Seeing Double: Shared Identities in Physics, Philosophy, and Literature - Couverture souple

Pesic, Peter

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 026266173X ISBN 13 : 9780262661737

Editeur : The MIT Press, 2003

Synopsis

The unknown history of surveillance in relation to changing systems of representation and visual arts practice.

The separateness and connection of individuals is perhaps the central question of human life: What, exactly, is my individuality? To what degree is it unique? To what degree can it be shared, and how? To the many philosophical and literary speculations about these topics over time, modern science has added the curious twist of quantum theory, which requires that the elementary particles of which everything consists have no individuality at all. All aspects of chemistry depend on this lack of individuality, as do many branches of physics. From where, then, does our individuality come? In Seeing Double, Peter Pesic invites readers to explore this intriguing set of questions. He draws on literary and historical examples that open the mind (from Homer to Martin Guerre to Kafka), philosophical analyses that have helped to make our thinking and speech more precise, and scientific work that has enabled us to characterize the phenomena of nature. Though he does not try to be all-inclusive, Pesic presents a broad range of ideas, building toward a specific point of view: that the crux of modern quantum theory is its clash with our ordinary concept of individuality. This represents a departure from the usual understanding of quantum theory. Pesic argues that what is bizarre about quantum theory becomes more intelligible as we reconsider what we mean by individuality and identity in ordinary experience. In turn, quantum identity opens a new perspective on us.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

Peter Pesic, writer, pianist, and scholar, is Director of the Science Institute and Musician-in-Residence at St. John's College, Santa Fe. He is the author of Abel's Proof: An Essay on the Sources and Meaning of Mathematical Unsolvability; Seeing Double: Shared Identities in Physics, Philosophy, and Literature; Sky in a Bottle; and Music and the Making of Modern Science, all published by the MIT Press.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: The MIT Press
• Date d'édition: 2003
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 026266173X
• ISBN 13: 9780262661737
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 184
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible