Science Improved Or The Theory Of The Universe Comprehending A Rational System Of The Most Useful As Well As Entertaining Parts Of Natural And Experimental Philosophy Etc

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Science Improved: or the Theory of the Universe. Comprehending a rational system of the most useful as well as entertaining parts of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, etc

Author : Thomas Harrington
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 1774
Category : Electronic
ISBN : BL:A0018276050

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Science Improved: or the Theory of the Universe. Comprehending a rational system of the most useful as well as entertaining parts of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, etc by Thomas Harrington Pdf

Catalogue of Printed Books in the Library of the British Museum

Author : British Museum. Department of Printed Books
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 1072 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 1888
Category : English literature
ISBN : UCAL:C2643739

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Catalogue of Printed Books in the Library of the British Museum by British Museum. Department of Printed Books Pdf

The Catalogue of the History of Science Collections of the University of Oklahoma Libraries

Author : University of Oklahoma. Libraries,Duane Henry Du Bose Roller,Marcia M. Goodman
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 610 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 1976
Category : Education
ISBN : UOM:39015079907476

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The Catalogue of the History of Science Collections of the University of Oklahoma Libraries by University of Oklahoma. Libraries,Duane Henry Du Bose Roller,Marcia M. Goodman Pdf

The Return to Cosmology

Author : Stephen Toulmin
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 2022-04-29
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780520306820

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The Return to Cosmology by Stephen Toulmin Pdf

"Can we rely on the discoveries that scientists make about one or another part, or aspect, of the world as a basis for drawing conclusions abou the Universe as a Whole?" Thirty years ago, the separateness of different intellectual disciplines was an unquestioned axiom of intellectual procedure. By the mid-nineteen-seventies, however, even within the natural sciences proper, a shift from narrowly disciplinary preoccupations to more interdisciplinary issues had made it possible to reopen questions about he cosmological significance of the scientific world picture and scarcely possible any longer to rule out all religious cosmology and "unscientific." This book, the product of both a professional and personal quest, follow the debate about cosmology--the theory of the universe--as it has changed from 1945 to 1982. The open essay, "Scientific Mythology" reflects the influence of Stephen Toulmin's postwar study with Ludwig Wittgenstein in its skepticism about the naive extrapolation of scientific concepts into nonscientific contexts. Skepticism gradually gives way to qualified optimism that there may be "still a real chance of working outward from the natural sciences into a larger cosmological realm" in a series of essays on the cosmological speculations of individual scientists, including Arthur Koestler, Jacques Monod, Carl Sagan, and others. In the programmatic concluding essays, Toulmin argues that the classic Newtonian distinction between the observer and the observed was inimical not only to the received religious cosmology but also to any attempt to understand humanity and nature as parts of a single cosmos. In the twentieth century, however, what he calls "the death of the spectator" has forced the postmodern scientist--theoretically, in quantum physics, and practically, in the recognized impact of science-derived technologies on the environment--to include himself in his science. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1982.

Philosophy and the Origin and Evolution of the Universe

Author : Evandro Agazzi,Alberto Cordero
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 488 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 1991
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : UOM:39015022051315

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Philosophy and the Origin and Evolution of the Universe by Evandro Agazzi,Alberto Cordero Pdf

Modern cosmology, though a confluence of relativity theory and elementary particle physics, and with the help of very sophisticated mathematical models, tries to encompass the Universe as a whole, and to propose theories regarding its origin and evolution. But this cannot work without the evolution of several philosophical issues, concerning the epistemological status of this enterprise, its implicit or explicit extra-scientific presuppositions, as well as the real sense and interpretation of the theories and principles involved. This book provides a survey of these different aspects, for it gives some essential elements of the scientific background necessary for understanding the main issues of modern cosmology, and at the same time offer a discussion of the problems arising in it; problems which are never purely scientific, nor purely philosophical. Science and philosophy are therefore again deeply interrelated, at the moment where man tries to understand the Universe and his place in it. And this not only because the legitimacy of calling cosmology a science implies the acceptance of intellectual approaches which overstep the usual criteria of physical science and have a deep philosophical connotation, but also because the evolutionary way of thinking, strongly backed by cosmology, reinforces the role of this approach in the philosophy of science and in philosophy in general.

