The Multiplicity of Interpreted Worlds

The Multiplicity of Interpreted Worlds PDF Author: Donald A. Crosby
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1666906514
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 165

Get Book Here

Book Description
In The Multiplicity of Interpreted Worlds: Inner and Outer Perspectives, Donald A. Crosby examines whether there is such a thing as an uninterpreted, unitary, in-itself world or if all claims about the world—whether scientific historical, cultural, communal, or individual—are necessarily partial and limited. If the latter is so, then ultimately many different worlds call for recognition, ranging in scope and reliability, but none of them—including those of the most allegedly "hard" science—either are or can be free of the limitations, disagreements, and fallibilities among even the most qualified experts in a particular field of investigation. The inward and the outward, the subjective and the objective, are thus crucially dependent on one another, and neither is finally intelligible as such apart from the other. Crosby argues that there is no such thing as a completely objective view of the world. This observation is pertinent to our treatment of other natural beings and their ecological domains because it makes us aware that they too have different relations to and perspectives on their environments or worlds in a manner similar to our own irreducibly different outlooks on such worlds from within.

The Multiplicity of Interpreted Worlds

The Multiplicity of Interpreted Worlds PDF Author: Donald A. Crosby
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1666906514
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 165

Get Book Here

Book Description
In The Multiplicity of Interpreted Worlds: Inner and Outer Perspectives, Donald A. Crosby examines whether there is such a thing as an uninterpreted, unitary, in-itself world or if all claims about the world—whether scientific historical, cultural, communal, or individual—are necessarily partial and limited. If the latter is so, then ultimately many different worlds call for recognition, ranging in scope and reliability, but none of them—including those of the most allegedly "hard" science—either are or can be free of the limitations, disagreements, and fallibilities among even the most qualified experts in a particular field of investigation. The inward and the outward, the subjective and the objective, are thus crucially dependent on one another, and neither is finally intelligible as such apart from the other. Crosby argues that there is no such thing as a completely objective view of the world. This observation is pertinent to our treatment of other natural beings and their ecological domains because it makes us aware that they too have different relations to and perspectives on their environments or worlds in a manner similar to our own irreducibly different outlooks on such worlds from within.

Many Worlds?

Many Worlds? PDF Author: Simon Saunders
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191614114
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 636

Get Book Here

Book Description
What does realism about the quantum state imply? What follows when quantum theory is applied without restriction, if need be, to the whole universe? These are the questions which an illustrious team of philosophers and physicists debate in this volume. All the contributors are agreed on realism, and on the need, or the aspiration, for a theory that unites micro- and macroworlds, at least in principle. But the further claim argued by some is that if you allow the Schrödinger equation unrestricted application, supposing the quantum state to be something physically real, then this universe is one of countlessly many others, constantly branching in time, all of which are real. The result is the many worlds theory, also known as the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics. The contrary claim sees this picture of many worlds as in no sense inherent in quantum mechanics, even when the latter is allowed unrestricted scope and even given that the quantum state itself is something physically real. For this picture of branching worlds fails to make physical sense, let alone common sense, even on its own terms. The status of these worlds, what they are made of, is never adequately explained. Ordinary ideas about time and identity over time become hopelessly compromised. The concept of probability itself is brought into question. This picture of many branching worlds is inchoate, it is a vision, an error. There are realist alternatives to many worlds, some even that preserve the Schrödinger equation unchanged. Twenty specially written essays, accompanied by commentaries and discussions, examine these claims and counterclaims in depth. They focus first on the question of ontology, the existence of worlds (Part 1 and 2), second on the interpretation of probability (Parts 3 and 4), and third on alternatives or additions to many worlds (Parts 5 and 6). The introduction offers a helpful guide to the arguments for the Everett interpretation, particularly as they have been formulated in the last two decades.

Constructing the World

Constructing the World PDF Author: David J. Chalmers
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191654949
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 528

Get Book Here

Book Description
David Chalmers develops a picture of reality on which all truths can be derived from a limited class of basic truths. The picture is inspired by Rudolf Carnap's construction of the world in Der Logische Aufbau Der Welt. Carnap's Aufbau is often seen as a noble failure, but Chalmers argues that a version of the project can succeed. With the right basic elements and the right derivation relation, we can indeed construct the world. The focal point of Chalmers' project is scrutability: the thesis that ideal reasoning from a limited class of basic truths yields all truths about the world. Chalmers first argues for the scrutability thesis and then considers how small the base can be. The result is a framework in "metaphysical epistemology": epistemology in service of a global picture of the world. The scrutability framework has ramifications throughout philosophy. Using it, Chalmers defends a broadly Fregean approach to meaning, argues for an internalist approach to the contents of thought, and rebuts W.V. Quine's arguments against the analytic and the a priori. He also uses scrutability to analyze the unity of science, to defend a sort of conceptual metaphysics, and to mount a structuralist response to skepticism. Based on Chalmers's 2010 John Locke lectures, Constructing the World opens up debate on central philosophical issues concerning knowledge, language, mind, and reality.

