The Sacred Depths of Nature eBook: Ursula Goodenough: Amazon.com.au: Kindle Store
For many of us, the great scientific discoveries of the modern age--the Big Bang, evolution, quantum physics, relativity-- point to an existence that is bleak, devoid of meaning, pointless. But in The Sacred Depths of Nature, eminent biologist Ursula Goodenough shows us that the scientific world view need not be a source of despair. Indeed, it can be a wellspring of solace and hope.
This eloquent volume reconciles the modern scientific understanding of reality with our timeless spiritual yearnings for reverence and continuity. Looking at topics such as evolution, emotions, sexuality, and death, Goodenough writes with rich, uncluttered detail about the workings of nature in general and of living creatures in particular. Her luminous clarity makes it possible for even non-scientists to appreciate that the origins of life and the universe are no less meaningful because of our increasingly scientific understanding of them. At the end of each chapter, Goodenough's spiritual reflections respond to the complexity of nature with vibrant emotional intensity and a sense of reverent wonder.
A beautifully written celebration of molecular biology with meditations on the spiritual and religious meaning that can be found at the heart of science, this volume makes an important contribution to the ongoing dialog between science and religion. This book will engage anyone who was ever mesmerized--or terrified--by the mysteries of existence.
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"Goodenough gives us a new bridge between science and religion that is both eloquent and elegant. She offers us the poetry, power, and passion of her vision of nature, a vision born from scientific knowledge, nurtured by religious sensibility, and inspired by nature itself." --Mary Evelyn Tucker, historian of religion, Bucknell University "An engaging, authoritative and lyrical account of the molecular basis of life and its evolution. Goodenough...explains the dynamics of biology with the evident pleasure of a gifted science writer. Her reflections evoke a deep gratitude for the magic of our existence and the necessity to preserve that which makes it possible."--Thomas Pollard, cell biologist, President, The Salk Institute "Incisive, comprehensive, witty, and beautiful, with paragraph after paragraph of lucidity and significance. We could be witnessing one of the most important cultural events of the last three centuries--the moment when scientists themselves take seriously their role in forging a planetary wisdom."--Brian Swimme, cosmologist, California Institute of Integral Studies "A celebration of molecular biology, with meditations on the spiritual and religious meaning that can be found at the heart of science, makes an important contribution to the ongoing dialog between science and religion. This book well engage anyone who has ever been mesmerized--or terrified--by the mysteries of existence."--Biology Digest "Her descriptions of enzymes, zygotes, and eukaryotes are crystal clear, and warmly complement her outlook."--Gilbert Taylor,Booklist "In this unique book...Goodenough has accomplished what few scientists dare to try: to provide a clear, even reductionist, account of the most modern concepts in science."--San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle "For a scientist like myself, Goodenough's elegant narratives provide a refreshing way to encounter familiar material. I was especially impressed with her ability to cut right to the quick, so that within a few short pages the reader is whisked from the big bang to the emergence of our planet and the birth of life on earth."--Scientific American
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For many of us, the great scientific discoveries of the modern age--the Big Bang, evolution, quantum physics, relativity-- point to an existence that is bleak, devoid of meaning, pointless. But in The Sacred Depths of Nature, eminent biologist Ursula Goodenough shows us that the scientific world view need not be a source of despair. Indeed, it can be a wellspring of solace and hope.
This eloquent volume reconciles the modern scientific understanding of reality with our timeless spiritual yearnings for reverence and continuity. Looking at topics such as evolution, emotions, sexuality, and death, Goodenough writes with rich, uncluttered detail about the workings of nature in general and of living creatures in particular. Her luminous clarity makes it possible for even non-scientists to appreciate that the origins of life and the universe are no less meaningful because of our increasingly scientific understanding of them. At the end of each chapter, Goodenough's spiritual reflections respond to the complexity of nature with vibrant emotional intensity and a sense of reverent wonder.
A beautifully written celebration of molecular biology with meditations on the spiritual and religious meaning that can be found at the heart of science, this volume makes an important contribution to the ongoing dialog between science and religion. This book will engage anyone who was ever mesmerized--or terrified--by the mysteries of existence.
