Physics and our View of the World
About this book
One of the central questions of physics is whether or not a Theory of Everything is possible. Many physicists believe that such a theory might be attainable, a belief which has led to speculation that we might one day 'know the mind of God'. But what would be the philosophical implications of having a blueprint for the Universe? In this fascinating book, a group of distinguished physicists and philosophers examine not only the claims of modern physics, but also the impact these claims have on our view of the world. Based on talks given at the Third Erasmus Ascension Symposium in The Netherlands, the book contains contributions from John Barrow, Paul Davies, Dennis Dieks, Willem Drees, Paul Feyerabend, Bas van Fraassen, Mary Hesse, Gerard 't Hooft and Ernan McMullin. At a time when many people view science with deep suspicion, this book will be of great interest to anyone wishing to explore the complex relationships that exist between physics and philosophy, theology and ideology.
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Half-title
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1 Questioning the answers or Stumbling upon good and bad Theories of Everything
- 2 Theories of Everything
- 3 The scientific view of the world: introduction
- 4 Enlarging the known world
- 5 The world of empiricism
- 6 Has the scientific view of the world a special status compared with other views?
- 7 Quantum theory and our view of the world
- 8 Interpretation of science; science as interpretation
- 9 Problems in debates about physics and religion
- 10 The mind of God
- 11 The sources of models for God: metaphysics or metaphor?
- Discussion
- Notes on contributors
- Bibliography
- Index