God and the Universe

by Gibson,Arthur

• ISBN13: 9780415236669
• ISBN10: 0415236665
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-12-13
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Ambitious, controversial and utterly absorbing,God and the Universecombines incisive interpretations of the latest scientific theories of the origins of the universe with an unparalleled understanding of their religious and philosophical implications. In tackling head-on the highly-charged issue of God's relevance to contemporary cosmology in such breadth of perspective is amazing: from virtual reality to the meaning of life; from Aristotle to Stephen Hawking. Persuasively argued, elegantly written and attractively illustrated, this book constitutes a major development in how we perceive the relationship between science and religion. Highly provocative and original,God and the Universeis set to re-invigorate and expand debate about our origins and meaning for many years to come.

Author Biography

Arthur Gibson studied philosophy at Cambridge University and later acted as Director of Studies in Philosophy for a number of its Colleges, as well as being Proctor of the University for some years. He is currently at the University of Surrey Roehampton

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	xiii
Preface	xv
Acknowledgements	xix
PART I Renaissance in language	1	(94)
Prologue	3	(1)
Poststructuralism and a renaissance future?	3	(22)
Simplicity, cosmology and Ockham's razor?	25	(5)
Ending poststructuralism?	30	(8)
Counter-intuitive Renaissance	38	(1)
Metaphoric cosmology	39	(3)
The scope of relevance?	42	(5)
The freedom to question	47	(13)
Calculated madness	47	(5)
The realism of metaphor	52	(2)
Past reality	54	(2)
Live metaphor	56	(1)
Eschatology and values	57	(3)
The expression of God in language	60	(35)
Imitation and meaning	60	(5)
God manifestation	65	(3)
Simulating subjects	68	(2)
Reproduction logic	70	(3)
Indeterminate theology	73	(2)
Theological names	75	(4)
The variable value of believing	79	(3)
Astronomical beliefs and intentions	82	(5)
Live metaphoric 'revelation'?	87	(8)
PART II All in God's space--time?	95	(114)
Extending scientific languages	97	(67)
Being scientific?	97	(3)
Magnetic poles and monopoles	100	(3)
Monopoles in cosmology	103	(4)
Scientific dimensions of live-metaphor	107	(3)
Space--time	110	(4)
Counter-intuition	114	(3)
Strings of dimensions	117	(3)
Schizoid live-metaphor?	120	(4)
Cosmic strings	124	(8)
What is metal?	132	(9)
The double mirror	141	(5)
The cosmological constant	146	(5)
Counter-intuitive creativity	151	(13)
The beginning of the matter	164	(45)
Points about manifolds	164	(9)
Language about beginning	173	(3)
Observation and infinity	176	(4)
Observation and generality	180	(5)
Noting superstrings	185	(1)
Uniformity and matter	186	(4)
Supermassive black hole realism	190	(5)
Causal originality	195	(2)
Causality and indeterminacy	197	(12)
PART III The cosmology of life	209	(60)
The beginning of life	211	(12)
Biology and entropy	211	(3)
The cosmology of devolution	214	(2)
Cancer and evolution	216	(7)
Prediction and the cosmology of God	223	(46)
Live metaphors of transcendence	223	(4)
Prediction	227	(6)
Social prediction	233	(9)
Virtual reality and foreknowledge	242	(13)
Logical prediction	255	(3)
History and imagining futures	258	(1)
Unique individualism	259	(5)
Knowledge of future	264	(5)
PART IV Cosmological ethics	269	(58)
God and ethical cosmology	271	(23)
Counter-intuitive speculation	271	(2)
Physical and ethical universes	273	(3)
The matter of narrative	276	(4)
Transforming the familiar	280	(5)
The empire of justice	285	(6)
Contradictory violence	291	(3)
The practice of legal cosmology	294	(16)
The experiment of legal cosmology	294	(1)
Contrary laws	295	(4)
The economic end	299	(2)
The world of violence	301	(4)
Killing logic	305	(5)
Eschatological cosmology	310	(12)
Allegorical apocalypse?	310	(3)
Catastrophe mathematics	313	(2)
Transforming the universe's end	315	(3)
The material universe as allegory	318	(4)
Creating conclusive beginnings	322	(5)
Notes	327	(9)
Bibliography	336	(27)
Name index	363	(6)
Subject index	369