The Ten Assumptions of Science

Author : Glenn Borchardt
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 136 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2004-03
Category : Free will and determinism
ISBN : 9780595311279

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The Ten Assumptions of Science by Glenn Borchardt Pdf

The Ten Assumptions of Science presents the logically coherent set of assumptions destined to define 21st century scientific philosophy. Glenn Borchardt first explains why assumptions and not absolutes are necessary for scientific thinking. By exploring the opposition between deterministic and indeterministic views, he clearly shows how critical choices among underlying assumptions either clarify or muddle scientific analysis. He shows how customary mixtures of deterministic and indeterministic assumptions are responsible for the current confusion in modern physics. According to Dr. Borchardt, only rare physicists and philosophers have an inkling of the nature of time, space, energy, and matter. The need for reassessing our fundamental assumptions is indicated by the present sorry state of cosmology. Otherwise intelligent scientists promulgate the idea that the universe expanded from a tiny "singularity" smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. At the very least, adherence to Borchardt's assumptions will contribute to the rejection of the "Big Bang Theory," which has surpassed the flat Earth theory as the greatest embarrassment to serious thinkers everywhere. Although the book makes an excellent supplement to college courses in scientific philosophy, it is an astounding eye-opener for the educated reader with an interest in science and philosophy.

Our Almost Impossible Universe

Author : R. Mirman
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 535 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Consciousness
ISBN : 9780595378418

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Our Almost Impossible Universe by R. Mirman Pdf

WHY GOD COULD NOT CREATE THE UNIVERSE WITH A DIFFERENT DIMENSION EVEN IF IT WANTED TO or perhaps anything else. Perhaps the universe must be the way it is. It seems that what is omnipotent is mathematics, elementary arithmetic, just counting. Yet even mathematics is not powerful enough to create a universe¿there are just too many conditions, conflicting. Existence is impossible. Beyond that for there to be structure is quite inconceivable. But the universe does exist, there are galaxies, stars, even the possibility of life. That life is possible merely allows it to exist but only with the greatest good fortune does it actually occur. Intelligence is vastly less likely, ability and technology far more improbable. That we are, what we are, seem so strange, inconceivable, that we are left merely with wonder¿and, as we seem unable to realize, the need for the deepest care, responsibility and gratitude. We have been given by the unbelievable benevolence of chance, no life, but life with the most wondrous part of the universe, the ability to think, to know, to create, to wonder¿and thus the demand that we use our most awesome gifts to protect them, to protect and preserve the world in which they exist, and the life, likely so rare if not unique in the universe, which has received these astounding favors of chance, that has been given by nature its most exalted constituents. What we are requires that we enhance what we are, what we are part of, to see, understand and be grateful. An exploration of the precise conditions required for the existence of humans in the universe. ...the author does an admirable job delineating the laws of physics without becoming too bogged down in complicated jargon, and he maintains a sense of wonder about the unique and random nature of the universe. He repeatedly celebrates our highly improbable achievements as a species, marveling at our ability to use the language of abstract mathematics to unravel the mysteries of existence. ... the prevailing tone of the narrative is clear and confident, marked by a meticulous attention to detail. An...often fascinating journey through the history of the universe and mankind. -Kirkus Discoveries

The Beginning of Infinity

Author : David Deutsch
Publisher : Penguin UK
Page : 571 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2011-03-31
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780141969695

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The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch Pdf

'Science has never had an advocate quite like David Deutsch ... A computational physicist on a par with his touchstones Alan Turing and Richard Feynman, and a philosopher in the line of his greatest hero, Karl Popper. His arguments are so clear that to read him is to experience the thrill of the highest level of discourse available on this planet and to understand it' Peter Forbes, Independent In our search for truth, how far have we advanced? This uniquely human quest for good explanations has driven amazing improvements in everything from scientific understanding and technology to politics, moral values and human welfare. But will progress end, either in catastrophe or completion - or will it continue infinitely? In this profound and seminal book, David Deutsch explores the furthest reaches of our current understanding, taking in the Infinity Hotel, supernovae and the nature of optimism, to instill in all of us a wonder at what we have achieved - and the fact that this is only the beginning of humanity's infinite possibility. 'This is Deutsch at his most ambitious, seeking to understand the implications of our scientific explanations of the world ... I enthusiastically recommend this rich, wide-ranging and elegantly written exposition of the unique insights of one of our most original intellectuals' Michael Berry, Times Higher Education Supplement 'Bold ... profound ... provocative and persuasive' Economist 'David Deutsch may well go down in history as one of the great scientists of our age' Scotsman

The Philosophy of Cosmology

Author : Khalil Chamcham,Joseph Silk,John D. Barrow,Simon Saunders
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 527 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2017-04-13
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781107145399

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The Philosophy of Cosmology by Khalil Chamcham,Joseph Silk,John D. Barrow,Simon Saunders Pdf

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.

