Buddhist Biology cover art

Buddhist Biology

Ancient Eastern Wisdom Meets Modern Western Science

Preview

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buddhist Biology

Written by: David P. Barash
Narrated by: Vikas Adam
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $33.01

Buy Now for $33.01

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Many high-profile public intellectuals - such as the well-known "New Atheists" Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and the late Christopher Hitchens - have argued that religion and science are highly antagonistic, two views of the world that are utterly incompatible. David Barish, a renowned biologist with thirty years of experience, largely agrees with them - with one very big exception. And that exception is Buddhism.

In this fascinating book, David Barash highlights an intriguing patch of common ground between scientific and religious thought, illuminating the many parallels between biology and Buddhism, allowing listeners to see both in a new way. Indeed, he shows that there are numerous places where the Buddhist and biological perspectives coincide. For instance, the cornerstone ecological concept - the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things - is remarkably similar to the fundamental insight of Buddhism. Indeed, a major Buddhist text, the Avatamsaka Sutra - which consists of ten insights into the "interpenetration" between beings and their environment - could well have been written by a trained ecologist. Barash underscores other similarities, including a shared distrust of simple cause-and-effect analysis, a recognition of life as transient and as a "process" rather than permanent and static, and an appreciation of the "rightness" of nature along with a recognition of the suffering that results when natural processes are tampered with. After decades of removing predators to protect deer and elk herds, ecologists have belatedly come to a Buddhist realization that predation - and even forest fires - are natural processes that have an important place in maintaining healthy ecosystems.

Buddhist Biology sheds new light on biology, Buddhism, and the remarkable ways the two perspectives come together, like powerful searchlights that offer complementary and valuable perspectives on the world and our place in it.

©2014 Oxford University Press (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Biological Sciences Buddhism Religious Studies Science Modern Buddhism
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Buddhist Biology

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.