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Paul Chadwick
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent discussion of current biological science as it relates to popular religionsApril 23, 2017
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Ursula Goodenough was an assistant professor in the Biology Department at Harvard during the same time in the early 1970s that I was a graduate student there in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. I didn't know her, but we both worked in the Biological Laboratories, I on the fourth floor, and she may be been one floor down. In any case, I saw her around. She appeared to me at the time to be one of those hippyish characters that were common in that era, and I didn't think much more about it.
Her book is excellent. I little out of date, published in 1998, but only with regard to a few minor details that have emerged since the sequencing of the human genome was completed about three years after its publication. It is a very thoughtful synthesis of the understandings of current biological science with the human tendency toward religiosity and the myths and tenets of popular religions. On reading, I was amazed at how much it reflected my own views. Well worth reading!
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John W
5.0 out of 5 starsReverence for realitySeptember 12, 2018
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The idea of having a spiritual reflection on each step of the evolutionary process seems like something that could make you cringe. But Ursula has a deep reverence for the science that she knows and an equally deep understanding of Christian culture, so she pulls it off. Definitely quote worthy.
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KateTheGreat
5.0 out of 5 starsAn illuminating journey into the sacred depths of biology.December 9, 2018
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I did find Ursula Goodenough's "Sacred Depths of Nature" an illuminating ride. She has a true appreciation for the--religious-- mystery to be found scientific discovery. And explains it, step-by-step, in a way a lay-person such as myself can follow. Richard Dawkins and Neil de Grasse Tyson need to read this book.
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Joyce Converse
5.0 out of 5 starsA Sustaining ConsciousnessJanuary 11, 2014
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With absolutely no background in physics, chemistry or biology, this was a difficult book technically but what the author manages is miraculous. First, she is a great teacher, using metaphor to help with understanding since there really ARE no visuals for her subject matter -- matter itself. In each chapter she teaches a scientific process. Then she adds her reflections on it -- i.e. she brings it into a personal/emotional realm and finally, she often ends the chapter with a quote or a poem. If one were able to really take it in, to understand it well enough to absorb it deeply, it translates to love, awe, wonder -- of all things, of life, of self and becomes the foundation for a way of being in the world that accepts even death as a gift of life (as contradictory as that may sound). What emerges is a reverence toward life itself --- its individual uniqueness and its improbability -- a non-theistic consciousness not dependent on belief, therefore not a religion. It takes the human cravings that create religion and grounds them in fact. For me, this is a life-changing book. My metaphor: the ingredients, the cooking tools, the chopping, mixing, stirring, baking, the time necessary to produce fabulous food, wherein the whole is greater than the sum of the parts -- these are all the nucleotides, cascades, cells, genes, proteins that engage and produce species -- both plant and animal, each of which is truly one of a kind.
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Robert L. Bartz
5.0 out of 5 starsClear and simple explainations of how the world came to be and how it works.October 10, 2015
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This book is a clearly written source of how our world came to be and how it works. I've sent it to my granddaughters as a primary source
to acquaint them with how things really work. My only reservation is that Ursula toys around with "beliefs" as a crutch for what can't be
explained by science. Later in the book she rejects this use of "beliefs". With the scientific method there is no place for beliefs (you only accept
what you can prove under controlled conditions). Yet she has a knack for explaining things clearly and simply.
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Rose
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent!May 15, 2017
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Excellent is the only word I can say. This book is truly speaking of my heart as an agnostic and as a naturalist. I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to seek meaning of life in the world of laws of nature and not in any dogma, you'll not be disappointed!
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Allen K. Lang
5.0 out of 5 starsHard science and thoughtful ethical thought in balance.September 15, 2018
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Our Humanist group has spent four meetings discussing Goodenough's book, to our great advantage. Her review of molecular biology is available—just available!—to readers not at home in DNA science. Her thoughts on ethics and religion are great for stimulating thoughtful conversation.
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Beth C.
