The Privileged Planet
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The Privileged Planet

Code: Privileged_Planet

$29.95

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by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards

Today, most scientists and philosophers claim that Earth is an ordinary speck of dust adrift, without purpose or significance, in a vast cosmic sea. This idea (popularized by the late astronomer, Carl Sagan) is an outgrowth of the naturalistic philosophy that has dominated science for the past 150 years. Yet, remarkable evidence--unveiled by contemporary astronomy and physics-may now tell a very different story. 

In this provocative book, Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards present a staggering array of evidence that exposes the hollowness of this modern dogma. They demonstrate that our planet is exquisitely fit not only to support life, but also to give us the best view of the universe, as if Earth were designed both for life and for scientific discovery. Readers are taken on a scientific odyssey from a history of tectonic plates, to the wonders of water and solar eclipses, to our location in the Milky Way, to the laws that govern the universe, and to the beginning of cosmic time. 

In 
The Privileged Planet, you will discover:
Why the best scientific evidence refutes the misnamed Copernican Principle—the widely held idea that there is nothing special about Earth or its place in the universe
Why the sheer number and size of galaxies does not mean that Earth’s capacity to sustain life is the result of blind chance
How Earth is precisely positioned in the Milky Way—not only for life, but also to allow us to find answers to the greatest mysteries of the universe
Striking ways in which water doesn’t behave like most other liquids—and how each of its quirks makes it perfectly suited for the existence of creatures like us
The harmony of Earth and the Moon: how they work together to sustain Earthly life as one intricate system—and how that system produces the best solar eclipses where Earthly observers can see them
How Jupiter and Saturn protect Earth from cataclysmic destruction
How the laws and constants that govern the universe must be narrowly fine-tuned for the existence of any complex life

The Privileged Planet's astounding findings should lead any individual to reevaluate entrenched assumptions about the universe—and even to reconsider our very purpose on what so many have dismissed as nothing more than an accident of cosmic evolution.

About the Author

Guillermo Gonzalez is assistant research professor of Astronomy and Physics at Iowa State University. He received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Washington, did his post-doctoral research at the University of Texas, Austin, and the University of Washington. He has received fellowships, grants, and awards from NASA, the University of Washington, Sigma Xi, and the National Science Foundation. He is the author of over sixty peer-reviewed scientific articles. 

Jay W. Richards is vice president and senior fellow of the Discovery Institute in Seattle. He received his Ph.D. with honors from Princeton Theological Seminary, with a focus on modal logic and the philosophy of science. He is the author of many academic and popular essays. He is also the author and editor of several books in subjects as diverse as science, philosophy, and theology, including Are We Spiritual Machines?: Ray Kurzweil Versus the Critics of Strong AI.



 ISBN: 978-0895260659

464 pages

Hardcover 978-0895260659