The Scientific Sublime Lib/E: Popular Science Unravels the Mysteries of the Universe

by Alan G. Gross, Bob Souer (Reading)

The sublime evokes our awe, our terror, and our wonder. Applied first in ancient Greece to the heights of literary expression, in the 18th-century the sublime was extended to nature and to the sciences, enterprises that viewed the natural world as a manifestation of God's goodness, power, and wisdom. In The Scientific Sublime, Alan Gross reveals the modern-day sublime in popular science. He shows how the great popular scientists of our time--Richard Feynman, Stephen Hawking, Steven Weinberg, Brian Greene, Lisa Randall, Rachel Carson, Stephen Jay Gould, Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, and E. O. Wilson--evoke the sublime in response to fundamental questions: How did the universe begin? How did life? How did language? These authors maintain a tradition initiated by Joseph Addison, Edmund Burke, Immanuel Kant, and Adam Smith, towering 18th-century figures who adapted the literary sublime first to nature, then to science--though with one crucial difference: religion has been replaced wholly by science. In a final chapter, Gross explores science's attack on religion, an assault that attempts to sweep permanently under the rug two questions science cannot answer: What is the meaning of life? What is the meaning of the good life?

Audio CD

Published December 28, 2018

About the author

Alan G. Gross (born 1936) is a Professor of Rhetoric and Communication Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He has written a number of books, perhaps most well-known being The Rhetoric of Science (Harvard University Press, 1990 and 1996). This book was reviewed by the historian and philosopher of science Joseph Agassi. Gross received his Ph.D. in 1962 from Princeton University.

His research is centered around three areas: scientific communication, rhetorical theory and, most recently, visual communication. Currently, he is completing a manuscript on scientific communication and putting the finishing touches on prospectus for a book on visual conmmunication the sciences.

Publications:

The Rhetoric of Science. Gross, Alan, Harvard, Author, 1996.
Rhetorical Hermeneutics: Invention and Interpretation in the Age of Science. Gross, Alan, William M. Keith, SUNY, Co-Editor, 1997.
Rereading Aristotle's Rhetoric. Gross, Alan, Arthur E. Walzer, Southern Illinois Press, Co-Editor, 2000.
Chaim Perelman. Gross, Alan, Ray D. Dearin, SUNY, Co-Author, 2003.
Communicating Science: The Scientific Article from the 17th Century to the Present. Gross, Alan, Joseph E. Harmon; Michael Reidy, Oxford, Co-Author, 2002.
Starring the Text: The Place of Rhetoric in Science Studies. Gross, Alan, Southern Illinois, Author, 2006.
The Scientific Literature: A Guided Tour. Gross, Alan, Joseph E. Harmon, Chicago, Co-Editor, 2007.