The Secret Life of Insects: An Entomological Alphabet - Hardcover

Milward, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1412810116 ISBN 13: 9781412810111

Publisher: Routledge, 2009

Synopsis

Every science, including the study of insects, may have circumscribed limits, but its deeper principles open up new worlds of possibility. Milward uncovers these hidden principles by examining the daily lives and habits of insects. His studies lead him to fascinating speculations, taking the reader into the realms not only of literature, as suggested by the subtitle, but also of philosophy and theology.When Milward discusses what everybody knows about insects and what he has personally observed, he relates insects to human life in general. His insights help us feel a certain fellowship with the insects, or at least with some of the more familiar insects. He does not let us forget that there is an important diff erence between human beings and insects. Human beings think. It is our ability to think that makes us what we are, but it is thinking that enables us to discover our affi nity with insects.The Secret Life of Insects does not probe into the hidden lives of insects or treat them as individuals. His main interest is the light insects may throw on our human experience, and the assistance they may lend us as we seek to transcend our human experience. Milward aims at the level of common knowledge. In contrast to entomological scientists, Milward finds shadowy glimpses of hidden meaning in the insect world. Th ese intimations or shadowy glimpses reveal thoughts and possibilities that will extend the human imagination. As a consequence, this work will inspire philosophers, as well as general readers interested in refl ecting on the profundity of ordinary life.

About this title

Product Description:

The Secret Life of Insects Every science, including the study of insects, may have circumscribed limits, but its deeper principles open up new worlds of possibility. Milward uncovers these hidden principles by examining the daily lives and habits of insects. His studies lead him to fascinating speculations, taking the reader into the realms not only of literature, as suggested by the subtitle, but also of philosophy and the... Full description

Review:

"Father Peter Milward is a delight! Here we find him grubbing about with the bugs of the earth while always keeping one eye firmly on the heavens. To misquote Oscar Wilde, we are all in the gutter, like the insects, but, unlike the insects, some of us are looking at the stars. Father Milward goes one step further and sees the stars in the insects! The secret of The Secret Life of Insects is that it reveals the secret life of humanity."

--Joseph Pearce, writer-in-residence and associate professor of literature at Ave - Maria University in Florida

"In an age of specialization and over-specialization, it is refreshing to encounter a Renaissance man like Peter Milward, who artfully and entertainingly puts things together rather than methodically and mechanically taking them apart. It is also pleasing to know that flies are not just for flyswatters but also for philosophy."

--Dale Ahlquist, president, American Chesterton Society

"In The Secret Life of Insects, Peter Milward has achieved that rarest of combinations-humor and profundity. This work is not a scientific treatise, despite its title, but it is rather a series of philosophical and theological reflections that might be obvious to us all, if only we would stop to observe and meditate on the tiny world beneath our gaze. Milward admires the busy bee and the industrious ant while frowning upon the pesky mosquito and the dangerous hornet. His reflections, combined with just the right amount of frivolity, wake us up to the elegant lives we have all witnessed but which we have not seriously considered. The reader of The Secret Life of Insects will never again be able to look upon Milward's tiny denizens without remembering his words about 'the symphony of praise' arising from every single one of God's creatures"

--John Peterson, Senior Writer, Gilbert Magazine, the Journal of the American Chesterton Society

"The Secret Life of Insects: An Entomological Alphabet blends biology, philosophy and psychology in a fine presentation discussing insects and their relationship to human life. It doesn't examine the hidden life of insects but rather than insects reveal human experience and how their lives contrast with human habits and daily lives. A fine discussion not just for science holdings but for collections strong in philosophy as well."

--The Midwest Book Review

"Father Peter Milward is a delight! Here we find him grubbing about with the bugs of the earth while always keeping one eye firmly on the heavens. To misquote Oscar Wilde, we are all in the gutter, like the insects, but, unlike the insects, some of us are looking at the stars. Father Milward goes one step further and sees the stars in the insects! The secret of The Secret Life of Insects is that it reveals the secret life of humanity."

--Joseph Pearce, writer-in-residence and associate professor of literature at Ave - Maria University in Florida

"In an age of specialization and over-specialization, it is refreshing to encounter a Renaissance man like Peter Milward, who artfully and entertainingly puts things together rather than methodically and mechanically taking them apart. It is also pleasing to know that flies are not just for flyswatters but also for philosophy."

--Dale Ahlquist, president, American Chesterton Society

"In The Secret Life of Insects, Peter Milward has achieved that rarest of combinations-humor and profundity. This work is not a scientific treatise, despite its title, but it is rather a series of philosophical and theological reflections that might be obvious to us all, if only we would stop to observe and meditate on the tiny world beneath our gaze. Milward admires the busy bee and the industrious ant while frowning upon the pesky mosquito and the dangerous hornet. His reflections, combined with just the right amount of frivolity, wake us up to the elegant lives we have all witnessed but which we have not seriously considered. The reader of The Secret Life of Insects will never again be able to look upon Milward's tiny denizens without remembering his words about 'the symphony of praise' arising from every single one of God's creatures"

--John Peterson, Senior Writer, Gilbert Magazine, the Journal of the American Chesterton Society

"The Secret Life of Insects: An Entomological Alphabet blends biology, philosophy and psychology in a fine presentation discussing insects and their relationship to human life. It doesn't examine the hidden life of insects but rather than insects reveal human experience and how their lives contrast with human habits and daily lives. A fine discussion not just for science holdings but for collections strong in philosophy as well."

--The Midwest Book Review

-Father Peter Milward is a delight! Here we find him grubbing about with the bugs of the earth while always keeping one eye firmly on the heavens. To misquote Oscar Wilde, we are all in the gutter, like the insects, but, unlike the insects, some of us are looking at the stars. Father Milward goes one step further and sees the stars in the insects! The secret of The Secret Life of Insects is that it reveals the secret life of humanity.-

--Joseph Pearce, writer-in-residence and associate professor of literature at Ave - Maria University in Florida

-In an age of specialization and over-specialization, it is refreshing to encounter a Renaissance man like Peter Milward, who artfully and entertainingly puts things together rather than methodically and mechanically taking them apart. It is also pleasing to know that flies are not just for flyswatters but also for philosophy.-

--Dale Ahlquist, president, American Chesterton Society

-In The Secret Life of Insects, Peter Milward has achieved that rarest of combinations-humor and profundity. This work is not a scientific treatise, despite its title, but it is rather a series of philosophical and theological reflections that might be obvious to us all, if only we would stop to observe and meditate on the tiny world beneath our gaze. Milward admires the busy bee and the industrious ant while frowning upon the pesky mosquito and the dangerous hornet. His reflections, combined with just the right amount of frivolity, wake us up to the elegant lives we have all witnessed but which we have not seriously considered. The reader of The Secret Life of Insects will never again be able to look upon Milward's tiny denizens without remembering his words about 'the symphony of praise' arising from every single one of God's creatures-

--John Peterson, Senior Writer, Gilbert Magazine, the Journal of the American Chesterton Society

-The Secret Life of Insects: An Entomological Alphabet blends biology, philosophy and psychology in a fine presentation discussing insects and their relationship to human life. It doesn't examine the hidden life of insects but rather than insects reveal human experience and how their lives contrast with human habits and daily lives. A fine discussion not just for science holdings but for collections strong in philosophy as well.-

--The Midwest Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1412810116
• ISBN 13: 9781412810111
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 156