The Emergent Multiverse

The Emergent Multiverse PDF Author: David Wallace
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191057398
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 547

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Emergent Multiverse presents a striking new account of the 'many worlds' approach to quantum theory. The point of science, it is generally accepted, is to tell us how the world works and what it is like. But quantum theory seems to fail to do this: taken literally as a theory of the world, it seems to make crazy claims: particles are in two places at once; cats are alive and dead at the same time. So physicists and philosophers have often been led either to give up on the idea that quantum theory describes reality, or to modify or augment the theory. The Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics takes the apparent craziness seriously, and asks, 'what would it be like if particles really were in two places at once, if cats really were alive and dead at the same time'? The answer, it turns out, is that if the world were like that—if it were as quantum theory claims—it would be a world that, at the macroscopic level, was constantly branching into copies—hence the more sensationalist name for the Everett interpretation, the 'many worlds theory'. But really, the interpretation is not sensationalist at all: it simply takes quantum theory seriously, literally, as a description of the world. Once dismissed as absurd, it is now accepted by many physicists as the best way to make coherent sense of quantum theory. David Wallace offers a clear and up-to-date survey of work on the Everett interpretation in physics and in philosophy of science, and at the same time provides a self-contained and thoroughly modern account of it—an account which is accessible to readers who have previously studied quantum theory at undergraduate level, and which will shape the future direction of research by leading experts in the field.

The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics

The Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics PDF Author: Bryce Seligman Dewitt
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 140086805X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description
A novel interpretation of quantum mechanics, first proposed in brief form by Hugh Everett in 1957, forms the nucleus around which this book has developed. In his interpretation, Dr. Everett denies the existence of a separate classical realm and asserts the propriety of considering a state vector for the whole universe. Because this state vector never collapses, reality as a whole is rigorously deterministic. This reality, which is described jointly by the dynamical variables and the state vector, is not the reality customarily perceived; rather, it is a reality composed of many worlds. By virtue of the temporal development of the dynamical variables, the state vector decomposes naturally into orthogonal vectors, reflecting a continual splitting of the universe into a multitude of mutually unobservable but equally real worlds, in each of which every good measurement has yielded a definite result, and in most of which the familiar statistical quantum laws hold. The volume contains Dr. Everett's short paper from 1957, "'Relative State' Formulation of Quantum Mechanics," and a far longer exposition of his interpretation, entitled "The Theory of the Universal Wave Function," never before published. In addition, other papers by Wheeler, DeWitt, Graham, and Cooper and Van Vechten provide further discussion of the same theme. Together, they constitute virtually the entire world output of scholarly commentary on the Everett interpretation. Originally published in 1973. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Hegel's Interpretation of the Religions of the World

Hegel's Interpretation of the Religions of the World PDF Author: Jon Stewart
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192564935
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 342

Get Book Here

Book Description
In his Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion, Hegel treats the religions of the world under the rubric "the determinate religion." This is a part of his corpus that has traditionally been neglected since scholars have struggled to understand what philosophical work it is supposed to do. In Hegel's Interpretation of the Religions of the World, Jon Stewart argues that Hegel's rich analyses of Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Egyptian and Greek polytheism, and the Roman religion are not simply irrelevant historical material, as is often thought. Instead, they play a central role in Hegel's argument for what he regards as the truth of Christianity. Hegel believes that the different conceptions of the gods in the world religions are reflections of individual peoples at specific periods in history. These conceptions might at first glance appear random and chaotic, but there is, Hegel claims, a discernible logic in them. Simultaneously, a theory of mythology, history, and philosophical anthropology, Hegel's account of the world religions goes far beyond the field of philosophy of religion. The controversial issues surrounding his treatment of the non-European religions are still very much with us today and make his account of religion an issue of continued topicality in the academic landscape of the twenty-first century.

Gospel Interpretation and Christian Life

Gospel Interpretation and Christian Life PDF Author: Francis J Moloney
Publisher: ATF Press
ISBN: 1925643115
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 349

Get Book Here

Book Description
The voice of Francis J Moloney, SDB, has been heard in New Testament studies for many decades. Internationally famous for his work on the Gospel of John, this volume gathers studies that demonstrate the breadth and richness of his interests, beyond that well-established enterprise. The first part of the boom is dedicated to Gospel studies, with the majority of essays focussing upon the Gospel of Mark. They reflect his long interest and his major commentary on that Gospel (2012). Studies on Matthew, Luke and John complete these reflections.

Evolutionary Emergence of Purposive Goals and Values

Evolutionary Emergence of Purposive Goals and Values PDF Author: Donald A. Crosby
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438493983
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 215

Get Book Here

Book Description
Where do the purposes, values, and existential meanings of the world come from? For many, they are conferred on the world and on humans within the world by a supernatural, transcendent, personal divine creator and sustainer. For others, they result from a God or divine presence residing within nature. For still others, they give evidence of mind and spirit as primordial principles suffusing nature from the outset and in all of its forms. In Evolutionary Emergence of Purposive Goals and Values, Donald A. Crosby takes issue with each of these views. His thesis is that mind, meaning, purpose, and value come into existence with the evolutionary emergence of life, and that evolution itself gives evidence of the creative power of two primordial natural principles: matter-energy and time. There is no overarching purpose, value, or meaning of nature as such, but there is a plethora of such factors evident in the evolved life forms of nature here on earth. This fact is especially evident in the day-to-day experiences, aspirations, and concerns of us evolutionarily-evolved human beings. Purpose, meaning, and value are therefore gifts of evolutionary nature, not of any supernatural or non-natural principle, presence, or power.

