Reductionism, Emergence and Levels of Reality
Reductionism, Emergence and Levels of Reality

Author: Sergio Chibbaro

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2014-05-13

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 3319063618

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Scientists have always attempted to explain the world in terms of a few unifying principles. In the fifth century B.C. Democritus boldly claimed that reality is simply a collection of indivisible and eternal parts or atoms. Over the centuries his doctrine has remained a landmark, and much progress in physics is due to its distinction between subjective perception and objective reality. This book discusses theory reduction in physics, which states that the whole is nothing more than the sum of its parts: the properties of things are directly determined by their constituent parts. Reductionism deals with the relation between different theories that address different levels of reality, and uses extrapolations to apply that relation in different sciences. Reality shows a complex structure of connections, and the dream of a unified interpretation of all phenomena in several simple laws continues to attract anyone with genuine philosophical and scientific interests. If the most radical reductionist point of view is correct, the relationship between disciplines is strictly inclusive: chemistry becomes physics, biology becomes chemistry, and so on. Eventually, only one science, indeed just a single theory, would survive, with all others merging in the Theory of Everything. Is the current coexistence of different sciences a mere historical venture which will end when the Theory of Everything has been established? Can there be a unified description of nature? Rather than an analysis of full reductionism, this book focuses on aspects of theory reduction in physics and stimulates reflection on related questions: is there any evidence of actual reduction? Are the examples used in the philosophy of science too simplistic? What has been endangered by the search for (the) ultimate truth? Has the dream of reductionist reason created any monsters? Is big science one such monster? What is the point of embedding science Y within science X, if predictions cannot be made on that basis?

Screening Scripture
Screening Scripture

Author: George Aichele

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2002-05-01

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9781563383540

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An intertextual examination of popular films and scripture.

Transformation of the University
Transformation of the University

Author: Søren S.E. Bengtsen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2022-04-25

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1000571378

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Transformation of the University imagines preferable futures for the university, building hope for the institution’s necessary transformation. It transcends old criticisms and presents fresh ideas on how the institution might be conceived, organised and put into practice while safeguarding that which makes it a university – the pursuit of knowledge. This book is divided into three main parts: Part One – ‘Knowledge’ assumes the role of the university in generating knowledge for the benefit of society; Part Two – ‘Cultural Growth’ expands on how the university might contribute to and benefit from the cultural growth of society, with both explicit and implicit connections to social and epistemic (in)justice; and Part Three – ‘Institutions’ focuses on imaginative processes for enacting the university as an institution that meets the unforeseen future challenges facing societies around the world. With contributions from scholars across the world, Transformation of the University is an essential read for all academics, practitioners, institutional leaders and broad social thinkers who are concerned with the future of the university and its contributions to society.

The New Creation
The New Creation

Author: Herbert McCabe

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2010-10-28

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 1441133941

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A reissue of McCabe's study of the sacraments and what it means to live in the Church and the Church's world, The New Creation explores how human beings can reach real unity with one another and the world around them through the Spirit of Christ. The New Creation engages with themes like the Word of God, the Son of God, the meaning of community and communion and the sacraments as mysteries of human unity; the place of physical healing in the redeemed world and the Old-Testament and pagan religious foundations upon which modern Christianity is built. There is a humane simplicity in McCabe's insights into all of these subjects, similar to that found in the Gospels, which provides the reader with clarity on inherently complex theological issues. 'Christ is present to us in so far as we are present to each other' as McCabe tells us and this book plainly and vividly encourages us to find the company of both.

Reality’s Fugue
Reality’s Fugue

Author: F. Samuel Brainard

Publisher: Penn State Press

Published: 2017-09-21

Total Pages: 411

ISBN-13: 0271080558

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Science, religion, philosophy: these three categories of thought have organized humankind’s search for meaning from time immemorial. Reality’s Fugue presents a compelling case that these ways of understanding, often seen as competing, are part of a larger puzzle that cannot be rendered by one account of reality alone. This book begins with an overview of the concept of reality and the philosophical difficulties associated with attempts to account for it through any single worldview. By clarifying the differences among first-person, third-person, and dualist understandings of reality, F. Samuel Brainard repurposes the three predominant ways of making sense of those differences: exclusionist (only one worldview can be right), inclusivist (viewing other worldviews through the lens of one in order to incorporate them all, and thus distorting them), and pluralist or relativist (holding that there are no universals, and truth is relative). His alternative mode of understanding uses Douglas Hofstadter’s metaphor of a musical fugue that allows different “voices” and “melodies” of worldviews to coexist in counterpoint and conversation, while each remains distinct, with none privileged above the others. Approaching reality in this way, Brainard argues, opens up the possibility for a multivoiced perspective that can overcome the skeptical challenges that metaphysical positions face. Engagingly argued by a lifelong scholar of philosophy and global religions, this edifying and accessible exploration of the nature of reality addresses deeply meaningful questions about belief, reconciliation, and being.

