philosophy

Richard Feynman once quipped: "Time is what happens when nothing else does." But Julian Barbour disagrees: if nothing happened, if nothing changed, time would stop. For time is nothing but change. It is change that we perceive occurring all around us, not time. In fact, time doesn't exist. In this highly provocative volume, Barbour presents the basic evidence for the nonexistence of time, explaining what a timeless universe is like and showing how the world will nonetheless be experienced as intensely temporal.

What do snowflakes, mirrors, and the universe as a whole have in common? Physicist Dave Goldberg takes readers on a warp-speed road trip guided by the notion that while randomness may seem to rule our lives, it never seems to erase an essential orderliness. Space, time, and everything in between in our elegant universe - from the Higgs boson to antimatter to the most massive group of galaxies - are shaped by hidden symmetries

pioneering theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss explains the groundbreaking new scientific advances that turn the most basic philosophical questions on their heads. One of the few prominent scientists today to have actively crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, Krauss reveals that modern science is addressing the question of why there is something rather than nothing, with surprising and fascinating results. The staggeringly beautiful experimental observations and mind-bending new theories are all described accessibly in A Universe from Nothing, and they suggest that not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing. 

Buddhism and Western Science

The Bodhisattva's Brain: Buddhism Naturalized by Owen Flanagan — Having authored several books and article on the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, Owen Flanagan's perspective on the intersection of Buddhism, psychology and Western philosophy is well informed and generally unbiased. Bracketing supernatural elements that are inconsistent with science, this treatise emphasizes the practical potential of Buddhist spirituality for attaining a philosophically informed state of happiness. Buddhist principles are examined in light of Aristotle's emphasis on reason and virtue, with added focus on compassion.

Time was, Time is… February 2012

Murder Will Out: Alexander McCall Smith

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith — Fans of Alexander McCall Smith, author of several series, including The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, 44 Scotland Street, and Isabel Dalhousie's novels will enjoy this recent interview by Connie Fletcher in BookList Online (12/01/2011).

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