A Series of Fortunate Events
A Series of Fortunate Events

Author: Sean B. Carroll

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2020-10-06

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0691209545

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"Fascinating and exhilarating—Sean B. Carroll at his very best."—Bill Bryson, author of The Body: A Guide for Occupants From acclaimed writer and biologist Sean B. Carroll, a rollicking, awe-inspiring story of the surprising power of chance in our lives and the world Why is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but startling scientific discoveries over the past half century are revealing that we live in a world driven by chance. A Series of Fortunate Events tells the story of the awesome power of chance and how it is the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world. Like every other species, we humans are here by accident. But it is shocking just how many things—any of which might never have occurred—had to happen in certain ways for any of us to exist. From an extremely improbable asteroid impact, to the wild gyrations of the Ice Age, to invisible accidents in our parents' gonads, we are all here through an astonishing series of fortunate events. And chance continues to reign every day over the razor-thin line between our life and death. This is a relatively small book about a really big idea. It is also a spirited tale. Drawing inspiration from Monty Python, Kurt Vonnegut, and other great thinkers, and crafted by one of today's most accomplished science storytellers, A Series of Fortunate Events is an irresistibly entertaining and thought-provoking account of one of the most important but least appreciated facts of life.

Chance and Consequence
Chance and Consequence

Author: Sylvia Smoller

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2018-10-19

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1532057407

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How much of our lives are determined by coincidences, how much by the choices we make? And how do those choices reverberate through time to affect those we love? This sweeping, historically accurate novel tells the story of people caught in the momentous upheavals of World War II, their destinies driven by chance, by the force of their characters and by the courage of a Japanese diplomat. Set in the period from 1918 to 1945, the story explores the impact of historical and political events on individual lives, on friendship, family ties and love. Against the backdrop of Poland, London, Moscow, Japan and America, consumed by her opposing desires — to be independent yet be taken care of - Rachel, the central character, must hold love in the balance and find her own answer to Freud’s famous question: What do women want?

Chance in Evolution
Chance in Evolution

Author: Grant Ramsey

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2016-10-25

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 022640191X

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This illuminating volume explores the effects of chance on evolution, covering diverse perspectives from scientists, philosophers, and historians. The evolution of species, from single-celled organisms to multicellular animals and plants, is the result of a long and highly chancy history. But how profoundly has chance shaped life on earth? And what, precisely, do we mean by chance? Bringing together biologists, philosophers of science, and historians of science, Chance in Evolution is the first book to untangle the far-reaching effects of chance, contingency, and randomness on the evolution of life. The book begins by placing chance in historical context, starting with the ancients and moving through Darwin to contemporary biology. It documents the shifts in our understanding of chance as Darwin’s theory of evolution developed into the modern synthesis, and how the acceptance of chance in Darwinian theory affected theological resistance to it. Other chapters discuss how chance relates to the concepts of genetic drift, mutation, and parallel evolution—as well as recent work in paleobiology and the experimental evolution of microbes. By engaging in collaboration across biology, history, philosophy, and theology, this book offers a comprehensive overview both of the history of chance in evolution and of our current understanding of the impact of chance on life.

Information, Inference and Decision
Information, Inference and Decision

Author: G. Menges

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9401021597

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Under the title 'Information, Inference and Decision' this volume in the Theory and Decision Library presents some papers on issues from the borderland of statistical inference philosophy and epistemology, written by statisticians and decision theorists who belonged or are allied to the former Saarbriicken school of statistical decision theory. In the first part I make an attempt to outline an objective theory of inductive behaviour, on the basis of R. A. Fisher's statistical inference philosophy, on the one hand, and R. Carnap's inductive logic, on the other. A special problem arising in the context of the new theory, viz., the problem of vagueness of concepts (in particular in the social sciences) is treated separately by H. Skala and myself. B. Leiner has contributed some biographical and bibliographical notes on the objective theory of inductive behaviour. Part II is concerned with inference philosophy. D. A. S. Fraser, the founder of structural inference theory, characterizes and compares some inference philosophies, and discusses his own and the arguments of the critics of his structural theory. In my opinion, Fraser's structural infer ence theory is suited to complete Fisher's inference philosophy in some essential points, if not to replace it. An interesting task for future re search work is to establish the connection between Fraser's theory and Carnap's ideas in the framework of an objective theory of inductive behaviour.

Guide to Personal Knowledge: The Philosophy of Michael Polanyi
Guide to Personal Knowledge: The Philosophy of Michael Polanyi

Author: Dániel Paksi

Publisher: Vernon Press

Published: 2022-09-06

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1648894399

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This book will help readers understand the most important book of Michael Polanyi, ‘Personal Knowledge’, and help them grasp the essence of his philosophical thinking. In this volume, Polanyi’s goals are first reconstructed, and then his main philosophical arguments are introduced. The discussion is limited to the most crucial ideas that are indispensable for the arc of his book: tacit knowledge, emergence and the fiduciary program. The thirteen chapters of this volume explain the essence of the thirteen chapters of ‘Personal Knowledge’. The page numbers in this book work just as well with the 2015 ‘Enlarged Edition‘ of ‘Personal Knowledge‘ as with the original issues. Whether you just want to get the key quotation and the context right on tacit knowledge, emergence or the fiduciary program, or want to have a deep dive for your scholarly research in philosophy and management, this book is for you.