Includes bibliographical references (pages 588-627) and index

The quest -- The emergence and evolution of matter. Origin myths ; The emergence of matter : science's orthodox theory ; What science's orthodox theory fails to explain ; Other cosmological conjectures ; Problems facing cosmology as an explanatory means ; Reasonableness of cosmological conjectures ; Evolution of matter on a large scale ; Evolution of matter of small scale ; Pattern to the evolution of matter ; Reflections and conclusions on the emergence and evolution of matter -- The emergence and evolution of life. A planet fit for life ; Life ; The emergence of life 1 : evidence ; The emergence of life 2 : hypotheses ; Development of scientific ideas about biological evolution ; Evidence of biological evolution 1 : fossils ; Evidence of biological evolution 2 : analyses of living species -- Evidence of biological evolution 3 : behaviour of living species ; The human lineage ; Causes of biological evolution : the current orthodox account ; Complementary and competing hypotheses 1 : complexification ; Complementary and competing hypotheses 2 : collaboration ; The evolution of consciousness ; Reflections and conclusions of the emergence and evolution of life -- The emergence and evolution of humans. Human evolution 1 : primeval thinking ; Human evolution 2 : philosophical thinking ; Human evolution 3 : scientific thinking ; Uniqueness of humans ; Conclusions and reflections of the emergence and evolution -- A cosmic process. Limitations of science ; Reflections and conclusions on human evolution as a cosmic process

"Specialist scientific fields are developing at incredibly swift speeds, but what can they really tell us about how the universe began and how we humans evolved to play such a dominant role on Earth? John Hands's ... ambitious quest is to bring together this scientific knowledge and evaluate without bias or preconception all the theories and evidence about the origin and evolution of matter, life, consciousness, and humankind. This ... book provides [a] comprehensive account ... of current ideas such as cosmic inflation, dark energy, the selfish gene, and neurogenetic determinism"--Dust jacket flap