The Human World in the Physical Universe

Author : Nicholas Maxwell
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 338 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0742512266

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The Human World in the Physical Universe by Nicholas Maxwell Pdf

How is it possible for the world as we experience it to exist embedded in the physical universe? How can there be sensory qualities, consciousness, freedom, science and art, friendship, love, justice--all that which gives meaning and value to life--if the world really is more or less as modern science tells us it is? This is the problem that is tackled by this book. The solution proposed is that physics describes only a selected aspect of all that exists--that aspect which determines the way events unfold. Sensory qualities, inner experiences, consciousness, meaning and value, all these exist but lie beyond the scope of physics, and of that part of science that can be reduced to physics. Furthermore, these human features of the world are to be explained and understood, not scientifically, but "personalistically," a kind of understanding distinct from, and not reducible to, science. This view that the world is riddled with what may be called "double comprehensibility" leads to a proposed solution to the philosophical mind/body problem, and to the problem of free will; it leads to a reinterpretation of Darwin's theory of evolution, and to an account of the evolution of consciousness and free will. After a discussion of the location of consciousness in the brain, the book concludes with a proposal as to how academic inquiry might be changed so that it becomes a kind of inquiry rationally designed to help humanity create a more civilized human world in the physical universe.

The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe: A New Kind of Reality Theory

Author : Christopher Michael Langan
Publisher : Mega Foundation Press
Page : 94 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2002-06-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780971916227

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The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe: A New Kind of Reality Theory by Christopher Michael Langan Pdf

Paperback version of the 2002 paper published in the journal Progress in Information, Complexity, and Design (PCID). ABSTRACT Inasmuch as science is observational or perceptual in nature, the goal of providing a scientific model and mechanism for the evolution of complex systems ultimately requires a supporting theory of reality of which perception itself is the model (or theory-to-universe mapping). Where information is the abstract currency of perception, such a theory must incorporate the theory of information while extending the information concept to incorporate reflexive self-processing in order to achieve an intrinsic (self-contained) description of reality. This extension is associated with a limiting formulation of model theory identifying mental and physical reality, resulting in a reflexively self-generating, self-modeling theory of reality identical to its universe on the syntactic level. By the nature of its derivation, this theory, the Cognitive Theoretic Model of the Universe or CTMU, can be regarded as a supertautological reality-theoretic extension of logic. Uniting the theory of reality with an advanced form of computational language theory, the CTMU describes reality as a Self Configuring Self-Processing Language or SCSPL, a reflexive intrinsic language characterized not only by self-reference and recursive self-definition, but full self-configuration and self-execution (reflexive read-write functionality). SCSPL reality embodies a dual-aspect monism consisting of infocognition, self-transducing information residing in self-recognizing SCSPL elements called syntactic operators. The CTMU identifies itself with the structure of these operators and thus with the distributive syntax of its self-modeling SCSPL universe, including the reflexive grammar by which the universe refines itself from unbound telesis or UBT, a primordial realm of infocognitive potential free of informational constraint. Under the guidance of a limiting (intrinsic) form of anthropic principle called the Telic Principle, SCSPL evolves by telic recursion, jointly configuring syntax and state while maximizing a generalized self-selection parameter and adjusting on the fly to freely-changing internal conditions. SCSPL relates space, time and object by means of conspansive duality and conspansion, an SCSPL-grammatical process featuring an alternation between dual phases of existence associated with design and actualization and related to the familiar wave-particle duality of quantum mechanics. By distributing the design phase of reality over the actualization phase, conspansive spacetime also provides a distributed mechanism for Intelligent Design, adjoining to the restrictive principle of natural selection a basic means of generating information and complexity. Addressing physical evolution on not only the biological but cosmic level, the CTMU addresses the most evident deficiencies and paradoxes associated with conventional discrete and continuum models of reality, including temporal directionality and accelerating cosmic expansion, while preserving virtually all of the major benefits of current scientific and mathematical paradigms.

