Project Gutenberg 2011-05-31 Public domain in the USA. 169 Whewell, William 1794 1866 Whewell, W. (William) Hitchcock, Edward 1793 1864 05021649 The Plurality of Worlds Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Stephen H. Sentoff and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) "The Plurality of Worlds" by William Whewell is a scientific treatise written in the mid-19th century. The work explores the idea of whether other planets and celestial bodies are inhabited, engaging with contemporary astronomical discoveries and their implications for philosophical and religious thought. The author addresses the potential conflict between scientific knowledge about the vast universe and traditional religious beliefs regarding the uniqueness of Earth in God's creation. The opening of the essay sets the stage for a philosophical exploration of humanity's place in the universe, referencing the awe inspired by the night sky and the ancient question posed by the Psalmist: “What is man, that you are mindful of him?” Whewell considers modern astronomical knowledge, arguing that the multitude of celestial bodies prod the mind to inquire about possible other forms of life and civilization beyond Earth. He presents a thoughtful examination of how these discoveries might challenge existing religious beliefs, while proposing that an understanding of God's care for creation can expand to include the vastness of the universe. Overall, the beginning establishes a nuanced dialogue between science and religion, setting the stage for a deeper inquiry into humanity's significance in a potentially inhabited cosmos. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 43.2 (College-level). Difficult to read. en Plurality of worlds QB Text Category: Science - Physics Category: Philosophy & Ethics Category: Religion/Spirituality 640949 2025-07-14T15:57:52.563952 text/html 644467 2021-01-07T19:39:33 text/html 357238 2025-07-14T15:58:01.854926 application/epub+zip 364487 2025-07-14T15:57:55.810021 application/epub+zip 295608 2025-07-14T15:57:54.428936 application/epub+zip 598573 2025-07-14T15:58:06.484896 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 555554 2025-07-14T15:58:00.852896 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 457493 2022-09-16T14:35:16.039529 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 587200 2025-07-14T15:57:51.787967 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 586973 2021-01-07T19:39:33 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 587096 2021-01-07T19:39:33 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 21993 2025-07-14T15:58:06.723867 application/rdf+xml 12822 2025-07-14T15:57:54.941983 image/jpeg 3751 2025-07-14T15:57:54.687951 image/jpeg 203658 2021-01-07T19:39:33 application/octet-stream application/zip 270465 2021-01-07T19:39:33 application/octet-stream application/zip 203600 2021-01-07T19:39:33 application/octet-stream application/zip 337040 2025-07-14T15:57:52.614938 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia