science, its goals, value, and limitations. It is essential reading for our age of information glut. All people need a filter to manage the myriad of facts, and opinions thrown at us in a daily basis. He points out that the chasm among culture, religion, philosophy, and science is narrowing. He believes that faith will not advance understanding, although there is no denying that this thinking mechanism can give transient comfort. Unfortunately it also extremely destructive. Sigmund Feud is demolished, and rightly so. His analyses provide a framework for better communication. I would love to see the ideas discussed on a broader basis. It should be required reading for all professional communicators.
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Summary: A great book except that he ignores the latest science
Review: I would have given the book a 10 but was put off by the fact that Wilson hardly even acknowledges quantum mechanics. This postmodern science long ago demolished the materialistic assumptions of the old mechanistic "modern" science which Wislon supports. Given his goal of attempting to unify all knowledge under the banner of science this t seems a strange oversight. Under Wilson's modern scientific materialism one can argue, as he does, that the "mind" and "human consciousness" are simply accidental by products of a random evolution of a materialistic brain. But that proposition has not been proven. Itis an assumption, not science. Morever, this assumption is suspect in quantum mechanics. (It is the most successful science ever and accounts for most of our hot new teehnology including all electronics, lasers and atomic power.) Under the standard Copenhagen Intrepretation of quantum mechanics, however, one can just as easily conclude that matter arises from the immaterial mind. The entity we call "matter" seems to emerge from the wave portion of the wave/particle duality. That is actual particles of matter arise from a wave containing no matter, no energy, no definite position, and no definite velocity. It contains pure probability of these things but not the things themselves. The wave collapses to a particle of matter when, and only when, subject to observation. Until then the wave has no physical reality. But who or what makes the observation? A universal transcendent mind perhaps? Wilson uses materialism to trash transcendence, but then quantum mechanics trashs materialism so where does that leave "consilience"? This is a controversial issue to be sure, and puzzles abound. But if Wilson is serious in asking us to accept "science" as the unifying function for all knowledge, then he has to deal with such postmodern scientific controversie. No fair just ignoring them.
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Summary: Disappointing!
Review: Ed Wilson has written a disappointing book which desperately wants to make a case for science, but unfortunately ends up more an assault on religion and Biblical scholarship, which Wilson would probably consider an oxymoron. Why the assault on religion? Here's a tip for anyone wanting balanced scholarship without pretentions: read physicist Gerald Schroeder's much more plausible book, "The Science of God, or biologist Michael Behe's work, "Darwin's Black Box." Wilson's point is this: it is by sheer luck that everything came together in the first place. Fine. But why write off, as either mysoginistic or intellectual idiots, those who think otherwise? Isn't concilience supposed to be a coming together? Moreover, Wilson's point is not all that well developed, and wanders here and there. I expected more, and got less, that's why I rate the book so poorly.
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