Ebook: Philosophy and the Origin and Evolution of the Universe
- Tags: Philosophy of Science, Theoretical Mathematical and Computational Physics, Philosophy of Nature, Classical and Quantum Gravitation Relativity Theory
- Series: Synthese Library 217
- Year: 1991
- Publisher: Springer Netherlands
- Edition: 1
- Language: English
- pdf
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.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
The Universe as a Scientific and Philosophical Problem....Pages 1-51
The Geometric Structure of the Universe....Pages 53-73
Superstring Unification and the Existence of Gravity....Pages 75-86
The Universe of Modern Science and its Philosophical Exploration....Pages 87-202
From Molecules to Life....Pages 203-218
Meta-Neuroanatomy: The Myth of the Unbounded Mind/Brain....Pages 219-252
Emergence and Reduction in Morphogenetic Theories....Pages 253-262
What Can We Know About the Universe?....Pages 263-289
The Universe as a Scientific Object....Pages 291-339
General Laws of Nature and the Uniqueness of the Universe....Pages 341-360
The Anthropic Principle and Its Epistemological Status in Modern Physical Cosmology....Pages 361-397
Evolutionary Ideas and Contemporary Naturalism....Pages 399-439
Origin and Evolution of the Universe and Mankind....Pages 441-456
Back Matter....Pages 457-466
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xii
The Universe as a Scientific and Philosophical Problem....Pages 1-51
The Geometric Structure of the Universe....Pages 53-73
Superstring Unification and the Existence of Gravity....Pages 75-86
The Universe of Modern Science and its Philosophical Exploration....Pages 87-202
From Molecules to Life....Pages 203-218
Meta-Neuroanatomy: The Myth of the Unbounded Mind/Brain....Pages 219-252
Emergence and Reduction in Morphogenetic Theories....Pages 253-262
What Can We Know About the Universe?....Pages 263-289
The Universe as a Scientific Object....Pages 291-339
General Laws of Nature and the Uniqueness of the Universe....Pages 341-360
The Anthropic Principle and Its Epistemological Status in Modern Physical Cosmology....Pages 361-397
Evolutionary Ideas and Contemporary Naturalism....Pages 399-439
Origin and Evolution of the Universe and Mankind....Pages 441-456
Back Matter....Pages 457-466
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