It is certain to provoke vigorous discussions between philosophers, theologians and scientists. It's something of which we need more. Reviewed by Perry Biddle Holmes Rolston III, a Presbyterian minister and philosopher, is the first American Presbyterian ever to deliver the world-acclaimed Gifford Lectures in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were published under the same name in March 1999. Rolston raises the question of genetic creativity over Earth's evolutionary history and its relationship to human cultural creativity, especially in science, ethics and religion.
Evolutionary history is interpreted as the genesis of natural value.
This natural value is conserved, enriched and distributed over time. Such values in nature, says Rolston, ought to be conserved, enriched and appreciated by humans using their capacities for science, religion and ethics. Beyond the riches of biodiversity, says Rolston, the genetically based creativity on Earth strikingly produces persons in cumulative transmissible cultures. Humans, paradoxically, transcend their genetic sources. This is true especially in their capacities for science, ethics and religion.