Warum wir sterben

Lipschütz, Alejandro, 1883-1980Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 187K words
Chapters: 19

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Warum wir sterben by Alejandro LipschützAuthor: Lipschütz, Alejandro, 1883-1980,Language: German, Class: QP: Science: Physiology, Release Date: Feb 15, 2008

Editor's review

Warum wir sterben is a short German-language booklet by the German-born physiologist Alejandro Lipschütz that addresses the fundamental question of why we die, discussing from a physiological perspective the mechanisms by which living organisms inevitably decline. As a popular-science work from the early twentieth century, its value lies not in offering the latest conclusions of aging biology but in showing how scientists of that era explained life and death to general readers in relatively accessible language. The book is short and its argumentation clear, making it suitable as introductory material for understanding early ideas about death and aging, and as a brief read for those interested in the history of science or German-language popular-science literature. It is best read with an awareness of which conclusions modern research has revised, placing it within the context of scientific history for greater benefit.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in the biological mechanisms of aging and death
Readers who want to understand early twentieth-century popular writing on physiology
Learners of German who need to read scientific texts
Enthusiasts of the history of science willing to read older literature against modern research

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking the latest conclusions of aging research
Researchers who accept only strictly academic writing conventions
Beginners whose German reading ability is not yet sufficient for long popular-science sentences

Reading tips

Read through the book first to grasp the argumentative framework, then take notes chapter by chapter comparing it with modern aging theories.
Mark doubtful points when encountering specific physiological claims and verify modern research progress afterward.
If German reading is difficult, first read through with a dictionary, then closely read the key chapters.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for readers with no biology background?

It is readable but requires some patience. The author writes for general readers in relatively accessible language, but physiological terminology and the early twentieth-century scientific context are involved. With no background at all, it is advisable to acquire some basic physiological knowledge first, or to focus on the book's questions and overall approach rather than every terminological detail.

Do the views in the book still hold today?

This is an early work, and many of its specific conclusions have been revised or superseded by modern aging biology. Its value lies mainly at the level of the history of science: seeing how researchers of the time posed questions and organized evidence. It is best treated as a historical document rather than a contemporary reference, noting which conjectures were later confirmed or refuted.

This is a German book—is the reading threshold high?

For readers with some German reading ability it is not difficult; the sentence structure is popular-science rather than deeply academic. But with a weak German foundation, long sentences and scientific terminology will pose obstacles. Try reading the first few pages to gauge the difficulty, and use a dictionary or a parallel translation as needed.

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About the author

Lipschütz, Alejandro, 1883-1980 Author · Chilean · 1883–1980

Alejandro Lipschütz (1883–1980) was an Austrian-born Chilean physiologist and anthropologist. Born in Austria, he later settled in Chile, where he carried out his scientific work over many years. His research interests spanned both physiology and anthropology, with a particular focus on the Indigenous peoples of the Andes; this cross-disciplinary outlook gave his work a dual orientation toward experimental science and field observation. One work by him is held in the collection, Warum wir sterben (Why We Die), which examines death from a physiological perspective and reflects his approach of probing the end of life through the lens of experimental science. Publicly available information on his education, posts, and specific career is limited, and the present profile can only sketch the basic outline of his research fields and representative work, with further details awaiting verification.