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What if matter, mind and the universe all belong to one unbroken whole?
In The Riddle of the Universe, Ernst Haeckel takes on questions that reach from the living brain to endless space. What is matter? Where does life come from? What do we mean by the soul? His answer is monism: a single universe governed by natural law.
Writing for ordinary educated readers, the German zoologist brings Darwin's ideas into a broad argument about human life, science and religion. He places humans within the animal family tree and argues that the soul is the work of the nervous system. At stake is whether nature alone can explain both the world around us and our inner lives.
What you’ll discover
- Nature as one whole Explore Haeckel's case for a universe with no divide between matter and spirit.
- Our animal place Follow his argument that humans arise through slow natural change from earlier forms.
- The brain and soul Consider his pointed claim that the soul consists of the nervous system's activities.
- Matter, energy and eternity Meet his law of substance and his vision of an eternal, evolving cosmos.
- Truth, goodness and beauty Examine the values Haeckel places at the heart of his proposed monistic religion.
Who will love it
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.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A century of progress and its unsolved riddles
- Monism: nature is one, with no gap between matter and spirit
- Humans belong to the animal family tree
- The soul is the work of the living brain
- One law of substance rules matter and energy
- The cosmos is eternal and evolving
- A personal God is rejected for pantheism
- Truth, goodness and beauty as a new religion
- Praise, anger and what has lasted
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Les Énigmes de l’Univers
by Ernst Haeckel · 1899
Ernst Haeckel brings evolution to the riddles of matter, mind and God, arguing that nature is one whole.
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In short
The Riddle of the Universe is an argumentative book by the German zoologist Ernst Haeckel. It appeared in German in 1899 under the title Die Welträtsel, which means the world riddles.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A century of progress and its unsolved riddles
Haeckel opens by looking back over the nineteenth century. He lists its advances with obvious pride. Railways, telegraphs and electric power changed daily life. In science, the cell theory, the law of the conservation of energy and above all Darwin's theory of evolution changed how people understood nature.
He then borrows a famous list from the physiologist Emil du Bois-Reymond, who spoke of seven world riddles. They include the nature of matter and force, the origin of motion, the origin of life, the apparent order and purpose in nature, the origin of simple sensation and consciousness, the origin of thought and speech, and the question of free will. Du Bois-Reymond said some of these could never be solved. Haeckel disagrees sharply with that gloomy view.
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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.
The author
Ernst Haeckel
1834–1919 · German zoologist
Ernst Haeckel (1834–1919) was a German zoologist. He was born in Potsdam and died in Jena, where he taught at the university. He wrote The History of Creation, published in 1868, and The Riddle of the Universe, published in 1899. His scientific work included studies of marine organisms.
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