The Phenomenon of Life : Toward a Philosophical Biology

Hans Jonas; Lawrence Vogel; Eleonore Jonas
Northwestern University Press
 9780810117495
0-8101-1749-5

A classic of phenomenology and existentialism, The Phenomenon of Life sets forth a systematic and comprehensive philosophy--an existential interpretation of biological facts laid out in support of his claim that the mind is prefigured throughout organic existence. Hans Jonas shows how life-forms present themselves on an ascending scale of perception and freedom of action, a scale reaching its apex in a human being's capacity for thought and morally responsible behavior.