The Splendid Feast of Reason

by S. Jonathan Singer

Jonathan Singer's witty, erudite book is a celebration of rationality and an urgent call to make use of intelligence and reason to better cope with human problems. Emphasizing the importance of rationality's greatest achievement, modern science, Singer―one of the foremost biologists of our era―argues that for the first time in several million years humanity has at its disposal the tools for an objective understanding of the external world. Singer demonstrates that, today more than ever, the fullest exercise of rationality is essential if humanity is to rein in a runaway technology and control an explosion of the human population that together threaten to devastate life on this planet within only a few more generations.

The intrusion of reason and rationality into our largely irrational world has been painfully slow, uneven, and often unwelcome. Singer explains that for rationalists the founding of modern science―which took place only a few hundred years ago―has overthrown many of the myths of conventional wisdom and dogmas of traditional religions. Yet these beliefs still hold sway over the irrational world, obstructing efforts to deal sensibly with the problematic future of mankind.

The core of The Splendid Feast of Reason is an engaging and accessible account of the knowledge that modern science provides. Singer offers an absorbing discussion of how life works, of the nature of reproduction, aging, and death, and of the necessary fragility of the individual life compared to the resilience of life itself. He emphasizes the primary role of the genes in determining the structural organization and the behaviors of living things, including humans. He also stresses the nature and mechanisms of biological evolution, mechanisms that have now been placed in jeopardy because of human ignorance and irrational appetites. Finally, Singer delves into the enigma of the real world with its irrational and chaotic operations and offers suggestions of how a rationalist can not only survive, but thrive in it.

Genres: Science

265 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 2001

Reviews

[Samea Derrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure who the intended audience for this book was. It wasn’t scientists- weirdly rudimentary in that aspect- or for people that like philosophy- it was weirdly surface level there was well. But it was written in such a tangled way and made shockingly little points throughout. There was one good point near the end of the book about how science has been overrun with mediocre researchers.

[Savanna Copeland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Singer was an extremely intelligent person and WAY ahead of his time. I genuinely can’t believe this was written in 2001. I imagine he received (and still would, RIP) a ton of backlash from people outside of the scientific community. He was one of the founders of the Biology Department at UC San Diego and participated in ground-breaking research in the fields of cell and molecular biology. I hope this book gets more recognition as the world takes steps towards rationalism. His writing left me with a ton of hope for the future…. until I remembered that we are, in fact, the future he references in the book. Let’s just say that if he were still alive, he would be SUPER disappointed in the current state of the world. Anyways, I am super glad I had the opportunity to read his (very qualified) views on biology and the human condition.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, this is basically a rant, but it's a rant I agree with. For anyone who feels that rationality is losing out to sentimentality and fear in our modern world, read this book just to reassure yourself you're not alone. This guy is obviously very smart, but his background is molecular biology - and while this lends some credence to his understanding of complex systems and how things fit together, much of it is basically his opinion.

Don't get me wrong, that's not a bad thing: Bill O'Reilly sells that to people for hours every day, and Jonathan Singer actually has something to say - but it's not scientific enough to suit his strengths, and he's not philosophical enough to follow through on the deeper meanings a lot of the time. Regardless, worth a read.

[Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried reading this book but got bored with it. I felt like the author was going on and on about how irrational, selfish and obsessive everyone else was, and here he'd written his own obsessive and selfish book. Anyway, I started this book because Adam enjoyed it so much I thought I might like it too. But I didn't. I didn't finish it.

[Dave Peticolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A defense of reason and a history of its accomplishments.