Michael Ruse

Recent advances in medical research have shown that embryonic stem cells can be used to treat some of the most debilitating diseases, notably Parkinson's disease, spinal injuries, and nerve cell damage. Yet the troubling ethical downside of this promising technology is that up till now the main source of stem cells has been tissue taken from aborted fetuses. This practice has raised sharp criticisms from opponents of abortion who charge that science is capitalizing on an abhorrent procedure. Proponents of stem cell research argue that scientists are making legitimate use of already aborted fetuses, and it is unfair to deprive those suffering from serious diseases and injuries of a potentially revolutionary therapy. The issue became so divisive that in August 2001, President Bush addressed the nation on new developments in stem cell research and the ethical dilemmas this technology poses. Should such research be permitted? What, if any, moral, religious, or political objections might be raised? Philosophers Michael Ruse and Christopher A. Pynes have compiled this valuable collection of articles by noted experts to address all aspects of this question by examining one of today's most challenging and fiercely debated new areas of science. They explain the scientific research, explore the medical promise that it offers, and present the many sides of the ethical, religious, and policy debate. The contributors -- scientists, medical practitioners, philosophers, theologians, historians, and policy analysts -- offer a variety of perspectives, to give readers the critical tools they need to shape an informed position on the topic. This important resource will be useful and accessible to educated readers with no prior knowledge of this contentious issue. - Back cover.

Describes the life and work of the renowned nineteenth-century biologist who transformed conventional Western thought with his theory of natural evolution.

Since its original publication, Taking Darwin Seriously has established itself as one of the most important works of evolutionary naturalism since Charles Darwin's Origin of Species over a century ago. Applying evolutionary biology to philosophical problems of epistemology and ethics, it definitively establishes a naturalistic approach to our understanding of life's major problems. Updated with a new preface and a final chapter that addresses the most recent developments in and popular attacks on contemporary evolution, this is an essential work for those interested in the implications of modern Darwinism - especially human sociobiology - for questions in the theory of knowledge and of moral behaviour and thought. Written in a style accessible to both the professional and the general reader, Taking Darwin Seriously is intended as a direct challenge to all who would push creationism as a credible alternative to scientific evolution in public schools, universities, and as a general theory for public consumption.

"Darwinian Heresies looks at the history of evolutionary thought, breaking through much of the conventional thinking to see whether there are assumptions or theories that are blinding us to important issues. The collection, which includes some of today's leading historians and philosophers of science, digs beneath the surface and shows that not all is precisely as it is too often assumed to be. Covering a wide range of issues starting back in the eighteenth century, Darwinian Heresies brings us through the time of Charles Darwin and the Origin all the way to the twenty-first century."--Jacket.

In this Element, Michael Ruse offers a critical analysis of contemporary atheism. He puts special emphasis on the work of so-called "New Atheists": Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchins, whose views are contrasted with those of Edward O. Wilson. Ruse also provides a full exposition of this own position, which he labels "Darwinian Existentialism"--back cover.