Reality Gold
Reality Gold

Author: Tiffany Brooks

Publisher: Dunemere Books LLC

Published: 2018-05-15

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0998499757

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"...an incredibly readable, fast-paced, YA coming of age adventure novel where everyone has a secret, and no one is who they seem." —Chanticleer Reviews High school senior Riley Ozaki is desperate to change her reality after an avalanche of Internet shaming ruined her life. With her reputation and self-esteem at rock bottom thanks to cyberbullying, Riley needs to do something drastic to repair her social standing—which is why she decided to try out for a reality TV show. Suddenly, she's dropping onto a deserted tropical island with nineteen other teens for a Survivor-style competition that she hopes will be her redemption. With a cast of vivid characters who will stop at nothing to win the show, a cursed island setting, and a priceless treasure waiting to be discovered, Reality Gold pitches readers right into scheming web of lies, love, and betrayal. This novel is a fast-paced journey where allies may not be who they say they are, and legends abound. Riley must embrace all of life's realities, including loss and deceit, in order to discover who she truly is.

Our Mathematical Universe
Our Mathematical Universe

Author: Max Tegmark

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2015-02-03

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 0307744256

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Max Tegmark leads us on an astonishing journey through past, present and future, and through the physics, astronomy and mathematics that are the foundation of his work, most particularly his hypothesis that our physical reality is a mathematical structure and his theory of the ultimate multiverse. In a dazzling combination of both popular and groundbreaking science, he not only helps us grasp his often mind-boggling theories, but he also shares with us some of the often surprising triumphs and disappointments that have shaped his life as a scientist. Fascinating from first to last—this is a book that has already prompted the attention and admiration of some of the most prominent scientists and mathematicians.

Unified Reality Theory
Unified Reality Theory

Author: Steven Kaufman

Publisher: Balboa Press

Published: 2015-12-04

Total Pages: 543

ISBN-13: 150434376X

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“Unified Reality Theory demonstrates that the source of reality is a universal consciousness, and that we are in no way separable from that source, and so in no way truly separable from each other or any other aspect of reality. I recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the nature of reality and their place in it.” —Deepak Chopra Unified Reality Theory describes how all reality evolves from an absolute existence. It also demonstrates that this absolute existence must have consciousness as an attribute that’s intrinsic to its being. Thus, Unified Reality Theory shows that consciousness, rather than being a product of the evolution of physical reality, is itself the source of what we experience as physical reality, and that physical reality is itself but one aspect of an evolving universal consciousness. Unified Reality Theory shows that, most fundamentally, this absolute consciousness-existence evolves into reality by means of a single process: self-relation. That is, consciousness-existence becomes reality by forming relationships with itself, analogous in a very limited way to what happens to a rubber band that’s twisted upon itself, i.e., it remains whole while differentiating into other forms. Thus, Unified Reality Theory demonstrates that reality is a state of existential self-relation. The idea that the universe consists of existence which has formed relationships with itself isn’t new; Taoists have understood this idea for at least a couple of thousand years. What’s new here is the presentation of this idea in the form of a detailed and defined structural model that correlates with the behavior of physical reality as described by science in general and physics in particular. Ultimately, Unified Reality Theory uses science and logic to make the case that God exists, as a pervasive and absolute consciousness that transcends the realities of space and time, and that we, as well as everything else, are that!

Reality Transurfing
Reality Transurfing

Author: Vadim Zeland

Publisher: John Hunt Publishing

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 123

ISBN-13: 1846946603

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Transurfing Reality was one of the top non-fiction bestsellers in the world in 2005 and 2006. Unknown till now in the West, the series has sold over 1,300,000 copies in Russia in three years. This translation (by Natasha Micharina) describes a new way of looking at reality, indeed of creating it. It provides a scientific explanation of the laws that help you do this, building up a scientific model, speaking in detail about particular rules to follow and giving important how-to tips, illustrated with examples. The author introduces a system of specific terms, notions, and metaphors, which together make a truly convincing, thought-provoking theory of creating your own life. “You are ruled by circumstances and it will always be like that until you learn how to manage your reality,” says the author. Bringing together the cutting edge of modern science and philosophical teaching, the book's style is popular-scientific, metaphorical and conversational. Books in the series: Reality Transurfing 1: The Space of Variations; Reality Transurfing 2: A Rustle of Morning Stars; Reality Transurfing 3: Forward to the Past; Reality Transurfing 4: Ruling Reality; Reality Transurfing 5: Apples Fall to the Sky