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As progress in science continues to reveal unimagined complexities, three scientists revisit the difficult and compelling question of the origin of our universe. As mathematician, biochemist, and philosopher of science, they explore the possibility of developing a reliable method for detecting an intelligent cause and evidence for design at the origin of life. In the process, they present a strong case for opening and pursuing a fruitful exchange between science and theology.

Mathematician William Dembski, author of The Design Inference, first argues that new developments in the information sciences make intelligent design objectively and scientifically detectable—he identifies the signs of design. Next, philosopher of science, Stephen Meyer, and biochemist Michael Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box, argue that these signs are now clearly evident in both the architecture of the universe and the features of living systems. Other essays by the authors defend the scientific status of the theory of intelligent design and show how that theory supports traditional religious belief without necessarily "proving" the existence of God. In a concluding essay, Michael Behe responds to critics of his best selling book, Darwin's Black Box, thus bringing readers up-to-date on the status of the contemporary design argument in biology..
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Two books have been particularly influential in contemporary philosophy of science: Karl R. Popper's Logic of Scientific Discovery, and Thomas S. Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Both agree upon the importance of revolutions in science, but differ about the role of criticism in science's revolutionary growth. This volume arose out of a symposium on Kuhn's work, with Popper in the chair, at an international colloquium held in London in 1965. The book begins with Kuhn's statement of his position followed by seven essays offering criticism and analysis, and finally by Kuhn's reply. The book will interest senior undergraduates and graduate students of the philosophy and history of science, as well as professional philosophers, philosophically inclined scientists, and some psychologists and sociologists..
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The quality of blandness: no sooner do you identify it than it begins to appear at every turn. Blandness, by definition, pays little heed to the borders our various disciplines like to draw. As the embodiment of neutrality, the bland lies at the point of origin of all things possible and so links them.
--from In Praise of Blandness

Already translated into six languages, Francois Jullien's In Praise of Blandness has become a classic. Appearing for the first time in English, this groundbreaking work of philosophy, anthropology, aesthetics, and sinology is certain to stir readers to think and experience what may at first seem impossible: the richness of a bland sound, a bland meaning, a bland painting, a bland poem. In presenting the value of blandness through as many concrete examples and original texts as possible, Jullien allows the undifferentiated foundation of all things--blandness itself--to appear. After completing this book, readers will reevaluate those familiar Western lines of thought where blandness is associated with a lack -- the undesirable absence of particular, defining qualities.

Jullien traces the elusive appearance and crucial value of blandness from its beginnings in the Daoist and Confucian traditions to its integration into literary and visual aesthetics in the late-medieval period and beyond. Gradually developing into a positive quality in Chinese aesthetic and ethical traditions, the bland comprises the harmonious and unnameable union of all potential values, embodying a reality whose very essence is change and providing an infinite opening into the breadth of human expression and taste.

More than just a cultural history, In Praise of Blandness invites those both familiar and unfamiliar with Chinese culture to explore the resonances of the bland in literary, philosophical, and religious texts and to witness how all currents of Chinese thought -- Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism -- converge in harmonious accord..
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NELS 37, the thirty-seventh annual meeting of the North East Linguistic Society, was hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on October 13-15, 2006. These two volumes of conference proceedings, edited by Emily Elfner and Martin Walkow and published by the Graduate Linguistic Student Association of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, contain the forty-seven presented papers that were submitted for publication. Volume 1 (this volume) contains papers from the special sessions on the Phonology and Morphology of Pidgins and Creoles and Syntactic Theory and Psycholinguistics as well eighteen papers from the main session..
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One of the only accounts of Socrates by Plato. Socrates lived in very turbulent times. “The Apology” or in Greek “The Defense” Socrates defends himself against the charges that he corrupted the young, did not believe in the gods, and created new deities..
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If your organization is looking for ways to improve performance, here's a source for proven systems, processes, and models from HRD experts Twelve cases provide practical applications of performance analysis and consulting.
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NELS 37, the thirty-seventh annual meeting of the North East Linguistic Society, was hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on October 13-15, 2006. These two volumes of conference proceedings, edited by Emily Elfner and Martin Walkow and published by the Graduate Linguistic Student Association of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, contain the forty-seven presented papers that were submitted for publication. Volume 2 (this volume) contains twenty-three papers from the main session..
Price: $18.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Whether in snack foods, beverages or fine fragrances, vanilla is a perennial consumer favorite From cultivation to application, Vanilla takes a wide-ranging look inside this versatile ingredient. In this must-have volume, a diverse range of experts explore:
flavor extraction from beans
use in ice cream
various uses in perfumery
quality and authentication
regional production in Madagascar, India and Indonesia
commercial survival
the developing natural vanilla market
enzymes in curing
glucosidase in green Vanilla planifolia beans
systematic biology of the plant
cultivation
development of the vanilla fruit
Get in the know on this most popular of flavor and fragrance materials!.
Price: $35.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]