Imagining the Future: Science and American Democracy (New Atlantis Books) [Hardcover]

Yuval Levin (Author)

Book Description

Series: New Atlantis Books | Publication Date: October 2008

From stem cell research to global warming, human cloning, evolution, and beyond, political debates about science have raged in recent years - and, to the chagrin of most observers, have increasingly fallen into the familiar categories of America's culture wars. In Imagining the Future: Science and American Democracy, Yuval Levin explores the complicated meanings of science and technology in American politics and finds that the science debates have a lot to teach us about our political life. These debates, Levin argues, reveal some serious challenges to American self-government, and put on stark display the deepest strengths and greatest weaknesses of both the left and the right. "American life has been profoundly shaped by science and technology, and will be all the more so in the coming decades, making it crucial that we understand how to think and speak about science in politics. Yuval Levin's smart and eminently well-reasoned book makes the important point that the purpose of science is a moral one -- to improve human life -- and that judging what that involves is sometimes a job for more than science alone in a democratic society. Levin's insights speak directly to today's political debates and make his book a must-read for policymakers and all those who care about science and society." --Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House "Imagining the Future goes far beyond the contemporary polarized debates over science to unpack the moral premises of the modern scientific project and its consequences for American democracy. In the process, Yuval Levin provides us with a deep understanding of policy issues from genetic engineering to global warming." --Francis Fukuyama, Johns Hopkins University "This book is important to the thinking of both progressives and conservatives. Clearly and incisively, it shows how science and technology are shaping humanity's future and world views. Levin alerts democratic societies that human dignity and equality are imperiled unless we provide political and moral guidance to prevent the submergence of humanity in its own ingenuity." --Edmund Pellegrino, Chairman, President's Council on Bioethics

Editorial Reviews

Review

"American life has been profoundly shaped by science and technology, and will be all the more so in the coming decades, making it crucial that we understand how to think and speak about science in politics. Yuval Levin's smart and eminently well-reasoned book makes the important point that the purpose of science is a moral one -- to improve human life -- and that judging what that involves is sometimes a job for more than science alone in a democratic society. Levin's insights speak directly to today's political debates and make his book a must-read for policymakers and all those who care about science and society." --Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House

"Imagining the Future goes far beyond the contemporary polarized debates over science to unpack the moral premises of the modern scientific project and its consequences for American democracy. In the process, Yuval Levin provides us with a deep understanding of policy issues from genetic engineering to global warming."

Review

"/Imagining the Future/ goes far beyond the contemporary polarized debates over science to unpack the moral premises of the modern scientific project and its consequences for American democracy. In the process, Yuval Levin provides us with a deep understanding of policy issues from genetic engineering to global warming."

"Imagining the Future goes far beyond the contemporary polarized debates over science to unpack the moral premises of the modern scientific project and its consequences for American democracy. In the process, Yuval Levin provides us with a deep understanding of policy issues from genetic engineering to global warming."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 145 pages
• Publisher: Encounter Books (October 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594032092
• ISBN-13: 978-1594032097
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 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: #767,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening and fascinating reading about the influence of science on politics - or the lack thereof, March 9, 2009

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Imagining the Future: Science and American Democracy (New Atlantis Books) (Hardcover)

If there were a debate about whether water was wet, there would surely be those who would argue that it is not. "Imagining the Future: Science and American Democracy" takes a look at the relationship of science and politics, focusing on such issues as global warming, stem cell research, evolution, and more. Asking many poignant questions and offering ideas that may have not been obvious to the reader, author Yuval Levin has doubts that those on the left are truly the party of science, or that those on the right are entirely waging a war on science. Suggesting that maybe the science has little to do with it, "Imagining the Future" is enlightening and fascinating reading about the influence of science on politics - or the lack thereof.