Masks of the Universe : Changing Ideas on the Nature of the Cosmos
Editorial Reviews
Review
From reviews of the first edition: 'In an age where philosophers and social scientists are trying to outdo one another in imitating physicists, it's refreshing and perhaps fitting that a physicist should remind them that there are important subjects that can't be approached in this way ... Harrison has done a marvellous piece of historical research, and the book is filled with gems ... He speaks in the language of science about mankind's age-old need to find meaning and order in a seemingly senseless Universe.' James Trefil, New York Times
'... a fascinating blend of historical narrative, science popularisation, and philosophical argument.' Robert Romer, American Journal of Physics
'... it exposes roots of our perennial search for meaning to our lives, to our world pictures, to our social universes, to the unknown Universe ... It is a book to be read and reread.' Harold Cassidy, American Scientist
Book Description
In Masks of the Universe, Edward Harrison brings together fundamental scientific, philosophical and religious issues in cosmology and raises thought provoking questions. Philosophical issues dominated cosmology in the ancient world. Theological issues ranked foremost in the Middle Ages; astronomy and the physical sciences have taken over in more recent times. Yet every attempt to grasp the true nature of the universe creates a new "mask," People have always pitied the universes of their ancestors, believing that their generation has at last discovered the "real" universe. Do we now stand at the threshold of knowing everything, or have we created yet another "mask," doomed to fade like those preceding ours? Edward Harrison is Adjunct Professor of Astronomy, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, and Emeritus Professor of Physics and Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He worked as a scientist for the Atomic Energy Research Establishment and the Rutherford High Energy Laboratory in England until 1966 when he became a Five College professor at the University of Massachusetts and taught at Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith College. He is the author of numerous books, including Cosmology: the Science of the Universe (Cambridge, 2001)
Masks of the Universe : Changing Ideas on the Nature of the Cosmos
Masks of the Universe: Changing Ideas on the Nature of the Cosmos,Edward Harrison,Cambridge University Press,0521773512,Astronomy - General,Astronomy - Universe,Cosmology,Science,Science/Mathematics,Cosmology & the universe,History of science,Philosophy of science,Science / Astronomy
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