5.0 out of 5 starsRespecting our world.April 12, 2019
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I just received the book yesterday. I’m mesmerized by it. Loving the 🌍 earth, taking good are of humans, animals,every living thing. Book arrived super fast. I can’t wait to read the rest.
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C. Iyizob
3.0 out of 5 starsIt's kindof ok but it's not what i thought it ...November 26, 2016
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It's kindof ok but it's not what i thought it would be. It's just a biology textbook. The only thing that makes it different from a textbook is just that at the end of each chapter she writes a single page called "reflections" that summarizes the science with a religious tone. Religous naturalism in this book is purely emotional and not philosophical.
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Rebecca Anne Turner
4.0 out of 5 starsNiceDecember 28, 2018
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Nice
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The Sacred Depths of Nature
by
3.88 · Rating details · 304 ratings · 39 reviews
This volume reconciles the modern scientific understanding of reality with our timeless spiritual yearnings for reverence and continuity. Looking at topics such as evolution, emotions, sexuality, and death, Goodenough writes with rich, uncluttered detail about the workings of nature in general and of living creatures in particular. Her luminous clarity makes it possible for even non-scientists to appreciate that the origins of life and the universe are no less meaningful because of our increasingly scientific understanding of them. At the end of each chapter, Goodenough's spiritual reflections respond to the complexity of nature with vibrant emotional intensity and a sense of reverent wonder. (less)
Paperback, 224 pages
Published June 1st 2000 by Oxford University Press, USA (first published January 1st 1998)
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Dec 26, 2010Amy Drew rated it it was amazing
as someone who identifies as a religious naturalist, I consider this book to be canon; it is one book of my bible. While I am hopelessly inept at articulating the deep and transcendent reverence for nature that keeps me warm all through these winters of our cultural discontent, the unjustly named Goodenough gracefully conveys -- and celebrates -- the soulfulness of the spiritual scientist. if there is anyone on earth I share a worldview with exactly, it's ursula goodenough, and her explanation of this viewpoint is triumphant in its clarity. (less)
Apr 21, 2013Nick is currently reading it
Ursula Goodenough's ideas and thoughts are very similar to my own. One big difference between us might be that she was brought up in a family and community where religion played a major role. I did not, and I have always considered myself to be an atheist. Or better yet: What I would call myself if people asked whether I was religious. In my teen years I even was a very active member of a discussion group about religion and non-religion. It says something about what I (don't) believe about a personal God, and that I find the subject fascinating. But "atheism" doesn't say a lot about what I dó believe. Some terms might describe me: humanist, skeptic, openminded, curious, etc.
But does that say anything about how I experience this world, this existence, this Universe? Probably not, since it can't get more personal than this. I am Nick, with my personal thoughts and feelings about this world. There is no need to categorize myself, to use an ultimate term to describe me, but spiritual naturalism comes as close as possible. In my whole life I've been in awe of The Universe. The grandness of it, the tiny parts that it constitutes of. Life has always made me feel connected and hopeful. Science and philosophy have been my ways to research this complex world, to somehow praise the beauty and intricacies of it, and even to give great meaning and enjoyment to my life. The remaining mysteries excite me, existing knowledge attracts me to learn about it without end, existential questions keep me up at night, music and art make me feel more alive than just my biochemical interactions what life is made out of. And all of this, all the emotions, experiences, thoughts and concepts take place in my personal "thinking organ" called the brain, evolved out of billions of biological evolution, evolved out of billions of cosmic evolution. All these emergent functions... It's simply amazing.
Whether you would call me an atheist or spiritual naturalist... I don't mind. All I can say is that I am a person with both feet on the ground who's deeply in love with The Universe. (less)
But does that say anything about how I experience this world, this existence, this Universe? Probably not, since it can't get more personal than this. I am Nick, with my personal thoughts and feelings about this world. There is no need to categorize myself, to use an ultimate term to describe me, but spiritual naturalism comes as close as possible. In my whole life I've been in awe of The Universe. The grandness of it, the tiny parts that it constitutes of. Life has always made me feel connected and hopeful. Science and philosophy have been my ways to research this complex world, to somehow praise the beauty and intricacies of it, and even to give great meaning and enjoyment to my life. The remaining mysteries excite me, existing knowledge attracts me to learn about it without end, existential questions keep me up at night, music and art make me feel more alive than just my biochemical interactions what life is made out of. And all of this, all the emotions, experiences, thoughts and concepts take place in my personal "thinking organ" called the brain, evolved out of billions of biological evolution, evolved out of billions of cosmic evolution. All these emergent functions... It's simply amazing.
