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Author: Jean-Pierre Changeux
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691004051
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272
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Book Description
Do numbers and the other objects of mathematics enjoy a timeless existence independent of human minds, or are they the products of cerebral invention? Do we discover them, as Plato supposed and many others have believed since, or do we construct them? Does mathematics constitute a universal language that in principle would permit human beings to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations elsewhere in the universe, or is it merely an earthly language that owes its accidental existence to the peculiar evolution of neuronal networks in our brains? Does the physical world actually obey mathematical laws, or does it seem to conform to them simply because physicists have increasingly been able to make mathematical sense of it? Jean-Pierre Changeux, an internationally renowned neurobiologist, and Alain Connes, one of the most eminent living mathematicians, find themselves deeply divided by these questions. The problematic status of mathematical objects leads Changeux and Connes to the organization and function of the brain, the ways in which its embryonic and post-natal development influences the unfolding of mathematical reasoning and other kinds of thinking, and whether human intelligence can be simulated, modeled,--or actually reproduced-- by mechanical means. The two men go on to pose ethical questions, inquiring into the natural foundations of morality and the possibility that it may have a neural basis underlying its social manifestations. This vivid record of profound disagreement and, at the same time, sincere search for mutual understanding, follows in the tradition of Poincaré, Hadamard, and von Neumann in probing the limits of human experience and intellectual possibility. Why order should exist in the world at all, and why it should be comprehensible to human beings, is the question that lies at the heart of these remarkable dialogues.
Author: Jean-Pierre Changeux
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691004051
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272
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Book Description
Do numbers and the other objects of mathematics enjoy a timeless existence independent of human minds, or are they the products of cerebral invention? Do we discover them, as Plato supposed and many others have believed since, or do we construct them? Does mathematics constitute a universal language that in principle would permit human beings to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations elsewhere in the universe, or is it merely an earthly language that owes its accidental existence to the peculiar evolution of neuronal networks in our brains? Does the physical world actually obey mathematical laws, or does it seem to conform to them simply because physicists have increasingly been able to make mathematical sense of it? Jean-Pierre Changeux, an internationally renowned neurobiologist, and Alain Connes, one of the most eminent living mathematicians, find themselves deeply divided by these questions. The problematic status of mathematical objects leads Changeux and Connes to the organization and function of the brain, the ways in which its embryonic and post-natal development influences the unfolding of mathematical reasoning and other kinds of thinking, and whether human intelligence can be simulated, modeled,--or actually reproduced-- by mechanical means. The two men go on to pose ethical questions, inquiring into the natural foundations of morality and the possibility that it may have a neural basis underlying its social manifestations. This vivid record of profound disagreement and, at the same time, sincere search for mutual understanding, follows in the tradition of Poincaré, Hadamard, and von Neumann in probing the limits of human experience and intellectual possibility. Why order should exist in the world at all, and why it should be comprehensible to human beings, is the question that lies at the heart of these remarkable dialogues.
Author: Jean-Pierre Changeux
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 260
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Book Description
Author: Jean-Pierre Changeux
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Author: Marc Sumerak
Publisher: ABDO
ISBN: 9781599612225
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 28
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Book Description
Young superheroes Alex, Julie, Jack, and Katie Power team up with X-Men's The Beast to discover why their father is acting strangely.
Author: Catherine Malabou
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0745691528
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 240
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Book Description
Is contemporary continental philosophy making a break with Kant? The structures of knowledge, taken for granted since Kants Critique of Pure Reason, are now being called into question: the finitude of the subject, the phenomenal given, a priori synthesis. Relinquish the transcendental: such is the imperative of postcritical thinking in the 21st century. Questions that we no longer thought it possible to ask now reemerge with renewed vigor: can Kant really maintain the difference between a priori and innate? Can he deduce, rather than impose, the categories, or justify the necessity of nature? Recent research into brain development aggravates these suspicions, which measure transcendental idealism against the thesis of a biological origin for cognitive processes. In her important new book Catherine Malabou lays out Kants response to his posterity. True to its subject, the book evolves as an epigenesis the differentiated growth of the embryo for, as those who know how to read critical philosophy affirm, this is the very life of the transcendental and contains the promise of its transformation.
Author: Craig Barton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781943920587
Category : Effective teaching
Languages : en
Pages : 451
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Book Description
Brought to an American audience for the first time, How I Wish I'd Taught Maths is the story of an experienced and successful math teacher's journey into the world of research, and how it has entirely transformed his classroom.
Author: K. C. Cole
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 0547973128
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 339
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Book Description
“Ruminations on every scientific subject over the sun—and plenty beyond it”—from the bestselling author of The Universe and the Teacup (The Boston Globe). A San Jose Mercury News Best Book of the Year A recipient of the American Institute of Physics Award for Best Science Writer, K. C. Cole offers a wide-ranging collection of essays about the nature of nature, the universals in the universe, and the messy playfulness of great science. In witty and fresh short takes, she explores some of the world’s most intriguing scientific subjects—from particle physics to cosmology to mathematics and astronomy—and introduces a few of science’s great minds. Revealing the universe to be elegant, intriguing, and, above all, relevant to our everyday lives, this book is “an absolute delight [that] belongs on the bedside bookshelf of every science enthusiast” (San Jose Mercury News). “Cole seeks the wondrous in the stuff we mistake for just ordinary.” —Publishers Weekly K. C. Cole, the Los Angeles Times science writer and columnist, always has a fresh take on cutting-edge scientific discoveries, which she makes both understandable and very human. Reporting on physics, cosmology, mathematics, astronomy, and more, Cole's essays, culled from her popular Mind Over Matter columns, reveal the universe as simple, constant, and complex—and wholly relevant to politics, art, and every dimension of human life.
