Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von Die Welträtsel
Go deeper: the whole of Die Welträtsel
About 6 h 30 min to read.Für wen es gedacht ist
For readers who love big arguments about science, religion and the mind, and who want to see how a leading Darwinian of 1899 saw the world.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
What if the oldest questions about matter, life, the soul and God all had one answer? In 1899 the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel says they do. He is a professor at Jena and the loudest defender of Darwin in the German-speaking world. He writes for ordinary educated readers, and his book reaches a huge public in many languages. His answer is monism, the belief that the universe is a single whole governed by natural law. You will hear the main steps of his case, and where his claims have been challenged.
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1A century of progress and its unsolved riddlesFree
- 2Monism: nature is one, with no gap
- 3Humans are part of the animal family tree
- 4The soul is the work of the living brain
- 5One law of substance rules matter and energy
- 6The cosmos is eternal and evolving
- 7A personal God is rejected for pantheism
- 8Truth, goodness and beauty as a new religion
- 9Praise, anger and what has lasted
Punkt 1 von 9
A century of progress and its unsolved riddles
Haeckel opens by looking back over the nineteenth century with obvious pride. Railways, telegraphs and electric power change daily life. The cell theory, the conservation of energy and above all Darwin's theory of evolution change how people see nature.
He borrows a list of seven world riddles from the physiologist Emil du Bois-Reymond. They include the nature of matter and force, the origin of life, consciousness and free will. Du Bois-Reymond says some of these can never be solved, and Haeckel sharply disagrees.
He says most of the riddles are already solved, or soon will be, by the law of substance and the theory of evolution. Purpose in nature, he says, is explained by evolution, while free will is an illusion. This is a fighting book, written by a man who has chosen the side of honest science against church dogma.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of Die Welträtsel
About 6 h 30 min to read.Questions about Die Welträtsel
What is The Riddle of the Universe about?
It is Ernst Haeckel's attempt to answer the great questions about matter, life, mind and God using nineteenth century science. He argues for monism, the view that nature is one whole, and rejects a personal God and life after death.
What is monism in Haeckel's philosophy?
Monism is the belief that reality is a single substance, with mind and matter as two sides of it. Haeckel uses it to deny any split between body and soul, or between nature and God.
When was The Riddle of the Universe written and is it still accurate?
It was published in German in 1899. Its main case for evolution has held up, but several claims have not, including the strict biogenetic law, atoms having souls, and an eternal universe.
What are the seven world riddles?
Haeckel takes them from Emil du Bois-Reymond. They cover the nature of matter and force, the origin of motion and of life, the order of nature, consciousness, thought and speech, and free will.
Is The Riddle of the Universe hard to read?
The language is plain and aimed at general readers.
Cite this edition
Haeckel, Ernst. The Riddle of the Universe. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-riddle-of-the-universe.
Haeckel, E. (2026). The riddle of the universe. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-riddle-of-the-universe (Original work published 1899)
Haeckel, Ernst. The Riddle of the Universe. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-riddle-of-the-universe.
@book{haeckel2026riddle,
author = {Haeckel, Ernst},
title = {The Riddle of the Universe},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-riddle-of-the-universe},
note = {First published 1899}
}
