Quest for the Unity of Knowledge - 9781138613157

Taylor & Francis

Quest for the Unity of KnowledgeAuthor(s): David Lowenthal\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781138613157, 978-1138613157\nSynopsis\nIs unity of knowledge possible? Is it desirable? Two rival visions clash. One seeks a single way of explaining everything known and knowable about ourselves and the universe. The other champions diverse modes of understanding served by disparate kinds of evidence. Contrary views pit science against the arts and humanities. Scientists generally laud and seek convergence. Artists and humanists deplore amalgamation as a threat to humane values. \n\nThese opposing perspectives flamed into hostility in the 1950s \""Two Cultures\"" clash. They culminate today in new efforts to conjoin insights into physical nature and human culture, and new fears lest such syntheses submerge what the arts and humanities most value. \n\nThis book, stemming from David Lowenthals inaugural Stockholm Archipelago Le.