A Theory of Wonder: Evolution, Brain and the Radical Nature of Science

Author : Gonzalo Munévar
Publisher : Vernon Press
Page : 206 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2021-09-07
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781648892820

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A Theory of Wonder: Evolution, Brain and the Radical Nature of Science by Gonzalo Munévar Pdf

‘A Theory of Wonder’ aims to determine the best way science can satisfy our sense of wonder by exploring the world. Empiricism tells us that science succeeds because it follows the scientific method: Observation passes judgment on Theory – supporting or rejecting it. Much credit is given to the inventor of the method, Galileo, but when historically-minded philosophers of science like Kuhn and Feyerabend called our attention to what Galileo actually wrote and did, we were shocked to find out that Galileo instead drives a dagger through the heart of empiricism; he strikes down the distinction between theory and observation. Plain facts, like the vertical fall of a stone, ruled out the motion of the Earth. To conclude that the stone really falls vertically, however, we must assume that the Earth does not move. If it does move, then the stone only “seems” to fall vertically. Galileo then replaced the “facts” against the motion of the Earth with “facts” that included such motion. This process is typical during scientific revolutions. A good strategy for science is to elaborate radical alternatives; then, and on their basis, reconsider what counts as evidence. Feyerabend was called irrational for this suggestion; but looking at the practice of science from the perspective of evolution and neuroscience shows that the suggestion is very reasonable instead, and, moreover, explains why science works best as a radical form of knowledge. It also leads to a sensible biological form of relative truth, with preliminary drafts leading to exciting discussions with other researchers in the philosophy of science. This book will be of particular interest to university students, instructors and researchers in history or philosophy of science, as well as those with a general interest in the nature of science.

Inventing the Universe

Author : Luc Brisson,F. Walter Meyerstein
Publisher : SUNY Press
Page : 206 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 1995-01-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0791426912

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Inventing the Universe by Luc Brisson,F. Walter Meyerstein Pdf

A parallel investigation of both Plato's Timaeusand the contemporary standard Big Bang model of the universe shows that any possible scientific knowledge of the universe is ultimately grounded in irreducible and undemonstrable propositions. These are inventions of the human mind. The scientific knowledge of the universe is entirely composed in a series of axioms and rules of inference underlying a formalized system. There is no logical relationship between the sensible perception of a world of becoming and the formalized system of axioms known as a "scientific explanation." The "irrational gap" between perception and explanation can be appraised historically and identified in three stages: Plato's Timaeus furnishes the first example of a scientific theory dealing with a realm of ideality that cannot be derived from immediate sensible perception; the Big Bang model is constituted on the basis of the purely geometrical notion of symmetry; and in the more recent Algorithmic Theory of Information, the analysis of the purely symbolic language expressing physical reality reveals the level of complexity of any given theory formulated in this language. The result is that the probability of the universe actually conforming with simple mathematics is zero. In a formal system, a theorem contains more information than can be found in the set of axioms of this system, and it remains undecidable. In Aristotle' s language, the theorems that can be proved within a theoretical model are already potentially contained in the system of axioms underlying these theorems.

Newton's Third Rule and the Experimental Argument for Universal Gravity

Author : Mary Domski
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 153 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2021-07-21
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781000449433

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Newton's Third Rule and the Experimental Argument for Universal Gravity by Mary Domski Pdf

This book provides a reading of Newton’s argument for universal gravity that is focused on the evidence-based, "experimental" reasoning that Newton associates with his program of experimental philosophy. It highlights the richness and complexity of the Principia and also draws important lessons about how to situate Newton in his natural philosophical context. The book has two primary objectives. First, it defends a novel interpretation of the third of Newton’s four Rules for the Study of Natural Philosophy – what the author terms the Two-Set Reading of Rule 3. Second, it argues that this novel interpretation of Rule 3 sheds additional light on the differences between Newton’s experimental philosophy and Descartes’s "hypothetical philosophy," and that it also illuminates how the practice of experimental philosophy allowed Newton to make a universal force of gravity the centerpiece of his explanation of the system of the world. Newton’s Third Rule and the Experimental Argument for Universal Gravity will be of interest to researchers and advanced students working on Newton’s natural philosophy, early modern philosophy, and the history of science.