New Book Explores the Case for Purpose and Meaning in Our World

Standing in stark contrast to contemporary claims that the world is meaningless, A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature reveals a cosmos charged with both meaning and purpose. Written by Dr. Benjamin Wiker and Dr. Jonathan Witt of the Center for Science & Culture, the groundbreaking new book shows that nature offers all of the challenges and surprises and all of the mystery and elegance we associate with design and with artistic genius.

“A Meaningful World is simply the best book I’ve seen on the purposeful design of nature. In sparkling prose Benjamin Wiker and Jonathan Witt teach us how to recognize genius, first in Shakespeare’s plays and then in nature. From principles of geometry to details of the periodic table, the authors portray the depth, elegance, clarity and pure cleverness of a universe designed to nurture the intelligent life that one day would discover that design. A Meaningful World recovers lost purpose not only for science, but for all scholarly disciplines.” Michael J. Behe, author of Darwin’s Black Box

“A Meaningful World is a wise and witty romp through the fallacies of reductionism. It is illustrated by charming examples that show how literature and science both teach us that we live in a world full of meaning, not the spiritually dead world in which the materialists would confine us.” Phillip Johnson, author of Reason in the Balance

Click here to download the prologue to the book.

Discovery Institute will host a release party for A Meaningful World on Tuesday, August 22 at 4:30pm. Please join us as Wiker and Witt take us through the evidence for purpose and meaning in the world around us. Their arguments begin in Shakespeare and range through the fine-tuning of the laws of physics, the Periodic Table of Elements, the artistry of ordinary substances like carbon and water, the intricacy of biological organisms, and the drama of scientific exploration itself.

Through these intriguing examples, Wiker and Witt have created what noted author and scholar Phillip Johnson calls “a wise and witty romp through the fallacies of reductionism.” With its sparkling prose, A Meaningful World fashions a robust argument from evidence in nature, one that rests neither on religious presuppositions nor on a simplistic view of nature as the best of all possible worlds.

The event will be held at Discovery Institute, located at 1511 Third Avenue, Suite 808, on Tuesday, August 22nd, from 4:30 – 6pm. There will be a reception, copies of the book will be available for purchase, and the authors will be available to sign books at the end of the program. To register, contact Annelise Davis at adavis@discovery.org or call (206) 292-0401, ext. 153.

Robert Crowther, II

Robert Crowther holds a BA in Journalism with an emphasis in public affairs and 20 years experience as a journalist, publisher, and brand marketing and media relations specialist. From 1994-2000 he was the Director of Public and Media Relations for Discovery Institute overseeing most aspects of communications for each of the Institute's major programs. In addition to handling public and media relations he managed the Institute's first three books to press, Justice Matters by Roberta Katz, Speaking of George Gilder edited by Frank Gregorsky, and The End of Money by Richard Rahn.

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