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Overview
When we read that scientists have come close to pinpointing the "origin of the universe" by means of a Big Bang cosmology, or are engaged in formulating a "theory of everything," as in current ten-dimensional superstring theories of particle physics, can we doubt that such inquiries or their results inevitably raise important philosophical questions? In the present book, as well as in his previous work Cosmic Understanding, the renowned philosopher Milton Munitz attempts to answer some of these questions by examining recent scientific theories of cosmology in a philosophical context.
Synopsis
When we read that scientists have come close to pinpointing the "origin of the universe" by means of a Big Bang cosmology, or are engaged in formulating a "theory of everything," as in current ten-dimensional superstring theories of particle physics, can we doubt that such inquiries or their results inevitably raise important philosophical questions? In the present book, as well as in his previous work Cosmic Understanding, the renowned philosopher Milton Munitz attempts to answer some of these questions by examining recent scientific theories of cosmology in a philosophical context.
Choice
The great merit of this book is that it provides a contemporary approach to the treatment of questions central to classical Western philosophy and religion, e.g., What is the nature and origin of the universe? Does the universe have a purpose? The method has its source both in contemporary science and in philosophy. Brief discussions of such topics as Milne's kinematic relativity and Hawking's wave function model of the universe are noteworthy for the way in which Munitz makes clear the bearing of these ideas on perennial philosophical questions.