Author: Alain Connes
Publisher: Amer Mathematical Society
ISBN: 9780821826140
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 179
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Book Description
Our view of the world today is fundamentally influenced by twentieth century results in physics and mathematics. Here, three members of the French Academy of Sciences: Alain Connes, Andre Lichnerowicz, and Marcel Paul Schutzenberger, discuss the relations among mathematics, physics and philosophy, and other sciences.Written in the form of conversations among three brilliant scientists and deep thinkers, the book touches on, among others, the following questions: Is there a 'primordial truth' that exists beyond the realm of what is provable? More generally, is there a distinction between what is true in mathematics and what is provable? How is mathematics different from other sciences? How is it the same? Does mathematics have an 'object' or an 'object of study', the way physics, chemistry and biology do?Mathematics is a lens, through which we view the world. Connes, Lichnerowicz, and Schutzenberger examine that lens, to understand how it affects what we do see, but also to understand how it limits what we can see. How does a well-informed mathematician view fundamental topics of physics, such as: quantum mechanics, general relativity, quantum gravity, grand unification, and string theory? What are the relations between computational complexity and the laws of physics? Can pure thought alone lead physicists to the right theories, or must experimental data be the driving force? How should we compare Heisenberg's arrival at matrix mechanics from spectral data to Einstein's arrival at general relativity through his thought experiments?The conversations are sprinkled with stories and quotes from outstanding scientists, which enliven the discourse. The book will make you think again about things that you once thought were quite familiar. Alain Connes is one of the founders of non-commutative geometry. He holds the Chair of Analysis and Geometry at the College de France. He was awarded the Fields Medal in 1982. In 2001, he was awarded the Crafoord Prize by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Andre Lichnerowicz, mathematician, noted geometer, theoretical physicist, and specialist in general relativity, was a professor at the College de France. Marcel Paul Schutzenberger made brilliant contributions to combinatorics and graph theory. He was simultaneously a medical doctor, a biologist, a psychiatrist, a linguist, and an algebraist.
Author: Francis Su
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300237138
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 287
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Book Description
"The ancient Greeks argued that the best life was filled with beauty, truth, justice, play and love. The mathematician Francis Su knows just where to find them."--Kevin Hartnett, Quanta Magazine" This is perhaps the most important mathematics book of our time. Francis Su shows mathematics is an experience of the mind and, most important, of the heart."--James Tanton, Global Math Project For mathematician Francis Su, a society without mathematical affection is like a city without concerts, parks, or museums. To miss out on mathematics is to live without experiencing some of humanity's most beautiful ideas. In this profound book, written for a wide audience but especially for those disenchanted by their past experiences, an award-winning mathematician and educator weaves parables, puzzles, and personal reflections to show how mathematics meets basic human desires--such as for play, beauty, freedom, justice, and love--and cultivates virtues essential for human flourishing. These desires and virtues, and the stories told here, reveal how mathematics is intimately tied to being human. Some lessons emerge from those who have struggled, including philosopher Simone Weil, whose own mathematical contributions were overshadowed by her brother's, and Christopher Jackson, who discovered mathematics as an inmate in a federal prison. Christopher's letters to the author appear throughout the book and show how this intellectual pursuit can--and must--be open to all.
Author: Jean-Pierre Changeux
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069123826X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 346
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Book Description
Will understanding our brains help us to know our minds? Or is there an unbridgeable distance between the work of neuroscience and the workings of human consciousness? In a remarkable exchange between neuroscientist Jean-Pierre Changeux and philosopher Paul Ricoeur, this book explores the vexed territory between these divergent approaches--and comes to a deeper, more complex perspective on human nature. Ranging across diverse traditions, from phrenology to PET scans and from Spinoza to Charles Taylor, What Makes Us Think? revolves around a central issue: the relation between the facts (or "what is") of science and the prescriptions (or "what ought to be") of ethics. Changeux and Ricoeur ask: Will neuroscientific knowledge influence our moral conduct? Is a naturally based ethics possible? Pursuing these questions, they attack key topics at the intersection of philosophy and neuroscience: What are the relations between brain states and psychological experience? Between language and truth? Memory and culture? Behavior and action? What is a mental representation? How does a sign relate to what it signifies? How might subjective experience be constructed rather than discovered? And can biological or cultural evolution be considered progressive? Throughout, Changeux and Ricoeur provide unprecedented insight into what neuroscience can--and cannot--tell us about the nature of human experience. Changeux and Ricoeur bring an unusual depth of engagement and breadth of knowledge to each other's subject. In doing so, they make two often hostile disciplines speak to one another in surprising and instructive ways--and speak with all the subtlety and passion of conversation at its very best.