A World Without Meaning

A World Without Meaning PDF Author: Zaki Laidi
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134705433
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Get Book Here

Book Description
This sophisticated book by internationally renowned theorist Zaki Laidi, tackles the problem of individual identity in a rapidly changing global political environment. He argues that it is increasingly hard to find meaning in our ever-expanding world, especially after the collapse of political ideologies such as communism. With the breakup of countries such as the former Yugoslavia, it is clear that people are now looking to old models like nationalism and ethnicity to help them forge an identity. But how effective are these old certainties in a globalized world in a permanent state of flux?

Universal Ontology

Universal Ontology PDF Author: Max Vishnevskiy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 414

Get Book Here

Book Description
List of references: Barrett J. Everett's relative-state formulation of quantum mechanics; Berto F. Impossible worlds; Berto F. How to Sell a Contradiction; Bricker P. Absolute actuality and the plurality of worlds; Bruce C. Schrödinger's Rabbits; Byrne P. The Many Worlds of Hugh Everett III; Cameron R.P. Why Lewis's analysis of modality succeeds in its reductive; Carlson E. and Olsson E.J. The presumption of nothingness; Chaitin G.J. The Unknowable; Conee E. Modal realism, counterpart theory, and the possibility of multiversal rectitude; De Rosset L. Possible worlds I: Modal realism; De Witt B. Quantum mechanics and reality; Divers J. Possible Worlds; Dorr С. How to be a modal realist; Edwards P. Why; Everett H. Relative state formulation of quantum mechanics; Everett H. The Theory of the Universal Wave Function; Feser E. Greene on Nozick on nothing; Franrks M.R. The Universe and Multiple Reality; Gale G. Cosmological fecundity: Theories of multiple universes; Gribbin J. In Search of the Multiverse; Grover S. Cosmological fecundity; Grünbaum A. The Poverty of Theistic Cosmology; Grunbaum A. Why is there a world at all, rather than just nothing?; Hawthorne J. A Metaphysician looks at the Everett interpretation; Heller M. The immorality of modal realism, or; Holt J. Why Does the World Exist?; Lewis D. Counterfactuals. Oxford: Blackwell; Lewis D. How many lives has Schrodinger's cat?; Lewis D. On the Plurality of Worlds; Lovell A.C.B. The Individual and the Universe; Lynds P. Why there is something rather than nothing; Mackie J.L. Truth, Probability and Paradox; Many Worlds? Everett, Quantum Theory, and Reality; McDaniel K. Modal realisms; NozickR. Philosophical Explanations; Plantinga A. Essays in the Metaphysics of Modality; Sauchelli A. Concrete possible worlds and counterfactual conditionals; Sheehy P. Theism and modal realism; Sorensen R. Nothingness; Tappenden P. Identity and probability in Everett's multiverse; Tegmark M. Many lives in many worlds; Tegmark M. Our Mathematical Universe; Tipler F.J. Nonlocality as evidence for a multiverse cosmology; Tryon E. Is the universe a vacuum fluctuation?; Tuboly A. Are there possible worlds? Lewis and Everett on the plurality of worlds; Unger P. Minimizing arbitrariness: toward a metaphysics of infinitely many isolated concrete worlds; Vaidman L. Many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics; Van Invagen P. Why is there anything at all?; Vilenkin A. Birth of inflationary universes; Wallace D. The Emergent Multiverse; Weatherson B. David Lewis; Wilson A. Modal Metaphysics and the Everett Interpretation; Witherall A. The fundamental question; Byrne P. Plurality of worlds of Hugh Everett; Born M. Continuity, determinism, reality; Weinberg S. Dreams of the Ultimate Theory; V.P. Vizgin The idea of a plurality of worlds; Vilenkin A. The world of many worlds. Physicists in search of other universes; Gapchenko S.Yu. On the multiplicity of worlds; Green B. Hidden Reality: Parallel Worlds and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos; Greenstein J., Zayonts A. Quantum challenge. Modern research into the foundations of quantum mechanics; Goodman N. Ways of creating worlds; Deutsch D. The structure of reality; Kaku M. Parallel Worlds; Karpenko A.S. Philosophical principle of completeness; Lovejoy A. The Great Chain of Being; Lebedev Yu.A. The many-sided universe. Everett problematics; Leibniz G.V. Principles of nature and grace based on reason; Leibniz G.V. On the deep origin of things; Lukasiewicz Jan. On the principle of contradiction in Aristotle; Mensky M.B. Consciousness and quantum mechanics; Nietzsche F. Beyond Good and Evil. Prelude to the philosophy of the future; Heidegger M. Introduction to Metaphysics; Heidegger M. Being and Time; Chalmers D. The Conscious Mind; Epstein M. Philosophy of the Possible.