Man in Search of Himself

by Jean E. Charon, J.E. Anderson (Translator)

Man, it will be objected, is a living being, and therefore belongs in the first place to the domain of the biologist; but he is also a thinking being, and therefore belongs to the psychologist; in his evolutionary setting, he is the concern of the palaeontologist; but he is also a being capable of philosophizing, capable of artistic and religious feelings, and so comes within the province of the philosopher, the artist, and the theologian. But what on earth is a physicist doing in this company? What does he know about man, since man is not his special field of research? If I must make my apologies for daring to come out of the cave in which I seemed to be confined - my professional pigeon-hole, so to speak - I am more than willing to do so. This book, I admit, is the exact opposite of a specialist work. I admit moreover - even if I am to be condemned on this count - that I am particularly glad my work is not like that of a specialist. Jean Emile Charon was a French nuclear physicist, author of over 20 books on physics, scientific philosophy, and computer science.

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Jean-Émile Charon fue un físico nuclear francés, filósofo y escritor. Fue autor de más de 20 libros sobre física, filosofía científica y ciencias de la computación. Realizó investigaciones nucleares en la Comisaría à l'Énergie Atomique de Francia.

Reviews

[Orville Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was translated from the French original edition of 1963. I bought my copy in 1982 in Nairobi, Kenya, and read it in previous years. I read it again 29-31 May 2019.

This is an excellent, thoughtful review of concepts of God and the universe in light of the state of knowledge and scientific understandings at the time of writing. The author provides a good logical analysis of the traditional concepts and current claims and arguments on these matters, with a discussion of the history and development of western scientific thought and theory.

He outlines the limits of scientific claims, based on the material, as well as the theoretical levels of mathematical science, and presents a strong defense of the logical foundations and validity of claims of non-material reality from metaphysical perspectives. A satisfying read.