The Identity of Man (Great Minds Series) [Paperback]

Jacob Bronowski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2002 | Series: Great Minds Series

With infectious enthusiasm and a gift for conveying the excitement of ideas, Jacob Bronowski (1908-1974) discusses the impact of science on our sense of self and the need to reevaluate ethics in light of the scientific perspective. As both a practicing scientist and an author of books on poetry, he makes interesting connections between the uses of the imagination in science and in literature. Whereas science creates experiments to test hypotheses about the outside world, he notes that literature also provides "experiments" in poetry and prose, allowing readers to experience what it means to be fully human and relating the individual's inner life to that of every human being. Bronowski argues that a true humanistic philosophy must give equal place to the inner, subjective vision of the arts and the outer, objective perception of science since they are both products of one self-conscious creative imagination. In the final analysis, he emphasizes that these perspectives converge to reveal a more enlightened, universal ethics, one that fosters tolerance, mutual understanding, an appreciation of differences, and a sense that we all share a common destiny as human participants in nature's cosmic drama.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...strewn with uniquely fruitful insights..." -- Liberty, December 2002

About the Author

Mathematician and man of letters Jacob Bronowski was born on January 18, 1908, in Lodz, Poland. When Russia occupied Poland during World War I, the Bronowski family moved to Germany, and then in 1920 immigrated to London, England, where Jacob became a British citizen in 1933.

Young Jacob was enrolled in the Central Foundation School in London. He won a mathematics scholarship to Jesus College, Cambridge, where he studied mathematics. He excelled not only in mathematics, but also received acclaim for his poetry and prose.

Bronowski received his Ph.D. in mathematics from Cambridge in 1933, and then taught mathematics at the University College of Hull from 1934 to 1942. In 1939 he published his first book on literature, THE POET'S DEFENCE. He married sculptor Rita Coblentz in 1941.

In 1942 Bronowski left Hull to do operational research, working to increase the effectiveness of Allied bombing. During this time he wrote his second book, WILLIAM BLAKE, 1757-1827: A MAN WITHOUT A MASK (1944; revised as WILLIAM BLAKE AND THE AGE OF REVOLUTION in 1965). As scientific deputy to the British Chiefs of Staff Mission he went to Japan in 1945 to study the effects of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki and authored the report, "The Effects of the Atomic Bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki". This experience changed his life. His interest shifted from mathematics and military research to the ethics of science and the life sciences.

From 1945 to 1950 Bronowski led research for the British government in applying statistical methods to the economics of industry. He headed the projects division of UNESCO from 1947 to 1950. From 1950 to 1964 he ws director of research of the National Coal Board in Great Britain, heading the research into smokeless fuels. In 1953 he was Carnegie Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

About this time Bronowski began his career as a broadcaster, gaining a reputation as a scientist with great knowledge who explained difficult scientific concepts in an understandable way.

Bronowski became involved in setting up the Salk Institute for Biological Studies at La Jolla, California. The institute aimed to examine the integration of the biological and human sciences. He was a resident fellow and then deputy director from 1964 until his death.

In the early 1960s Bronowski presented a series for BBC television called "Insight". His last major project was to write and narrate the BBC television series "The Ascent of Man", which was broadcast in 1973.

In addition to THE POET'S DEFENCE and WILLIAM BLAKE, Bronowski authored THE COMMON SENSE OF SCIENCE (1951), THE FACE OF VIOLENCE (1954), SCIENCE AND HUMAN VALUES (1956), THE IDENTITY OF MAN (1965), NATURE AND KNOWLEDGE: THE PHILOSOPHY OF CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE (1969), and with Bruce Mazlish, THE WESTERN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION: FROM LEONARDO TO HEGEL (1960).

Bronowski suffered a heart attack and died on August 22, 1974, in East Hampton, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591020255
• ISBN-13: 978-1591020257
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #511,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bronowski at his best, December 28, 2007

By 

Alan M. Smith (Salt Lake City, Utah USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Identity of Man (Great Minds Series) (Paperback)

Once again J. Bronowski has written an insightful book concerning the major
problem of our time: how to integrate the findings of modern science to the humanist problem of values.