From Logos to Bios: Evolutionary Theory in Light of Plato, Aristotle & Neoplatonism

In this ground-breaking book, Wynand de Beer utilizes insights derived from Hellenic cosmology and bio-philosophy in a wide-ranging discussion of the fundamental question of the origins and mechanisms of organic diversity on our planet Earth. These insights the numerical cosmology of Pythagoras and its extension into the organic realm; the Logos of Heraclitus as cosmic lawgiver and regulator; the role of the Demiurge in Plato’s cosmology; the fourfold causal scheme of Aristotle; the Neoplatonic reason-principles ( logoi ) indwelling the manifested order; and the hierarchical, all-embracing Chain of Being linking the levels of cosmic reality—an essential element in Greek Patristic and Latin Scholastic traditions. Building upon the traditional concept of evolution as the unfolding of inherent possibilities, de Beer also explores organic form and transformation, emphasizing the mathematical foundations thereof. The Neo-Darwinian theory of evolution is subjected to a wide range of criticism on both philosophical and scientific grounds, without denying the reality of organic evolution. A clear distinction is made between two dimensions of micro-evolution and macro-evolution. The author develops an alternative theory of macro-evolution, characterized by regularity, direction, and convergence, incorporating nomogenesis (evolution according to natural law) and orthogenesis (directed evolution). In this way evidence from palaeontology and molecular biology is accommodated, while fulfilling the metaphysical requirements of formal and final causality. “ From Logos to Bios provides a welcome reminder of approaches to evolution, and to nature in general, that lie beyond the amputated imaginations of Ultra-Darwinists and materialist ideologues. Moreover, we are in the author’s debt for drawing to our attention again the genius of D’Arcy Thompson, whose expansive approach to nature is more than ever needed, not only in cutting-edge biology, but in chemistry and physics also—a state of affairs requiring, nay, demanding , just such a return of a rich metaphysics as this book encourages and exemplifies.”— CONOR CUNNINGHAM , author of Darwin’s Pious Idea “Wynand de Beer takes on some of the most difficult questions facing a student of the origins of form in living things and the apparent directedness of biological evolution. Anyone interested in these critical matters will find here much food for thought.”— DAVID BRADSHAW , author of Aristotle East and Metaphysics and the Division of Christendom “An invaluable contribution to the critique of in a domain comprising a thousand treatises of just about every description, de Beer’s pervasive reference to the metaphysical traditions of antiquity adds a focus and dimension of depth truly deserving of the epithet ‘new.’”— WOLFGANG SMITH , author of Cosmos & Transcendence and The Quantum Enigma “For any thinking person it has been apparent for some time that a new conversation is sorely needed about the world of living beings. With From Logos to Bios , we now have Wynand de Beer to thank for initiating this conversation. Tossing out Darwinian dogma while focusing traditional themes upon the great mystery of organic forms in the Great Chain of Being, de Beer brings forward Hellenic philosophy, with its acute analyses of causation, as an interlocutor in this imperative conversation. This is joy enough, but he also enlists D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson’s work to discover the simple principle of ‘turning inside out’ at the heart of the complexity of organic evolution. From Logos to Bios offers a superbly clear-eyed path of escape from the tangled bank Darwin sculpted, and to which the materialist world still haplessly clings.”— KEVIN DANN , author of Across the Great Border The Naturalist Myth in America