Feared and admired in equal measure, Mary Midgley has carefully yet profoundly challenged many of the scientific and moral orthodoxies of the twentieth century. The Essential Mary Midgley collects for the first time the very best of this famous philosopher's work, described by the Financial Times as 'common sense philosophy of the highest order'.
This unrivalled introduction to a great philosopher and brilliant writer incorporates carefully selected excerpts from Mary Midgley's bestselling books, including Wickedness, Beast and Man, Science and Poetry, and The Myths We Live By. With a specially written foreword by James Lovelock, this classic text presents a superb and eminently readable insight into questions she has returned to time and again in her renowned sharp prose. This anthology discusses major topics, such as the roots of human nature, reason and imagination, the myths of science and the importance of holism in thinking about science and the environment.

Mary Midgely (1919-2018)was a moral philosopher and the author of many books, most recently The Myths We Live By.

Foreword, Acknowledgements, Introduction, Part One - The Roots of Human Nature, 1. Have We a Nature?, 2. Animals and the Problem of Evil, 3. Speech and Other Excellences, 4. The Problem of Natural Evil, 5. The Elusiveness of Responsibility, 6. Selves and Shadows, 7. Emotion, Emotiveness and Sentimentality, 8. Equality and Outer Darkness, 9. Is a Dolphin a Person?, Part Two - Philosophizing Out in the World, 10. Philosophical Plumbing, 11. Wisdom and Contemplation, 12. The Withdrawal of Moral Philosophy, 13. Escaping from Solitude, 14. The Human Heart and Other Organs, 15. On Trying Out One's New Sword on a Chance Wayfarer, Part Three - The Myths of Science, 16. Salvation and the Academics, 17. Evolutionary Dramas, 18. The Irresistible Escalator, 19. The Service of Self and the Service of Kali, 20. Biotechnology and the Yuk Factor, 21. The Supernatural Engineer, 22. The Remarkable Masculine Birth Of Time, Part Four - Reason and Imagination, 23. The Sources of Thought, 24. Atomistic Visions: The Quest for Permanence, 25. Putting Our Selves Together Again, 26. A Plague on Both Their Houses, Part Five - Gaian Thinking: Putting it All Together, 27. Individualism and the Concept of Gaia, 28. Gods and Goddesses: The Role of Wonder, 29. Why there is Such a Thing as Society, 30. The Unity of Life, Notes, Bibliography, Index