Whether you would call me an atheist or spiritual naturalist... I don't mind. All I can say is that I am a person with both feet on the ground who's deeply in love with The Universe. (less)
Aug 01, 2017Timothy Urges rated it really liked it · review of another edition
3.5
Asking those profound questions that no one can answer, but also important observations are made on the genesis of life on earth and its continuation.
Half of this reads like a textbook. The other half reflects on scientific facts, and how cells are as holy as gods.
Asking those profound questions that no one can answer, but also important observations are made on the genesis of life on earth and its continuation.
Half of this reads like a textbook. The other half reflects on scientific facts, and how cells are as holy as gods.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Jul 20, 2010Adam rated it liked it
Recommended to Adam by: Melody Moberg
Shelves: philosophy, science, non-fiction
I am somewhat ambivalent about this book. I was expecting a book of Deep Ecology, featuring the author's personal spiritual reactions to scientific epiphanies. Instead, Goodenough takes it upon herself to organize all human spiritual and cultural traditions around that set of scientific epiphanies in an effort to create a unifying Global Ethos. Instead of responding personally to things, she merely collects a few random scraps of sacred text and waxes briefly on how different spiritual traditions responded to the biological concepts she's describing. Since much of the scientific material is old hat to most people, much of the book ends up being fairly innocuous light reading. What bits of science held more interest for me did so by virtue of their novelty to me personally. Those few things definitely did make me more excited to take Intro Bio next fall.
What I did find very positive and valuable about this book, however, was the way it inspired me to respond with deep and reflective thoughts. I found myself writing a lot in response to her ideas, and thinking and reflecting even more, even though I didn't find her ideas or the way she articulated them very interesting in themselves. Therefore, I definitely found it a worthwhile read, and would probably recommend you follow through and read it if you're interested. But it's not vital.
The best part of the book was the final chapter or epilogue, and this passage in particular:
"Reproductive success is governed by many variables, but key adaptations have included the evolution of awareness, valuation, and purpose. In order to continue, genomes must dictate organisms that are aware of their environmental circumstances, evaluate those inputs correctly, and respond with intentionality.
And so, I profess my Faith. For me, the existenec of all this complexity and awareness and intent and beauty, and my ability to apprehend it, serves as the ultimate meaning and the ultimate value. the continuation of life reaches around, grabs its own tail, and forms a sacred circle that requires no further justification, no Creator, no superordinate meaning of meaning, no purpose other than that the continuation continue until the sun collapses or the final meteor collides. I confess a credo of continuation." (less)
What I did find very positive and valuable about this book, however, was the way it inspired me to respond with deep and reflective thoughts. I found myself writing a lot in response to her ideas, and thinking and reflecting even more, even though I didn't find her ideas or the way she articulated them very interesting in themselves. Therefore, I definitely found it a worthwhile read, and would probably recommend you follow through and read it if you're interested. But it's not vital.
The best part of the book was the final chapter or epilogue, and this passage in particular:
"Reproductive success is governed by many variables, but key adaptations have included the evolution of awareness, valuation, and purpose. In order to continue, genomes must dictate organisms that are aware of their environmental circumstances, evaluate those inputs correctly, and respond with intentionality.
