Books about Proceeding from Amazon.com

As progress in science continues to reveal unimagined complexities, three scientists revisit the difficult and compelling question of the origin of our universe. As mathematician, biochemist, and philosopher of science, they explore the possibility of developing a reliable method for detecting an intelligent cause and evidence for design at the origin of life. In the process, they present a strong case for opening and pursuing a fruitful exchange between science and theology.

Mathematician William Dembski, author of The Design Inference, first argues that new developments in the information sciences make intelligent design objectively and scientifically detectable—he identifies the signs of design. Next, philosopher of science, Stephen Meyer, and biochemist Michael Behe, author of Darwin's Black Box, argue that these signs are now clearly evident in both the architecture of the universe and the features of living systems. Other essays by the authors defend the scientific status of the theory of intelligent design and show how that theory supports traditional religious belief without necessarily "proving" the existence of God. In a concluding essay, Michael Behe responds to critics of his best selling book, Darwin's Black Box, thus bringing readers up-to-date on the status of the contemporary design argument in biology..
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The quality of blandness: no sooner do you identify it than it begins to appear at every turn. Blandness, by definition, pays little heed to the borders our various disciplines like to draw. As the embodiment of neutrality, the bland lies at the point of origin of all things possible and so links them.
—from In Praise of Blandness

Already translated into six languages, Francois Jullien's In Praise of Blandness has become a classic. Appearing for the first time in English, this groundbreaking work of philosophy, anthropology, aesthetics, and sinology is certain to stir readers to think and experience what may at first seem impossible: the richness of a bland sound, a bland meaning, a bland painting, a bland poem. In presenting the value of blandness through as many concrete examples and original texts as possible, Jullien allows the undifferentiated foundation of all things—blandness itself—to appear. After completing this book, readers will reevaluate those familiar Western lines of thought where blandness is associated with a lack—the undesirable absence of particular, defining qualities.

Jullien traces the elusive appearance and crucial value of blandness from its beginnings in the Daoist and Confucian traditions to its integration into literary and visual aesthetics in the late-medieval period and beyond. Gradually developing into a positive quality in Chinese aesthetic and ethical traditions, the bland comprises the harmonious and unnameable union of all potential values, embodying a reality whose very essence is change and providing an infinite opening into the breadth of human expression and taste.

More than just a cultural history, In Praise of Blandness invites those both familiar and unfamiliar with Chinese culture to explore the resonances of the bland in literary, philosophical, and religious texts and to witness how all currents of Chinese thought—Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism—converge in harmonious accord..
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Two books have been particularly influential in contemporary philosophy of science: Karl R. Popper's Logic of Scientific Discovery, and Thomas S. Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Both agree upon the importance of revolutions in science, but differ about the role of criticism in science's revolutionary growth. This volume arose out of a symposium on Kuhn's work, with Popper in the chair, at an international colloquium held in London in 1965. The book begins with Kuhn's statement of his position followed by seven essays offering criticism and analysis, and finally by Kuhn's reply. The book will interest senior undergraduates and graduate students of the philosophy and history of science, as well as professional philosophers, philosophically inclined scientists, and some psychologists and sociologists..
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This anthology serves as a ready resource of material that defines the Marine Corps as an institution and captures the essence of what it means to be a Marine. Divided into four parts, the first section focuses on being a Marine; the second on the Corps' training, roles, and missions; the third on leadership and command; and the fourth on the Corps' view of warfare--how it has changed and how it is likely to be conducted in the future..
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Frank Zappa always did it differently, and here his fans do too. With delegates from Paris, Rome, Leipzig and Vauxhall, this parodic conference included papers called "Arf': Canine Continuity in the Output Macrostructure" and "The Mental Hygiene Dilemma." Zen Buddhism, Frankfurt school Marxism, Philip K. Dick and the Zappologically Deranged are used to denounce Madonna, postmodernism, hippies and everything you hold dear. Priceless.

Ben Watson, music journalist and longstanding contributor to The Wire, Hi-Fi News and Signal To Noise, is well-known for his deviant and polemical music criticism and is an acknowledged expert on Frank Zappa.

Esther Leslie is a reader in humanities at Birkbeck College, University of London.

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This book deals with the elastic stability of solids and structures, on which Warner Koiter was the world's leading expert. It begins with fundamental aspects of stability, relating the basic notions of dynamic stability to more traditional quasi-static approaches. The book is concerned not only with buckling, or linear instability, but most importantly with nonlinear post-buckling behavior and imperfection-sensitivity. After laying out the general theory, Koiter applies the theory to a number of applications, with a chapter devoted to each. These include a variety of beam, plate, and shell structural problems and some basic continuum elasticity problems. Koiter's classic results on the nonlinear buckling and imperfection-sensitivity of cylindrical and spherical shells are included. The treatments of both the fundamental aspects and the applications are completely self-contained. This book was recorded as a detailed set of notes by Arnold van der Heijden from W. T. Koiter's last set of lectures on stability theory, at TU Delft..
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The Abduction Study Conference, held at MIT, is the best scientific conference ever convened on abductions Alien Discussions, the resulting proceedings, provides a comprehensive and multidisciplinary introduction and research report on the abduction phenomenon..
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This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Persuasive Technology, PERSUASIVE 2008, held in Oulu, Finland, in June 2008.

The 17 revised full papers and 12 revised short papers presented together with 3 keynote papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 63 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on social network systems, knowledge management, applications, conceptual frameworks, perspectives on persuasive technology, peer-to-peer and social networks, self-persuasion and timing, well-being applications, and theoretical considerations.

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When Slobodan Milošević died in the United Nations Detention Unit in The Hague over four years after his trial had begun, many feared - and some hoped - that international criminal justice was experiencing some sort of death itself. Yet the Milošević case, the first trial of a former head of state by a truly international criminal tribunal and one of the most complex and lengthy war crimes trials in history, stands for much in the development and the future of international criminal justice, both politically and legally. This book, written by the senior legal advisor working for the Trial Chamber, analyses the trial to determine what lessons can be learnt that will improve the fair and expeditious conduct of complex international criminal proceedings brought against former heads of state and senior political and military officials, and develops reforms for the future achievement of best practice in international criminal law..
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