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Religions say life was created by a powerful
being with mystical powers. Science says life evolved from
a soup of chemicals, clay, or even a supernatural force.
According to Professor Robert Shapiro, both are wrong.
In this witty, wise, and sure to be controversial
book, Shapiro explores the various answers that have been
advanced on the question of life on earth and the human
factors that motivate even so-called scientific theories
of creation. Although the scientific method evolved to provide
an alternative to religion and myth, he demonstrates how
many theories -- including those of Nobel laureate Francis
Crick, Sir Fred Hoyle, Carl Sagan, and others -- rest on
premises that fall squarely into the realm of "bio-mythology."
Shapiro assesses the various strengths and
weaknesses of theories such as the well-publicized scenario
of life arising out of the interaction of lightning and
a soup of chemicals, life forming from clay, and even theories
of supernatural beings proposed from a scientific framework.
These discussions take place in the context of the history
of science and the rise and fall of a variety of ideas ranging
from debates between scientist-priests in the eighteenth
century to the Creationist controversy today. The stories
of these vary human encounters provide an important background
for understanding the state of contemporary science in one
of the most critical issues it faces. "The answer to
this question matters deeply to us," Shapiro explains,
"as it affects not only how we view the world, but
the larger purpose of life itself."
While recognizing the value of religion
and myth, Shapiro's interest lies in the possibilities of
science -- what it is capable of telling us, what we can
do with that knowledge, and the difference it can make in
individual lives. And although Shapiro offers no definite
answers, he points in a direction and asserts the enormous
potential of true science. "The guiding spirit of this
quest is the scientific approach, and the ways in which
it views and explores the world," he writes. "If
the reader takes from this book not only a sense of wonder
at the unsolved riddle of existence, but also a preference
for doubt in the place of dogma and a keen appreciation
for the practice of proper science, then I will have achieved
my purpose." Whatever their religious, philosophical,
or scientific beliefs, Origins will fascinate and
provoke readers of all persuasions.
Robert Shapiro is a Professor of Chemistry
at New York University and an expert on DNA research and
the genetic effect of environmental chemicals. He is coauthor
of Life Beyond Earth, which The New York Times
Book Review called, in a page-one review, "one of
the best books on earth about life elsewhere." "If
I were to name once science book I would have read in 1981,"
said Isaac Asimov of Life Beyond Earth, "it
would be this one."
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