And so, I profess my Faith. For me, the existenec of all this complexity and awareness and intent and beauty, and my ability to apprehend it, serves as the ultimate meaning and the ultimate value. the continuation of life reaches around, grabs its own tail, and forms a sacred circle that requires no further justification, no Creator, no superordinate meaning of meaning, no purpose other than that the continuation continue until the sun collapses or the final meteor collides. I confess a credo of continuation." (less)
May 01, 2013Jessica rated it liked it
Meh. I really was hoping for more from this - I had heard the author speak on a podcast. It was fine and it was short - so I'll likely read it again for the evolutionary biology - but the reflections were too short and as someone else said she just threw in a lot of quotes from other sources without really explaining them (plus she used a lot of Christian hymns to, I guess, try to explain the religious feelings she gets from nature - but that really didn't fit with the whole premise of the book to me - frankly I hated it). I'm not saying I got nothing from it beyond the biology - It just promised much more than it delivered. There were a couple of takeaway reflections but I wished she had spent more time on them overall. (less)
Dec 13, 2009Barbara rated it it was amazing
I read this first in December of 2009 but was reminded of it again when I attended a panel discussion on science & religion. So, I read it again with a renewed interest in spiritual naturalism. This remains a special book I will pick up for inspiration and renewal.
Understanding how life works from a cellular biological perspective could result in confusion about religious beliefs but Ursula Goodenough makes sense of it all. Despite the technical discussion of amino acids, proteins, reproduction, evolution, etc. she can still experience and appreciate the profound and the sacred. She ends up with a theory of continuation or Religious Naturalism. I want to read it again. (less)
Understanding how life works from a cellular biological perspective could result in confusion about religious beliefs but Ursula Goodenough makes sense of it all. Despite the technical discussion of amino acids, proteins, reproduction, evolution, etc. she can still experience and appreciate the profound and the sacred. She ends up with a theory of continuation or Religious Naturalism. I want to read it again. (less)
Apr 25, 2012Mark Johnson rated it really liked it
As a religious person that is finding traditional religion to be lacking, I greatly welcomed this book. The author is an atheist, but attends church regular. Her Dad, a former theology prof, and also an athist, says that, nonetheless, he stills prays and 'Jesus answers.' For me, this book accepts the scientific version of the world (as I do) but does not throw the baby out with the bathwater--that is, it still recognizes the spiritual nature of ourselves and hat we must have ways of touching that nd letting our 'souls' (which likely don't exit) express themselves. (less)
Jan 06, 2012Anjie Brown rated it liked it
Excellent book if you're looking for an easy to understand break-down of cellular biology and chemistry. It is indeed, a fascinating read, but, for me, it still lacks the depth of spirituality that I'm looking for and striving to understand. Pantheism is an extraordinary concept, and even given how well this book is written, it still lacks the close, personal experience that I want and crave. Great book...just not the book for me.
A little too deep for Jane Q. Public. Maybe even for some of us who have had courses in biology and physiology, genetics and chemistry. Maybe this reader been away from the sciences for too long. It's hard to make it relate to one's everyday life.
Mar 15, 2018Frank Jude rated it it was amazing
Ursula Goodenough is one of America's leading cell biologists and the author of a wonderful textbook, Genetics. She has served as President of the American Society of Cell Biology and of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science. She is the current president of the Religious Naturalist Association (RNA... and yes, it is a conscious pun) of which I am a member.
There is a growing movement of naturalists who find religious or spiritual experience within nature while rejecting the supernatural. Along with the Religious Naturalist Association, for instance, is the Spiritual Naturalist Society and the Sacred Naturalism Project spearheaded by my friend, Alice Andrews. And of course, I've been creating and teaching what I call Zen Naturalism for just over ten years now.
This little book from Goodenough is divided up into twelve chapters, each beginning with a story about the dynamic processes of Nature. The first, "Origins of the Earth" is one from physics, but staring with the second, "Origins of Life" her emphasis is on biology starting with the fascinating story of molecules, genes and cells. From chapter to chapter she walks us through what she calls the "Epic of Evolution" including the patterns of biological evolution and the arising of biodiversity; multicellularity, and the emergence of sex and sexuality and death (they are intimately related), to awareness, emotion, and value.
She shows convincingly how the arising of the deepest sense of meaning and value can be accounted for through natural causes, not requiring any supernatural "Creator" or given meaning to life. Each story is followed by a short "religious response" which may include some poetry or commentary on a re-valuation of traditional religious concepts such as the central importance of "fellowship and community" which she grounds in our common ancestry with all of life as understood through the mechanism of evolution.
