[About the Book]
Why do we, as human beings, continue to repeat a history of harming one another?
And do we truly understand what it means to live?

This book reexamines the fundamental questions-What is life? and What does it mean to live?-through the lens of science.

From the birth of the universe and the miracle of Earth to the evolution of life and the workings of genes, it places humanity within the vast flow of time and invites us to reconsider the meaning of our existence.

Life has been passed down through an unbroken chain of evolution, and even now, within our bodies, cells quietly sustain that continuity. Yet endowed with intelligence, humans have expanded their desires, giving rise to conflict and destruction.

This book explores the relationship between human instinct and intelligence, asking how this powerful capacity should be used-for within that choice lies the future of humanity.

Grounded not in religion or abstract spiritualism, but in astronomy, biology, and evolutionary theory, it offers a clear and accessible explanation of the mechanisms of life and the uniqueness of human beings.

Tracing a single, continuous story from the cosmos to human society, this book gently challenges readers to reflect on how we ought to live.

[Author Profile]
Hajime Machiya
Born in 1942 in the former Manchukuo; raised in Aomori Prefecture.
1967 - Graduated from Kanagawa University, Faculty of Law and Economics, Department of Economics (Seminar of Professor Nobuyuki Okuma)
1967 - Joined the Headquarters of the Public School Mutual Aid Association, a special public corporation
2003 - Retired from the same organization
2003 - Joined the Teachers’ Lifetime Welfare Foundation
2008 - Retired from the same organization