Rating: 
Summary: Simple, beautiful
Review: This book is a series of meditations. Each one begins with a well-informed, concise lecture on some aspect of biology. These come together for a charming overview of the subject actually; you can tell that she loves biology and you can feel why.Then, she shifts directly into spiritual reflection. Surprisingly, she was just as insightful in this area! She really has deeply considered the spiritual significance of biology, and her insights were inspiring and refreshing for me. She doesn't over-extend herself either; even as someone with a world-class education in philosophy and religion I found no weaknesses in her thought (and that is very, very unusual). Whether you are depressed by or afraid of science and naturalism, or if you are in love with them, this is a beautiful, profound (yet simple) book for you.
Rating:
Summary: A BRILLIANT & MARVELOUS DISCUSSION ABOUT SCIENCE & RELIGION
Review: When was the last time...that you had an experience so powerful, so spiritually innervating and yet so awe-bound that it transcends the self? Perhaps it was a religious experience. Or, an encounter with Nature. Or 'something' along those lines or a combination of both. To those of you, (well, myself once included), who used to believe that there exists this dichotomy between science and religion, Dr. Goodenough offers this thought: "The role of religion is to integrate the cosmology and the morality, to render the cosmological narrative so rich and compelling that it elecits our allegiance and our commitment to its emergent moral understanding..." She continues, "I stand in awe of these religions. I am deeply enmeshed in one of them myself. I have no need to take on the contradiction or immiscibilities between them..." The majority of Dr. Goodenough's works concerns the science of biology, life itself. But any college-educated person will be able to read and fully understand this book. The book covers very broad subjects and yet it is rather concise and complete. She enlightens the reader on topics such as: "The Origins of life" (one of my favorite), "Origins of Chemistry of Life", "The Workings of Cells & Organisms", "Sex and Sexuality", "Awareness" and "Evolution" (another favorite of mine) etc. Again, you need NOT have any specific background in those areas to appreciate her book; but for those who are already familiar with those grounds (as myself), you'll find yourself smiling as you thumb page after page. Why (if you're still not convinced)? Her stories are embalmed with beautiful metaphors, exquisite illustrations, and include allusions and excerpts from the works of the world's foremost thinkers (e.g., writers, poets) like E. E. Cummings, Ralph W. Emerson, William James, Michelangelo, Mozart etc etc. What does Mozart have to do with human biology? You shall soon see, my friend, as Dr. Goodenough delves into the concept of Reductionism in the light of the Mozart piano sonata. You will be mesmerized by how she 'cross-links' and harmonizes the chords & tempos, the themes, the developments and the transitions so elegantly to analogize how an organism works. Gene expression, that is. (Yes of course I love Mozart's; as much as I love science). Well, my friends, I wish I could make my thoughts (to you) as ostensibly lucid as Dr. Goodenough does in her book. In fact, I think the only word I had to look up was "concatenate". So often you hear about an expert that knows a lot about 'something'. I have no doubt that Dr. Goodenough is a prominent authority in her field and as you read her book, she just seems to be the kind of expert that knows a lot about, well, a lot. REFLECTIONS: Dr. Goodenough completes each segment or chapter (of the book) with careful consideration, which she appropriately entitles "Reflections". I shall end this review with such a reflection. Actually what follows is an excerpt(s) ... from Dr. Goodenough herself. Words or phrases that I will likely be quoting again when I speak about this subject. Dr. Goodenough: "Humans need stories: grand, compelling stories, that help to orient us in our lives and in the cosmos... The Epic of Evolution is such a story, beautifully suited to anchor our search for planetary consensus, telling us of our nature, our place, and our context... Our story tells us of the sacredness of life, of the astonishing complexity of cells and organisms, of the vast lengths of time it took to generate their splendid diversity... We are called to revere the whole enterprise of planetary existence, the whole and all of its myriad parts as they catalyze and secrete and replicate and mutate and evolve... " "So, all the creatures of the Planet today share a huge number of genetic ideas ... but the important piece to take in here is our deep interrelatedness, our genetic homology, with the rest of the living world..." Ah...! I feel awe when reading "The Sacred Depths Of Nature"
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