Imagining the Universe from Heraclitus to Hawking
Dennis Richard Danielson (Editor)
Danielson here presents a wonderfully chosen anthology of writings and speculations on the nature of the cosmos we live in, from classic times to most recent; apart from the many surprisingly deep and interesting writings here, there is the overall impression of the power this subject of contemplation had for many of our most illustrious thinkers in history.
"Every age dreams that it has approached near to the culminating point of the knowledge and comprehension of nature. I doubt whether upon serious reflection such a belief will really appear to enhance the enjoyment of the present. A more animating conviction... is that the possessions yet achieved are but a very inconsiderable portion of those which mankind will attain in succeeding ages..."-Alexander Von Humboldt,Cosmos (incl).1847.
The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe
Martin J. Rees, Astronomer Royal
Rhees brings clarity to the exposition of the mystery of the highly specific essential numbers built into the mathematical logic of our cosmos, which has driven arguments for Intelligent Design, Many Worlds, and Evolutionary Universes.
"These six numbers constitute a "recipe" for a universe. Moreover, the outcome is sensitive to their values: if any one of them were to be 'untuned', there would be no stars, and no life. Is this tuning just a brute fact, a coincidence? Or is it the providence of a benign Creator? I take the view that it is neither. An infinity of other universes may well exist where the numbers are different. Most would be stillborn or sterile. We could only have emerged (and therefore we naturally now find ourselves) in a universe with the "right" combination."
-Martin J. Rees
Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
Brian S. Greene
Greene's book is the best explanation of string theory and review of recent developments having increasingly dramatic effects on cosmology in the 21st Century.
"The search is not over, but through superstring theory and its evolution into M-theory, a cogent framework for merging quantum mechanics, general relativity, and the strong, weak, and electromagnetic forces has finally emerged. And the challenges these developments pose to our previous ways of seeing the world are monumental: loops of strings and oscillating globules, uniting all of creation into vibrational patterns that are meticulously executed in a universe with numerous hidden dimensions capable of undergoing extreme contortions in which their spatial fabric tears apart and then repairs itself... We have also seen that our universe may merely be one of the innumerable frothing bubbles on the surface of a vast and turbulent cosmic ocean called the multiverse..."
- Brian S. Greene
Stuart Kauffman
This is an original, wide-ranging, and deep-probing investigation into the co-creative nature of the cosmos, by the legendary cybernetic biologist of the Santa Fe Institute; often dense, but worth the trouble.
"...I began this chapter wondering why the universe was so complex. In place of the anthropic principle, or Lee Smolin's cosmic selection, I have suggested one possible approach to the choices of the constants of nature by maximizing constructive interference over a sum of all histories through a space of both configurations and laws."- Stuart Kauffman
A New Science of Life
Johnjoe McFadden
McFadden takes great care in developing his thesis, that Life in its fundamental activities exploits , manipulates, and builds itself from phenomena at the boundary of quantum coherence and classical reality.
"The behavior of a living organism is poised upon the quantum dynamics of its interior, allowing quantum measurement to provide the critical nudge that tips the organism one way or another to make choices and perform directed actions."
"...Internal measurement is also what we lose when we die. The key to the cell's ability to perform quantum measurement is the chain of entanglement from fundamental particles to the environment of the living cell... With the loss of quantum coherence, the dead cell will be unable to perform quantum measurement or resist the randomizing influence of the Second Law. .. Death is the irreversible loss of quantum measurement within the cell."- Johnjoe McFadden
500 Years on The Path to Knowledge
Ed. Jeremy Narby and Francis Huxley
This volume is a must-have collection of writings on indigenous shamanism since the conquest; Edited by Jeremy Narby (The Cosmic Serpent) and Francis Huxley (The Way of the Sacred). Beyond the superlative selection of dozens of first hand records over the centuries and up through modern times, we also see the mirrored portrait of our own evolving delusions, as our framework for understanding shamanism progresses from considering shamans devil worshippers, then imposters and lunatics, and on to the participatory anthropology in the post-Wasson era .
There are some really amazing stories in here... it's the real stuff. (See also a 1997 interview with Francis Huxley in the Z-Files of this site.
Ken Wilber
An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science, and Spirituality
- Ken Wilber
Wilber is a philosopher of a new enlightenment; he constructs his world-view, his analysis of the human experience of the 'Kosmos' with maps and categories and hierarchies which may at first be daunting, but reveal themselves to be well thought out and skillfully deployed. Wilber's addiction to exacting clarity and specificity in his thought constructs, while tackling the biggest of all issues, can lead him to some awkward writing, but then he'll give way to a flight of inspired prose. Here he is on Integral spirituality:
"This would be a postconservative, postliberal spirituality. It would build on the gains of the worldcentric Enlightenment, and not retreat to merely mythic-membership pronouncements and presciptive morality. That is to say, this is a spirituality that is not pre-liberal and reactionary, but progressive and evolutionary. It does not seek to impose its belief structures on others, but invites each and all to develop their own potentials, therein to discover their own deep spirituality, radiant to infinity, glowing in the dark, happy for all time, this simple stunning discovery of your own Original Face, your divine soul and spirit, shining even now." - Ken Wilber
Joel deRosnay
Brilliant, thoughtful writing by the leading European exponent of Global Brain related futurism.
Here are his 10 Golden Rules of Symbiotic Humanity:
1. Foster the emergence of collective intelligence.
2. Establish coevolution among people, systems, and networks.
3. Create symbiotic relationships at various levels of social organisation.
4. Build organizations and systems in successive functional layers.
5. Regulate complex systems through top-down (hierarchical) and bottom-up (democratic) control.
6. Implement the rules of subsumption. ('The art of subsumption consists of making one's individuality a part of a greater whole that benefits the individual and gives life meaning.')
7. Stay at the edge of chaos.
8. Favor paralllel forms of organization.
9. Implement virtuous circles.
10. Fractalize knowledge.
- Joel deRosnay
Martin Rees, Before The Beginning
Our Universe and Others
Alan Guth, The Inflationary Universe
The Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic Origins
Peter Singer, Writings on an Ethical Life
Paul Ray, Shelly Anderson, The Cultural Creatives
How 50 Million People are Changing the World
Techgnosis / Erik Davis
Sense and Soul / Ken Wilber
Symbiotic Planet / Lynn Margulis
Global Mind Change / Willis Harman