H. James Birx - Böcker

To read some sample entries, or to view the Readers Guide click on "Sample Chapters/Additional Materials" in the left column under "About This Book" "This monumental encyclopedia makes an astonishing contribution to our understanding of human evolution, human culture, and human reality through an inclusive global lens."   - From the Foreword, Biruté Mary F. Galdikas, Camp Leakey, Borneo, Indonesia This five-volume Encyclopedia of Anthropology is a unique collection of over 1,000 entries that focuses on topics in physical/biological anthropology, archaeology, cultural/social anthropology, linguistics, and applied anthropology. Also included are relevant articles on geology, paleontology, biology, evolution, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and theology. The contributions are authored by 300 internationally renowned experts, professors, and scholars from some of the most distinguished universities, institutes, and museums in the world. Special attention is given to hominid evolution, primate behavior, genetics, ancient civilizations, cross-cultural studies, social theories, and the value of human language for symbolic communication. This groundbreaking Encyclopedia is a must-have reference work for libraries with collections in anthropology, as well as the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. It will provide students, educators, and a wide array of interested readers with a greater understanding of and deeper appreciation for those facts, concepts, methods, hypotheses, and perspectives that make up modern anthropology and related disciplines.

Professor H James Birx shows how the never-ending controversy of human evolution came to be. He details the events that caused thinkers like Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution, and what ideas caused some people to reconcile a somewhat mystical theology with a concrete model of the universe. He tells you how Darwin's work infuriated everybody from "God-fearing" Christians to the church hierarchies. Birx explains how scientific advances and philosophical arguments have made beliefs about divine intervention as the origin of man a moot point. He shows how creationism ignores proven scientific facts, and how human evolution remains a much sounder truth. You will read how some western religions are starting to accept evolution as the process which creates life on earth. You will also learn why scientific evolution and creationism have not been accepted together and how bold attempts to merge the two ideas have failed miserably.

"With a strong interdisciplinary approach to a subject that does not lend itself easily to the reference format, this work may not seem to support directly academic programs beyond general research, but it is a more thorough and up-to-date treatment than Taylor and Francis′s 1994 Encyclopedia of Time. Highly recommended."—Library Journal STARRED ReviewSurveying the major facts, concepts, theories, and speculations that infuse our present comprehension of time, the Encyclopedia of Time: Science, Philosophy, Theology, & Culture explores the contributions of scientists, philosophers, theologians, and creative artists from ancient times to the present. By drawing together into one collection ideas from scholars around the globe and in a wide range of disciplines, this Encyclopedia will provide readers with a greater understanding of and appreciation for the elusive phenomenon experienced as time. Features Surveys historical thought about time, including those ideas that emerged in ancient Greece, early Christianity, the Italian Renaissance, the Age of Enlightenment, and other periodsCovers the original and lasting insights of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin, physicist Albert Einstein, philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, and theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Discusses the significance of time in the writings of Isaac Asimov, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Fyodor M. Dostoevsky, Francesco Petrarch, H. G. Wells, and numerous other authorsContains the contributions of naturalists and religionists, including astronomers, cosmologists, physicists, chemists, geologists, paleontologists, anthropologists, psychologists, philosophers, and theologiansIncludes artists′ portrayals of the fluidity of time, including painter Salvador Dali′s The Persistence of Memory and The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, and writers Gustave Flaubert′s The Temptation of Saint Anthony and Henryk Sienkiewicz′s Quo VadisProvides a truly interdisciplinary approach, with discussions of Aztec, Buddhist, Christian, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Hindu, Islamic, Navajo, and many other cultures′ conceptions of timeKey ThemesBiographyBiology/EvolutionCulture/HistoryGeology/PaleontologyPhilosophyPhysics/ChemistryPsychology/LiteratureReligion/TheologyTheories/Concepts