ENGLISH

Cosmogenesis: The Growth of Order in the Universe

Book information

Publisher
Oxford University Press, USA
Year
1991
ISBN
0195069080, 9780195069082
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
20 MB (21477807 bytes)
Pages
336\335
Time added
2013-12-23 12:58:09

Description

Eminent Harvard astrophysicist David Layzer offers readers a unified theory of natural order and its origins, from the permanence, stability, and orderliness of sub-atomic particles to the evolution of the human mind. Cosmogenesis provides the first extended account of a controversial theory that connects quantum mechanics with the second law of thermodynamics, and presents novel resolutions of longstanding paradoxes in these theories, such as those of Schroedinger's cat and the arrow of time. Layzer's main concerns in the second half of the book are with the philosophical issues surrounding science. He develops a highly original reconciliation of the conflict between traditional scientific determinism and the intuitive notion of individual freedom. He argues that although the elementary processes underlying biological evolution and human development are governed by physical laws, they are nevertheless genuinely creative and unpredictable.

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