Searching for stars on an island in Maine / Alan Lightman.
From the acclaimed author of Einstein's Dreams, here is an inspired, lyrical meditation on religion and science that explores the tension between our yearning for permanence and certainty, and the modern scientific discoveries that demonstrate the impermanent and uncertain nature of the world. As a physicist, Alan Lightman has always held a scientific view of the world. As a teenager experimenting in his own laboratory, he was impressed by the logic and materiality of a universe governed by a small number of disembodied forces and laws that decree all things in the world are material and impermanent. But one summer evening, while looking at the stars from a small boat at sea, Lightman was overcome by the overwhelming sensation that he was merging with something larger than himself--a grand and eternal unity, a hint of something absolute and immaterial. Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine is Lightman's exploration of these seemingly contradictory impulses. He draws on sources ranging from Saint Augustine's conception of absolute truth to Einstein's theory of relativity, from the unity of the once-indivisible atom to the multiplicity of subatomic particles and the recent notion of multiple universes. What he gives us is a profound inquiry into the human desire for truth and meaning, and a journey along the different paths of religion and science that become part of that quest. -- Provided by publisher.
In this meditation on religion and science, Lightman explores the tension between our yearning for permanence and certainty, and the modern scientific discoveries that demonstrate the impermanent and uncertain nature of the world. As a physicist, he has always held a scientific view of the world. But one summer evening, while looking at the stars from a small boat at sea he was overcome by the sensation that he was merging with a grand and eternal unity, a hint of something absolute and immaterial. This is his exploration of these seemingly contradictory impulses, and the journey along the different paths of religion and science that become part of his quest. -- adapted from publisher info.
Item details
- ISBN: 9781101871867
- ISBN: 1101871865
- Physical Description: viii, 226 pages ; 20 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Pantheon Books, [2018]
Contents / Notes
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-226). |
Formatted Contents Note: | Cave -- Longing for absolutes in a relative world -- Material -- Hummingbird -- Stars -- Atoms -- Ants -- Monk -- Truth -- Transcendence -- Laws -- Doctrine -- Motion -- Centeredness -- Death -- Certainty -- Origins -- Ants (2) -- Multiverse -- Humans. |
Find similar items by subject
Subject: | Cosmology > Miscellanea. PHILOSOPHY > Metaphysics. PHILOSOPHY > Movements > Phenomenology. SCIENCE > Philosophy & Social Aspects. Cosmology. Cosmology > Miscellanea. |
Genre: | Trivia and miscellanea. Miscellanea. Trivia and miscellanea. |
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Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | |
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Athens Regional Library System: Athens-Clarke County Library |
NONFIC 523.1 LIGHTMAN (
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31001003593739 | NONFICTION | Available | |
Flint River Regional Library System: Peachtree City Library |
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31022009244580 | ADULT | Available | |
Hall County Library System: Gainesville Branch |
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31025004047403 | NONFIC | Available | |
Northeast Georgia Regional Library: Clarkesville-Habersham County Library |
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Oconee Regional Library System: Laurens County Library |
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520 | . | ‡aFrom the acclaimed author of Einstein's Dreams, here is an inspired, lyrical meditation on religion and science that explores the tension between our yearning for permanence and certainty, and the modern scientific discoveries that demonstrate the impermanent and uncertain nature of the world. As a physicist, Alan Lightman has always held a scientific view of the world. As a teenager experimenting in his own laboratory, he was impressed by the logic and materiality of a universe governed by a small number of disembodied forces and laws that decree all things in the world are material and impermanent. But one summer evening, while looking at the stars from a small boat at sea, Lightman was overcome by the overwhelming sensation that he was merging with something larger than himself--a grand and eternal unity, a hint of something absolute and immaterial. Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine is Lightman's exploration of these seemingly contradictory impulses. He draws on sources ranging from Saint Augustine's conception of absolute truth to Einstein's theory of relativity, from the unity of the once-indivisible atom to the multiplicity of subatomic particles and the recent notion of multiple universes. What he gives us is a profound inquiry into the human desire for truth and meaning, and a journey along the different paths of religion and science that become part of that quest. -- Provided by publisher. | |
520 | . | ‡aIn this meditation on religion and science, Lightman explores the tension between our yearning for permanence and certainty, and the modern scientific discoveries that demonstrate the impermanent and uncertain nature of the world. As a physicist, he has always held a scientific view of the world. But one summer evening, while looking at the stars from a small boat at sea he was overcome by the sensation that he was merging with a grand and eternal unity, a hint of something absolute and immaterial. This is his exploration of these seemingly contradictory impulses, and the journey along the different paths of religion and science that become part of his quest. -- adapted from publisher info. | |
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