The Threat and the Glory: Reflections on Science and Scientists

by Lewis Thomas (Contributor), David Pyke (Contributor), David Pyke (Contributor), Lewis Thomas (Contributor), P. B. Medawar (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1990

  $4.47

  A passionate advocate of scientific endeavour, Medwar wrote, lectured and reviewed widely, describing the glories of scientific achievement and warning of the dangers of pseudo-scientific deception. In his view the greatest threat is posed not by science itself, but by a misunderstanding of science. A tireless searcher after truth and merciless debunker of myths, he was famous not only for his work in immunology, but also for the astonishing power and clarity of his writing, which had made - and continues to make - an incalcuable contribution to the public understanding of science. This selection, made posthumously from essays now unavailable elsewhere, and including some previously unpublished material, covers a characteristically wide range of subjects: genetics, evolution, creativity, philosophy, scientific fraud, how to survive in hospital after a stroke, and attitudes to death and the prolongation of life. In includes the 1959 Reith Lectures The Future of Man and a hitherto unpublished transcript of a BBC interview, My Life in Science .

• Used

  Paperback
  1991

  $3.40

  It is the great glory as it is the great threat of science that everything that is in principle possible can be done if the intention to do it is sufficiently resolute. This theme, from the title essay, runs throughout this new collection of Peter Medawar's writings. A passionate advocate of scientific endeavour, he wrote, lectured and reviewed widely, describing the glories of scientific achievement and warning of the dangers of pseudo-scientific deception. This selection, made posthumously from essays now unavailable elsewhere, and including some previously unpublished material, covers a characteristically wide range of subjects: genetics, evolution, creativity, philosophy, scientific fraud, and attitudes to death and the prolongation of life. Either as a companion to Pluto's Republic , the last selection of essays to be made before he died, or as an introduction to his writing, this volume should intrigue, stimulate, and delight. It is intended for moral philosophers, research biologists, geneticists, and other scientists, environmentalists, and the general reader.