Review by Choice Review
Russian American philosopher Ayn Rand is credited with the creation of objectivism, an ideology built upon a foundation of an objective reality that exists independent of human consciousness. Contact with this reality is limited to what can be accomplished through sense perception. Editors Alexander (St. Edmund's College, Cambridge, UK) and Numbers (Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison) join 12 other experts in an in-depth exploration of how this disconnect has led to a history of abuse surrounding the application of scientific knowledge. While the scientific method is often considered an objective method employed to make contact with an objective reality, the scientists themselves are immersed in cultures with deep ideologies that exert a powerful influence on the analysis and extrapolation of scientific information. As the book's title implies, the contributors present their arguments within a historical framework that originates with the Enlightenment and ends with contemporary atheist apologetics. The extensively referenced text presents arguments surrounding biology's influence on a diverse array of ideologies, including Nazism, Marxism, Lysenkoism, materialism, naturalism, and vitalism. The most recognizable and well-developed example presented is the application of evolutionary theory to the eugenics movement. Summing Up: Essential. History and philosophy of biology collections serving upper-division undergraduates and above. J. A. Hewlett Finger Lakes Community College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
