| Conquest of Abundance: A Tale of Abstraction Versus the Richness of Being Contributor(s): Feyerabend, Paul (Author), Terpstra, Bert (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0226245349 ISBN-13: 9780226245348 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $29.70 Product Type: Paperback Published: May 2001 Annotation: From Homeric gods to galaxies to perspective in painting, Paul Feyerabend reveled in physical and cultural abundance. Struck, however, by the fact that human senses and intelligence can take in only a fraction of these riches, a fraction that limits and shapes our sense of reality, Feyerabend began writing "Conquest of Abundance" to decry these limitations. Unfinished when he died in 1994, this book represents a new way of thinking for this philosophical genius. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | Philosophy & Social Aspects |
| Dewey: 110 |
| Physical Information: 0.7" H x 5.96" W x 8.92" (0.86 lbs) 303 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: From flea bites to galaxies, from love affairs to shadows, Paul Feyerabend reveled in the sensory and intellectual abundance that surrounds us. He found it equally striking that human senses and human intelligence are able to take in only a fraction of these riches. This a blessing, not a drawback, he writes. A superconscious organism would not be superwise, it would be paralyzed. This human reduction of experience to a manageable level is the heart of Conquest of Abundance, the book on which Feyerabend was at work when he died in 1994. Prepared from drafts of the manuscript left at his death, working notes, and lectures and articles Feyerabend wrote while the larger work was in progress, Conquest of Abundance offers up rich exploration and startling insights with the charm, lucidity, and sense of mischief that are his hallmarks. Feyerabend is fascinated by how we attempt to explain and predict the mysteries of the natural world, and he looks at the ways in which we abstract experience, explain anomalies, and reduce wonder to formulas and equations. Through his exploration of the positive and negative consequences of these efforts, Feyerabend reveals the conquest of abundance as an integral part of the history and character of Western civilization. |