Books like Purpose & desire by J. Scott Turner

Name: Purpose & desire
Author: J. Scott Turner

In *Purpose & Desire*, SUNY professor J. Scott Turner critiques the prevailing materialist and mechanistic framework of modern Darwinism, which he believes has halted scientific progress in defining life. A biologist and physiologist, Turner surveys the history of evolutionary thought, arguing that incorporating the concepts of purpose and desire is essential for a coherent understanding of living systems. He foregrounds Claude Bernard’s pioneering work in experimental physiology, particularly Bernard’s notion of homeostasis as a defining feature of life, to support his case that life is uniquely purposeful and driven by desire. Turner’s book calls for moving beyond strictly mechanistic boundaries to embrace these qualities, thereby reintroducing a more holistic science of life and evolution.

First publish date: 2017

Genre: Science/Biology

Authors: J. Scott Turner

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