I heartily recommend this book! If you are a lay-reader, you will learn more about biological processes and the working of evolution than you might expect -- all told in an engaging way that makes the science easier to digest and the religious experience via nature fully accessible.
(less)
There is a growing movement of naturalists who find religious or spiritual experience within nature while rejecting the supernatural. Along with the Religious Naturalist Association, for instance, is the Spiritual Naturalist Society and the Sacred Naturalism Project spearheaded by my friend, Alice Andrews. And of course, I've been creating and teaching what I call Zen Naturalism for just over ten years now.
This little book from Goodenough is divided up into twelve chapters, each beginning with a story about the dynamic processes of Nature. The first, "Origins of the Earth" is one from physics, but staring with the second, "Origins of Life" her emphasis is on biology starting with the fascinating story of molecules, genes and cells. From chapter to chapter she walks us through what she calls the "Epic of Evolution" including the patterns of biological evolution and the arising of biodiversity; multicellularity, and the emergence of sex and sexuality and death (they are intimately related), to awareness, emotion, and value.
She shows convincingly how the arising of the deepest sense of meaning and value can be accounted for through natural causes, not requiring any supernatural "Creator" or given meaning to life. Each story is followed by a short "religious response" which may include some poetry or commentary on a re-valuation of traditional religious concepts such as the central importance of "fellowship and community" which she grounds in our common ancestry with all of life as understood through the mechanism of evolution.
I heartily recommend this book! If you are a lay-reader, you will learn more about biological processes and the working of evolution than you might expect -- all told in an engaging way that makes the science easier to digest and the religious experience via nature fully accessible.
(less)
Review of Goodenough’s: The Sacred Depths of Nature
Though some have cautiously kept science and religion apart, remembering the theme in Ecclesiastes that “To everything there is a season, and a time in every purpose under the heaven,” there have been, in recent decades, a spate of books that try to build bridges between the two. Of these, some seek to find science in time-honored religious texts, while others seek religion in well-established scientific results. The book under review belongs to the latter category.
I have difficulty seeing the Big Bang in the Bible or vacuum fluctuations in the Vedas, but astrophysics and unified fields do resonate with my spiritual chords. So I thoroughly enjoyed reading Goodenough’s slender volume.
During the past century, of all scientific disciplines it was biology that came into open combat with the religious world views of the Judeo-Christian tradition. In an earlier century, Galileo had to answer the Catholic Church for propagating the Copernican model. In the nineteenth century, no Inquisition brought Kelvin to court for estimating the age of the sun, but in a famous Oxforddebate, Huxley had to argue for the Darwinian declaration. What is ironic is that the hand of God (even as envisioned in the orthodox framework) is nowhere more spectacular than in the biological world. Yes, there is order in the cosmos and beauty in elliptic orbits, but these pale in comparison to the magnificent complexity and variety of life. The mere spectacle of the structure and system apparent even in the simplest of organisms should leave one gasping in wonder and recognize marvel whatever its source. Or, as Goodenough says it with a personal flourish, “I walk through the Missouriwoods and the organisms are everywhere, seen and unseen, flying about or pushing through the soil or rummaging under the leaves, adapting and reproducing. I open my senses to them and we connect [pp. 73-74].”
Beginning with a concise review of the earth’s origin, Goodenough presents a series of glimpses of the biological world view, guiding us step-by-step through an orchard of results and reflections. With intelligent modesty, she articulates her covenant with Mystery. As one who holds the view that to concede there is mystery in ultimate questions is a wisdom that tames the arrogance springing from cocksure knowledge and the fanaticism arising from the conviction that we know all about God and the beyond, I applaud her for this. Her pithy phrase “Life has no choice but to evolve [4]” reminded me of an old ditty which said, “Life is so peculiar there’s nothing to do but live…” She confesses that once she wallowed in the poignant nihilism [p.10] of Steven Weinberg’s oft-repeated reaction upon recognizing the laws of physics: “The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems pointless.” [I recall that when I read this memorable sentence, I said to myself that Weinberg should have added two little words at the end: “to me.”] For meaning and point are functions of ones perspective. After all, Picasso and Verdi, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, could also be pointless if we consider them in the context of the Clausius Heat Death, but are they really pointless to those who appreciate and enjoy them?
