Anaxagoras and the Origin of Panspermia Theory

by Margaret R. O'Leary


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E-Book
$6.00
Softcover
$9.95
E-Book
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Book Details

Language : English
Publication Date : 5/29/2008

Format : E-Book
Dimensions : N/A
Page Count : 70
ISBN : 9780595611669
Format : Softcover
Dimensions : 6x9
Page Count : 70
ISBN : 9780595495962

About the Book

Origin of Panspermia Theory is an overview of an ancient natural philosopher's revolutionary ideas on the origin of life in the conservative religious culture of fifth-century BC Athens. The obsession of Ionian philosopher Anaxagoras with natural science and his utter rejection of supernatural explanations for happenings in the physical universe violated deeply venerated religious norms held by Athenian society.

Indeed, his belief in the folly of the posture that humans could tease, flatter, enrage, seduce, chastise, and bargain with their gods to manipulate outcomes almost earned him a cup of hemlock, poured straight up by the Athenian multitude.

Anaxagoras' theory of panspermia is an example of the long-ago situation in which science and religion first collided.

This monograph is the first of a series that tracks the theory of panspermia from its origin to its modern counterpart, astrobiology.


About the Author

Margaret R. O?Leary has degrees in religion, zoology, and medicine, and twenty-five years of professional experience as an emergency physician, writer, educator, and community organizer. Origin of Panspermia Theory examines the ancient roots of astrobiology. Dr. O?Leary lives in St. Charles, Illinois, and is an unrepentant bibliophile.