Bookshelf

Alumni and faculty members who would like to have their books considered for this listing should contact Stacey Himmelberger, editor of Hamilton magazine. This list, which dates back to 2018, is updated periodically with books appearing alphabetically on the date of entry.

The Surfer and the Sea Lion by James N. Weiss ’71

October 12, 2023

Tags Alumni Book

(iUniverse, 2021)
The author, who has spent his career as a physician and scientist, considers big scientific questions in a fanciful format. According to the book cover, “The story is told through a Socratic dialogue between a sea lion named Socrates, representing the spirit of nature, and a surfer named Moses, representing the spirit of humanity. The two consider what science can and can't tell us about nature, life, and humanity. They consider questions such as: What is science capable of telling us about the reality of the world we live in? Does science merely create empirical models of reality that are useful, or does it reveal deeper truths about the nature of reality? Does science necessarily conflict with religion, or can they be synergistically reconciled to teach us how to live better lives? What do evolutionary biology and early human history tell us about the prospects for humanity achieving harmony on a global scale and avoiding irreversible damage to the biosphere?”