The Phenomenon of Life: Toward a Philosophical Biology

by Hans Jonas, Lawrence Vogel (Foreword by)

Overview

A classic of phenomenology and existentialism, The Phenomenon of Life sets forth a systematic and comprehensive philosophy—an existential interpretation of biological facts laid out in support of his claim that the mind is prefigured throughout organic existence. Hans Jonas shows how life-forms present themselves on an ascending scale of perception and freedom of action, a scale reaching its apex in a human being's capacity for thought and morally responsible behavior.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810117495
Publisher:	Northwestern University Press
Publication date:	02/28/2001
Series:	Studies in Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy
Edition description:	1
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

HANS JONAS (1903-1993) was a German Jew, pupil of Heidegger and Bultmann, lifelong friend and colleague of Hannah Arendt at the New School for Social Research, and one of the most prominent thinkers of his generation. The range of his topics never obscures their unifying thread: that our mortality is at the root of our moral responsibility to safeguard humanity's future. Mortality and Morality both consummates and demonstrates the basic thrust of Jonas's thought: the inseparability of ethics and metaphysics, the reality of values at the center of being.

Editorial Reviews

"In his seminal 1966 study The Phenomenon of Life, Hans Jonas sketches out an itinerary for an entirely 'new reading' of the problem of the ontological configuration of organic life vis-à-vis the interpretations provided by both existentialist philosophy and contemporary biological science." —Environmental Philosophy

From the Publisher

<:st> Previous editions are cited in . In this classic text of phenomenology and existentialism, Jonas sets forth an existential interpretation of biological facts laid out in support of the claim that the mind is prefigured throughout organic existence. He further contends that life forms present themselves on an ascending scale of perception and freedom of action, reaching its apex in the human capacity for thought and morally responsible behavior. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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