For when one sees the world as Goodenough does: “…the existence of all this complexity and awareness and intent and beauty and my ability to apprehend it, steadily, from the beginning to the present. We are all, we creatures who are alive today, equally old, or equally recent [p. 85].” This is a more complex thought, and for all its scientific factualness, it is enriching rather than competing with the vision of being formed by a loving Creator. Whether the topic is meaning or sex, sexuality or death, the discussion is grounded on sound biology, as when she reflects on death: “Death is the price paid to have trees and clams and birds and grasshoppers, and death is the price to have human consciousness, to be aware of all that shimmering awareness and all that love [p. 151].” Here, as elsewhere, her language is simple and clear, uncluttered by abstruse jargon or pedantic verbosity, and her prose lucid, at times poetic. There are short quotes from thinkers and scriptures at the close of many chapters. Whether it be from the Psalms or Walt Whitman or a lesser known author, these relevant spurts of thought prompt us to a heightened level of appreciation of the wonders around us, and of the sheer splendor of life, and they contribute to making this book, as one early reader described it, a Daily Devotional.
However, while Goodenough recognizes the richness in the wisdom of the ages, hers is not an attempt to establish the correctness of holy books. Indeed she admits to her inability to resonate with some of the traditional beliefs, resulting, for sure from her involvement with science. And because this involvement has meaningfully matured, she reacts to science with awareness and alertness, and exemplifies in this work how one can respond religiously to the cold and confirmed facts established by rigorous and disinterested science. The cover of the book which captures tortoises in the Galapagos reminds us of the slow advance of evolution in the sacred arena of our planet.
Religion is an experience with multiple facets. Some relate to prayer, some to surrender to the Almighty, and some others to love and caring. Science may be of little value in these contexts. But there are two other dimensions of religion which are of no less importance. One is contemplation, a contemplation inspired by awe and reverence, and leads to higher levels of awareness. Science can join in here with the religions of the world, albeit at a somewhat esoteric level. Not in the mere recognition of causes, not in the listing of verified hypotheses, not in the prediction of planetary orbits, not in its countless applications, but in its elevation of the human spirit by the contemplation ofrevealed complexities. When one reflects on the world, standing on the bedrock of science, one can not only undergo a deep religious experience, but also see the essential wisdom in the religious traditions of the human family. When a sensitive scientific mind contemplates on Nature, it is reminded of the line from a Pawnee prayer [quoted in the book, p. 86]: “Remember, remember the sacredness of things….” As Blake saw “heaven in a wild flower,” Goodenough unveils to the reader “the sacred depths of nature.”
Then there is the ethical level. Traditional religions stress personal conduct in relation to those with whom one immediately interacts: parents, children, friends, neighbors, community, etc. And many of them also express a reverence for and pay homage to the powers and principles of Nature. But, with the intertwining of the peoples of the world and the technological assault on the environment there is a crying need for a planetary ethic. This too is a goal of Goodenough’s book. As she clearly states, her agenda “for this book is to outline the foundations for such a planetary ethic, an ethic that would make no claim to supplant existing traditions but would seek to coexist with them, informing our global concerns… [pp. xv-xvii]” She could have said, supplement and fortify them further, instead of “coexist with them.” The concluding chapter of the book [pp. 166 et seq.] explores this idea further. There is no doubt that as we move forward, carrying the boons and burden of technological onslaught into the impending century, we need to enlarge our ethical visions in the new and rapidly changing contexts. This can be most effectively done by the deep understanding that science offers, and the reverential humility to the world that wisdom fosters. This book accomplishes all this with great charm and insight.
Ursula Goodenough, The Sacred Depths of Nature,OxfordUniversity Press, NY, 1998, 197 pp, ISBN 0-19-512613-0 U.S.$ 24.00.
