The Biology of Wonder: Aliveness, Feeling and the Metamorphosis of Science - Paperback

by Andreas Weber (Author)

A new way of understanding our place in the web of life from a scholar praised for his "graceful prose" (Publishers Weekly).

The disconnection between humans and nature is perhaps one of the most fundamental problems faced by our species today. This schism is arguably the root cause of most of the environmental catastrophes unraveling around us. Until we come to terms with the depths of our alienation, we will continue to fail to understand that what happens to nature also happens to us.

In The Biology of Wonder Andreas Weber proposes a new approach to the biological sciences that puts the human back in nature. He argues that feelings and emotions, far from being superfluous to the study of organisms, are the very foundation of life. From this basic premise flows the development of a "poetic ecology" which intimately connects our species to everything that surrounds us-showing that subjectivity and imagination are prerequisites of biological existence.

Written by a leader in the emerging fields of biopoetics and biosemiotics, The Biology of Wonder demonstrates that there is no separation between us and the world we inhabit, and in so doing it validates the essence of our deep experience. By reconciling science with meaning, expression, and emotion, this landmark work brings us to a crucial understanding of our place in the rich and diverse framework of life-a revolution for biology as groundbreaking as the theory of relativity for physics.

"Grounded in science, yet eloquently narrated, this is a groundbreaking book. Weber's visionary work provides new insight into human/nature interconnectedness and the dire consequences we face by remaining disconnected." -Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods

Back Jacket

Understanding our place in the web of life

"Grounded in science, yet eloquently narrated, this is a groundbreaking book. Weber's visionary work provides new insight into human/nature interconnectedness and the dire consequences we face by remaining disconnected."
--Richard Louv, author, The Nature Principle and Last Child in the Woods

What is life? In The Biology of Wonder , scientist Andreas Weber reframes this fundamental enigma by arguing that all living beings, like humans, are not biological machines, but living, creative agents fueled by meaning and expression.

The schism between us and the natural world is arguably the root cause of most of the environmental catastrophes unravelling around us. Until we come to terms with the depths of our alienation, we will fail to understand that what happens to nature also happens to us.

This landmark work demonstrates that our connection to Earth's complex web of dynamic, interconnected relationships underpins the entire range of human experience, giving rise to a new ecological ethos, and demonstrating that subjectivity and imagination are the prerequisites of biological existence.

"Written with poetic elegance and interwoven with a rich vein of personal narrative, this extraordinary book takes the central idea of the subjectivity and interior life of all living beings and gives it concreteness..."
--Shierry Weber Nicholsen, author, The Love of Nature and the End of the World

"Weber reorients us scientifically, poetically, and morally from insufficient reductionism."
--Stuart Kauffman FRSC, Emeritus Professor, University of Pennsylvania

"In Andreas Weber's vision, nature is beautiful, and ecology is poetry. Follow his beautiful words into a science that investigates the Earth as a breathing, sensitive planet..."
--David Rothenberg, author, Survival of the Beautiful and Bug Music

Dr. Andreas Weber is a German academic, scholar and author, and is a leader in the emerging fields of biopoetics and biosemiotics. His work has been translated into several languages and published around the globe.

Author Biography

Dr. Andreas Weber is a German academic, scholar and writer who holds degrees in Marine Biology and Cultural Studies. He is the author of eight non-fiction books and dozens of magazine features and is highly respected for his work in the fields of popular science and environmental sustainability. Andreas explores new understandings of life-as-meaning or "biopoetics" and "biosemiotics" in science and in the arts, and his work has been translated into several languages and published around the globe.