Metamorphosis : a natural and human history / Oren Harman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harman, Oren Solomon, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Metamorphosis.

Metamorphosis--Philosophy.

Evolution (Biology).

Evolution (Biology)--Philosophy.

Physical Description:

viii, 381 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Basic Books, Hachette Book Group, 2025.

Summary:

""How many creatures walking on this earth / Have their first being in another form?" the Roman poet Ovid asked two thousand years ago. He could not have known the full extent of the truth: Today, biologists estimate a stunning three-quarters of all animal species on earth undergo some form of metamorphosis. But why do tadpoles transform into frogs, caterpillars into butterflies, elvers into eels, immortal jellyfish from sea sprigs to medusae and back again, growing younger and younger in frigid ocean depths? Why must creatures go through massive destruction and remodeling to become who they are? Tracing a path from Aristotle--who rejected the possibility of metamorphosis--to Darwin to today, historian of science Oren Harman explores that central mystery. Metamorphosis, however, isn't just a biological puzzle: It takes us to the very heart of questions of being and identity, whatever kind of change we may undergo. Metamorphosis is a new classic of natural history: a book that, by unveiling a mystery of nature, causes us to relearn ourselves"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Where do we come from?

Where are we going?

What is the self?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version Harman, Oren Solomon Metamorphosis

ISBN:

9781541607606

1541607600

OCLC:

1495041609