The Mystery of Existence: Why Is There Anything At All? - Brossura

Leslie

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0470673559 ISBN 13: 9780470673553

Casa editrice: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013

Riassunto

This compelling study of the origins of all that exists, including explanations of the entire material world, traces the responses of philosophers and scientists to the most elemental and haunting question of all: why is anything here—or anything anywhere? Why is there something rather than nothing? Why not nothing? It includes the thoughts of dozens of luminaries from Plato and Aristotle to Aquinas and Leibniz to modern thinkers such as physicists Stephen Hawking and Steven Weinberg, philosophers Robert Nozick and Derek Parfit, philosophers of religion Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne, and the Dalai Lama.

• The first accessible volume to cover a wide range of possible reasons for the existence of all reality, from over 50 renowned thinkers, including Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Leibniz, Hume, Bertrand Russell, Stephen Hawking, Steven Weinberg, Robert Nozick, Derek Parfit, Alvin Plantinga, Richard Swinburne, John Polkinghorne, Paul Davies, and the Dalai Lama
• Features insights by scientists, philosophers, and theologians
• Includes informative and helpful editorial introductions to each section
• Provides a wealth of suggestions for further reading and research
• Presents material that is both comprehensive and comprehensible

Su questo libro

Recensione

Recent discoveries in cosmology have led to a renewed surge of interest in ultimate questions of existence. What, if anything, came before the big bang? If the universe appeared from nothing in a law–like manner, then where did the laws come from, and why do they have the form that they do? Or is our universe but an infinitesimal fragment of an eternal, infinite sea of diverse laws and universes? This book provides a comprehensive review of attempts to grapple with such foundational questions, and skillfully charts the intersection of science, philosophy and theology. The authors have assembled an intellectual feast for all those who care about physical existence, the universe and our place within it.

Paul Davies, Director, BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University
Author of The Goldilocks Enigma: Why the Universe is Just Right for Life
This book gathers together some of the best that has been thought and written on what may be the most fundamental question of all: Why does anything exist? Readers won t find a definite answer perhaps there isn t one that we re capable of understanding but they will at least get a feel for the nature of the question. And in philosophy, understanding the question is in itself an important step
forward.

Martin J. Rees, Astronomer Royal (UK)
Author of Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe
A very useful collection containing many of the most prominent responses to the question why there is something rather than nothing, with helpful introductions by the editors.

Richard Swinburne, University of Oxford
Author of The Existence of God
This book will be an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to think seriously about the questions, Why is there something and not rather nothing? and Why is there this something and not rather some entirely different something ?

Peter van Inwagen, the University of Notre Dame
Author of Existence: Essays in Ontology

L'autore

John Leslie is University Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Guelph, Canada, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Well-known in the philosophy of cosmology and religion, he has held visiting professorships at institutions including the Australian National University (Research Department of Philosophy) and the University of Liège (Institute of Astrophysics). He is the author of numerous publications including Value and Existence (Blackwell, 1979), Universes (Routledge, 1989), The End of the World: the Science and Ethics of Human Extinction (Routledge, 1996), Infinite Minds (Oxford University Press, 2001), and Immortality Defended (Blackwell, 2007).

Robert Lawrence Kuhn is a public intellectual and the creator and host of Closer To Truth, the long-running PBS / public television series on science and philosophy. With a doctorate in brain research (UCLA), he is the author or editor of more than 30 books, including Closer To Truth: Challenging Current Belief and Closer To Truth: Science, Meaning and the Future. A recognized expert on Chinese politics and economics, he is the author of The Man Who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin (Crown, 2005), China’s best-selling book of 2005, and How China’s Leaders Think (Wiley, 2011). He is a frequent commentator on the BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, China Central Television (CCTV), and Euronews.

Dettagli dell?edizione

• Editore: Wiley-Blackwell
• Data di pubblicazione: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0470673559
• ISBN 13: 9780470673553
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Lingua: Inglese
• Numero di pagine: 328