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With a new Introduction by the author

''An elegant and sane little book. The New Statesman

Myths, as Mary Midgley argues in this powerful book, are everywhere. In political thought they sit at the heart of theories of human nature and the social contract; in economics in the pursuit of self interest; and in science the idea of human beings as machines, which originates in the seventeenth century, is a today a potent force. Far from being the opposite of science, however, Midgley argues that myth is a central part of it. Myths are neither lies nor mere stories but a network of powerful symbols for interpreting the world. Tackling a dazzling array of subjects such as philosophy, evolutionary psychology, animals, consciousness and the environment in her customary razor-sharp prose, The Myths We Live By reminds us of the powerful role of symbolism and the need to take our imaginative life seriously.

Mary Midgley is a moral philosopher and the author of many books including Wickedness, Evolution as a Religion, Beast and Man and Science and Poetry. All are published in Routledge Classics.

Acknowledgementsp. ix
Foreword to the Routledge Classics Editionp. xii
How myths workp. 1
Our place in the worldp. 10
Progress, science and modernityp. 18
Thought has many formsp. 30
The aims of reductionp. 42
Dualistic dilemmasp. 53
Motives, materialism and megalomaniap. 63
What action isp. 68
Tidying the inner scene: why memes?p. 81
The sleep of reason produces monstersp. 88
Getting rid of the egop. 97
Cultural evolution?p. 106
Selecting the selectorsp. 117
Is reason sex-linked?p. 126
The journey from freedom to desolationp. 134
Biotechnology and the yuk factorp. 145
The new alchemyp. 154
The supernatural engineerp. 162
Heaven and earth, an awkward historyp. 173
Science looks both waysp. 181
Are you an animal?p. 191
Problems about parsimonyp. 201
Denying animal consciousnessp. 207
Beasts versus the biosphere?p. 218
Some practical dilemmasp. 225
Problems of living with othernessp. 233
Changing ideas of wildnessp. 242
Notesp. 252
Indexp. 263
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Mary Midgley is a moral philosopher and the author of many books including wickedness, Evolution as a Religion, Beast and Man and Science and Poetry. All are published in Routledge classics.
'The theme of this book is the crucial importance of symbolism in all our thought and the resulting need to take our imaginative life seriously, even when we are dealing with what seem to be prosaic subjects.'Mary Midgley argues in this powerful book that, far from being the opposite of science, myth is a central part of it. In brilliant prose, she claims that myths are neither lies nor mere stories by a network of powerful symbols that suggest particular ways of interpreting the world.
Originally published: 2004. With new foreword.
With a new Introduction by the author 'An elegant and sane little book. The New Statesman Myths, as Mary Midgley argues in this powerful book, are everywhere. In political thought they sit at the heart of theories of human nature and the social contract; in economics in the pursuit of self interest; and in science the idea of human beings as machines, which originates in the seventeenth century, is a today a potent force. Far from being the opposite of science, however, Midgley argues that myth is a central part of it. Myths are neither lies nor mere stories but a network of powerful symbols for interpreting the world. Tackling a dazzling array of subjects such as philosophy, evolutionary psychology, animals, consciousness and the environment in her customary razor-sharp prose, The Myths We Live By reminds us of the powerful role of symbolism and the need to take our imaginative life seriously. Mary Midgley is a moral philosopher and the author of many books including Wickedness, Evolution as a Religion, Beast and Man and Science and Poetry. All are published in Routledge Classics.
With a new Introduction by the author 'An elegant and sane little book. ??The New Statesman Myths, as Mary Midgley argues in this powerful book, are everywhere. In political thought they sit at the heart of theories of human nature and the social contract; in economics in the pursuit of self interest; and in science the idea of human beings as machines, which originates in the seventeenth century, is a today a potent force. Far from being the opposite of science, however, Midgley argues that myth is a central part of it. Myths are neither lies nor mere stories but a network of powerful symbols for interpreting the world. Tackling a dazzling array of subjects such as philosophy, evolutionary psychology, animals, consciousness and the environment in her customary razor-sharp pros, The Myths We Live By reminds us of the powerful role of symbolism and the need to take our imaginative life seriously. Mary Midgley is a moral philosopher and the author of many books including Wickedness, Evolution as a Religion, Beast and Man and Science and Poetry. All are published in Routledge Classics.
With a new Introduction by the author'An elegant and sane little book. ' The New StatesmanMyths, as Mary Midgley argues in this powerful book, are everywhere. In political thought they sit at the heart of theories of human nature and the social contract; in economics in the pursuit of self interest; and in science the idea of human beings as machines, which originates in the seventeenth century, is a today a potent force. Far from being the opposite of science, however, Midgley argues that myth is a central part of it. Myths are neither lies nor mere stories but a network of powerful symbols for interpreting the world. Tackling a dazzling array of subjects such as philosophy, evolutionary psychology, animals, consciousness and the environment in her customary razor-sharp pros, The Myths We Live By reminds us of the powerful role of symbolism and the need to take our imaginative life seriously.Mary Midgley is a moral philosopher and the author of many books including Wickedness , Evolution as a Religion , Beast and Man and Science and Poetry . All are published in Routledge Classics.
'For those who haven't yet read Midgley, these essays are an excellent place to start.' - Jon Turney, The Guardian 'An elegant and sane little book. Unusually for a philosopher, Midgley has a superb ear for the use and misuse of language.' - Edward Skidelsky, New Statesman 'She has, perhaps, the sharpest perception of any living thinker of the dangerous extremism that lurks behind so much contemporary scientistic discourse ... Merely as anthologies of contemporary folly, Midgley's books are essential reading ... we have Mary Midgley among us. We should pay attention and be grateful.' - Brian Appleyard, The Sunday Times '[Mary Midgley's] latest book is full of good sense and illumination on many topics ... Midgley's pathbreaking efforts should be warmly welcomed.' - The Philosopher's Magazine 'Mary's voice, sane, clear and brooking no nonsense, speaks crisply from every page, debunking scientific and non-scientific pretensions alike. A chapter each evening will help me keep sane.' - The Sunday Times 'Christian readers will be sympathetic and find much material for helpful reflection on the topics chosen.' - The Gospel and Our Culture Network
'For those who haven't yet read Midgley, these essays are an excellent place to start.' - Jon Turney, The Guardian 'An elegant and sane little book. Unusually for a philosopher, Midgley has a superb ear for the use and misuse of language.' - Edward Skidelsky, New Statesman 'She has, perhaps, the sharpest perception of any living thinker of the dangerous extremism that lurks behind so much contemporary scientistic discourse ... Merely as anthologies of contemporary folly, Midgley's books are essential reading ... we have Mary Midgley among us. We should pay attention and be grateful.' - Brian Appleyard, The Sunday Times '[Mary Midgley's] latest book is full of good sense and illumination on many topics ... Midgley's pathbreaking efforts should be warmly welcomed.' - The Philosopher's Magazine'Mary's voice, sane, clear and brooking no nonsense, speaks crisply from every page, debunking scientific and non-scientific pretensions alike. A chapter each evening will help me keep sane.' - The Sunday Times'Christian readers will be sympathetic abd find much material for helpful reflection on the topics chosen.' - The Gospel and Our Culture Network