Extremes

Description

Humanity is confronted by and attracted to extremes. Extreme events shape our thinking, feeling, and actions; they echo in our politics, media, literature, and science. We often associate extremes with crises, disasters, and risks to be averted, yet extremes also have the potential to lead us towards new horizons. Featuring essays by leading intellectuals and public figures arising from the 2017 Darwin College Lectures, this volume explores 'extreme' events, from the election of President Trump, the rise of populism, and the Brexit referendum, to the 2008 financial crisis, the Syrian war, and climate change. It also celebrates 'extreme' achievements in the realms of health, exploration, and scientific discovery. A fascinating, engaging, and timely collection of essays by renowned scholars, journalists, and intellectuals, this volume challenges our understanding of what is normal and what is truly extreme, and sheds light on some of the issues facing humanity in the twenty-first century.

Duncan Needham is Dean and Senior Tutor of Darwin College, Director of the Centre for Financial History, a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Risk Studies, and an Associate Lecturer at the Faculty of History, University of Cambridge. Julius Weitzdoerfer is Director of Studies in Law and a former Charles and Katharine Darwin Research Fellow at Darwin College, a Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, and an Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge.