Physical Cosmology and Philosophy

Physical Cosmology and Philosophy PDF Author: John Leslie
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description

Physical Cosmology and Philosophy

Physical Cosmology and Philosophy PDF Author: John Leslie
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 294

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Philosophy of Cosmology

The Philosophy of Cosmology PDF Author: Khalil Chamcham
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107145392
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 527

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Book Description
This book addresses foundational questions raised by observational and theoretical progress in modern cosmology. As the foundational volume of an emerging academic discipline, experts from relevant fields lay out the fundamental problems of contemporary cosmology and explore the routes toward finding possible solutions, for a broad academic audience.

Cosmology, Physics and Philosophy

Cosmology, Physics and Philosophy PDF Author: Benjamin Gal-Or
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1475711492
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 538

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Book Description
by Sir Karl Popper This is a great book, and an exciting book. I say so even though I happen to dis agree with the author in many minor points and one or two major points. Some of the minor points are merely terminological, and therefore very minor. I dislike the term 'dialectic', because of its use since Hegel and Marx; and I dislike the term 'gravitism', perhaps without a good reason. Thus I dislike the name which Professor Gal-Or has given to his theory. But the theory seems to me a great and a very beauti ful theory, so far as I can judge. Other minor points of disagreement are connected with Gal-Or's original and remarkable views of the great philosophers, including Spinoza and Kant. A major point of disagreement is that Gal-Or, following Einstein, is a scientific determinist, while I cannot but regard determinism as a modem super stition. Of course, he may be right and I may be completely mistaken. I mention these critical points rather in order to emphasize how strongly I am impressed by Professor Gal-Or's great book. Even in the very unlikely case that, wherever we disagree, he should be in the wrong and I right, even if that should be the case (which is improbable in the extreme), it would remain a great book: readable, worth reading and enlightening; with a most fascinating cosmological story of time, expansion, and gravitation.

Modern Cosmology & Philosophy

Modern Cosmology & Philosophy PDF Author: John Leslie
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
Did the universe originate from a "big bang" as argued by leading astrophysicists and others? Or does some other theory more accurately describe its beginnings? Are there other forms of life in the universe? What about other universes? This volume discusses these and other topics in this hotly debated area where philosophy and science meet.

Philosophy and the Origin and Evolution of the Universe

Philosophy and the Origin and Evolution of the Universe PDF Author: E. Agazzi
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401135983
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 473

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Book Description
It has often been noted that a kind of double dynamics char- terizes the development of science. On the one hand the progress in every discipline appears as the consequence of an increasing specialization, implying the restriction of the inquiry to very partial fields or aspects of a given domain. On the other hand, an opposite (but one might better say a complementary) trend points towards the construction of theoretical frameworks of great ge- rality, the aim of which seems to correspond not so much to the need of providing «explanations» for the details accumulated through partial investigation, as to the desire of attaining an - rizon of global comprehension of the whole field. This intell- tual dialectics is perceivable in every discipline, from mathe- tics, to physics, to biology, to history, to economics, to sociology, and it is not difficult to recognize there the presence of the two main attitudes according to which human beings try to make «intelligible» the world surrounding them (including themselves), attitudes which are sometimes called analysis and synthesis. They correspond respectively to the spontaneous inclination which pushes us to try to understand things by seeing «how they are made», in the sense of «looking into them» and breaking them into their constitutive parts, or rather to encompass things in a global picture, where they are accounted for as occupying a place, or playing a role, which are understandable from the point of view of the whole.

The Quantum of Explanation

The Quantum of Explanation PDF Author: Randall E. Auxier
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1351792482
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
The Quantum of Explanation advances a bold new theory of how explanation ought to be understood in philosophical and cosmological inquiries. Using a complete interpretation of Alfred North Whitehead’s philosophical and mathematical writings and an interpretive structure that is essentially new, Auxier and Herstein argue that Whitehead has never been properly understood, nor has the depth and breadth of his contribution to the human search for knowledge been assimilated by his successors. This important book effectively applies Whitehead’s philosophy to problems in the interpretation of science, empirical knowledge, and nature. It develops a new account of philosophical naturalism that will contribute to the current naturalism debate in both Analytic and Continental philosophy. Auxier and Herstein also draw attention to some of the most important differences between the process theology tradition and Whitehead’s thought, arguing in favor of a Whiteheadian naturalism that is more or less independent of theological concerns. This book offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to Whitehead’s philosophy and is an essential resource for students and scholars interested in American philosophy, the philosophy of mathematics and physics, and issues associated with naturalism, explanation and radical empiricism.

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Physics

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Physics PDF Author: Robert Batterman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195392043
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 701

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Book Description
This Oxford Handbook provides an overview of many of the topics that currently engage philosophers of physics. It surveys new issues and the problems that have become a focus of attention in recent years. It also provides up-to-date discussions of the still very important problems that dominated the field in the past. In the late 20th Century, the philosophy of physics was largely focused on orthodox Quantum Mechanics and Relativity Theory. The measurement problem, the question of the possibility of hidden variables, and the nature of quantum locality dominated the literature on the quantum mechanics, whereas questions about relationalism vs. substantivalism, and issues about underdetermination of theories dominated the literature on spacetime. These issues still receive considerable attention from philosophers, but many have shifted their attentions to other questions related to quantum mechanics and to spacetime theories. Quantum field theory has become a major focus, particularly from the point of view of algebraic foundations. Concurrent with these trends, there has been a focus on understanding gauge invariance and symmetries. The philosophy of physics has evolved even further in recent years with attention being paid to theories that, for the most part, were largely ignored in the past. For example, the relationship between thermodynamics and statistical mechanics—-once thought to be a paradigm instance of unproblematic theory reduction—-is now a hotly debated topic. The implicit, and sometimes explicit, reductionist methodology of both philosophers and physicists has been severely criticized and attention has now turned to the explanatory and descriptive roles of "non-fundamental,'' phenomenological theories. This shift of attention includes "old'' theories such as classical mechanics, once deemed to be of little philosophical interest. Furthermore, some philosophers have become more interested in "less fundamental'' contemporary physics such as condensed matter theory. Questions abound with implications for the nature of models, idealizations, and explanation in physics. This Handbook showcases all these aspects of this complex and dynamic discipline.

Cosmic Understanding

Cosmic Understanding PDF Author: Milton K. Munitz
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691228140
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
The description for this book, Cosmic Understanding: Philosophy and Science of the Universe, will be forthcoming.

A Philosophical Approach to MOND

A Philosophical Approach to MOND PDF Author: David Merritt
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108665683
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Dark matter is a fundamental component of the standard cosmological model, but in spite of four decades of increasingly sensitive searches, no-one has yet detected a single dark-matter particle in the laboratory. An alternative cosmological paradigm exists: MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics). Observations explained in the standard model by postulating dark matter are described in MOND by proposing a modification of Newton's laws of motion. Both MOND and the standard model have had successes and failures – but only MOND has repeatedly predicted observational facts in advance of their discovery. In this volume, David Merritt outlines why such predictions are considered by many philosophers of science to be the 'gold standard' when it comes to judging a theory's validity. In a world where the standard model receives most attention, the author applies criteria from the philosophy of science to assess, in a systematic way, the viability of this alternative cosmological paradigm.

Cosmology’s Century

Cosmology’s Century PDF Author: P. J. E. Peebles
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691201668
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 437

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Book Description
From Nobel Prize–winning physicist P. J. E. Peebles, the story of cosmology from Einstein to today Modern cosmology began a century ago with Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity and his notion of a homogenous, philosophically satisfying cosmos. Cosmology's Century is the story of how generations of scientists built on these thoughts and many new measurements to arrive at a well-tested physical theory of the structure and evolution of our expanding universe. In this landmark book, one of the world's most esteemed theoretical cosmologists offers an unparalleled personal perspective on how the field developed. P. J. E. Peebles was at the forefront of many of the greatest discoveries of the past century, making fundamental contributions to our understanding of the presence of helium and microwave radiation from the hot big bang, the measures of the distribution and motion of ordinary matter, and the new kind of dark matter that allows us to make sense of these results. Taking readers from the field's beginnings, Peebles describes how scientists working in independent directions found themselves converging on a theory of cosmic evolution interesting enough to warrant the rigorous testing it passes so well. He explores the major advances—some inspired by remarkable insights or perhaps just lucky guesses—as well as the wrong turns taken and the roads not explored. He shares recollections from major players in this story and provides a rare, inside look at how science is really done. A monumental work, Cosmology's Century also emphasizes where the present theory is incomplete, suggesting exciting directions for continuing research.