The New Universe and the Human Future (The Terry Lectures) by Nancy Ellen Abrams (5-Apr-2011) Hardcover

by Nancy Ellen Abrams

A cultural philosopher and an astrophysicist attempt to decipher how we fit into the universe, and the impact our placement has on us.After a four-century rupture between science and the questions of value and meaning, this groundbreaking book presents an explosive and potentially life-altering if the world could agree on a shared creation story based on modern cosmology and biology—a story that has just become available—it would redefine our relationship with Planet Earth and benefit all of humanity, now and into the distant future. Written in eloquent, accessible prose and illustrated in magnificent color throughout, including images from innovative simulations of the evolving universe, this book brings the new scientific picture of the universe to life. It interprets what our human place in the cosmos may mean for us and our descendants. It offers unique insights into the potential use of this newfound knowledge to find solutions to seemingly intractable global problems such as climate change and unsustainable growth. And it explains why we need to “think cosmically, act globally” if we're going to have a long-term, prosperous future on Earth. “Should be read by anyone, not just scientists, who worry about the human condition.”—Deepak Chopra, The Huffington Post “A prophetic book. Its message ranks right up there with those of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Joel. Like the prophets, it is at times poetic, demanding, grounded, soaring, empowering, and always awe-inspiring.”—Matthew Fox, Tikkun “The ideas and images are fascinating and certainly contribute to a sense of the profound stakes involved in what we’re doing to the planet and ourselves.”—William Kowinski, North Coast Journal

Genres: Science, Philosophy, Astronomy

Unknown Binding

First published April 19, 2011

About the author

Nancy Ellen Abrams is a writer and lawyer with a background in the history, philosophy, and politics of science, who has worked on science and technology policy. She has also for over two decades closely followed Joel’s research, attended countless astrophysics conferences, and talked to almost everyone in the field. Together they have developed and taught a prize-winning course at the University of California, Santa Cruz, called Cosmology and Culture.

Nancy Ellen Abrams received her B.A. in the history and philosophy of science from the University of Chicago, her J.D. from the University of Michigan, and a diploma in international law from the Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City. She was a Fulbright Scholar and a Woodrow Wilson Designate. She is a writer whose work has appeared in journals, newspapers, and magazines, such as The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Environment, California Lawyer, Science and Global Security, and Tikkun. She has a long-term interest in the role of science in shaping a new politics and has worked in this area for a European environmental think tank in Rome, the Ford Foundation, and the Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress, where she co-invented (with R. Stephen Berry of the National Academy of Sciences) a novel procedure called “Scientific Mediation.” This procedure permits government agencies to make intelligent policy decisions in areas where the relevant science is crucial yet controversial. Scientific Mediation aims not to resolve scientific disputes, which can only be done by scientific research, but to make the essence of the disputed issue transparent to the non-scientists making the actual policy decision. She has consulted on its use for the state governments of California and Wisconsin, private corporations and organizations, and the government of Sweden, where Scientific Mediation has become standard procedure in the Ministry of Industry. With Joel R. Primack, she co-authored a prize-winning article on quantum cosmology and Kabbalah, as well as numerous articles on science policy, space policy, and cultural implications of modern cosmology.

Abrams is also a songwriter who has performed at conferences, concerts, and events in eighteen countries, released three albums, and been featured on National Public Radio and television. New York Times science writer Dennis Overbye’s bestseller, Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, describes her songs, includes a photo of her with Joel, and closes with the complete lyrics to a song she wrote for and performed at the 1986 Nearly Normal Galaxies conference, one of many major astronomy conferences where she has performed. The late Senator Paul Wellstone used lyrics from another of Nancy’s songs as chapter headings in his book Powerline. Several of the songs on her 2002 album, Alien Wisdom, explore themes from The View from the Center of the Universe.

Abrams has been intrigued by science’s border with myth since studying with Mircea Eliade at the University of Chicago. She works as a scholar to put the discoveries of modern cosmology into a cultural context and as a writer and artist to communicate their possible meanings at a deeper level. “Cosmology and Culture,” the course she and Joel developed and have co-taught since 1996 at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has received awards from both the Templeton Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies. Abrams and Primack’s co-written articles have appeared in books and magazines including Astronomy Now, Philosophy in Science, Science, Science & Spirit, Spirituality and Health, and Tikkun.

Over the past ten years, she and her husband, Joel R. Primack, have given many invited talks on themes from The View from the Center of the Universe not only at universities but at planetariums, cultural centers, conferences, churches, and synagogues. Their talks are multimedia presentations, in which Joel presents new cosmological ideas and Nancy discusses

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simplified version of the authors' View From The Center Of The Universe. The graphics are much better than in the first book, but in simplifying their message, the authors omit much of the scientific context that helps make their project understandable. In short, the authors seek to use findings from modern cosmology as shared symbolic guides to human action, both in its present tense and in its future tense. If you're daunted by the science, start with this book and then try View From The Center Of The Universe.

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read many science and philosophy books looking for a writer that was willing to merge the two. This book does that. They outline what they call the Cartesian Bargain. Civilizations have previously always had a shared cosmology but after the arrest and trial of Galileo scientists have refused to comment on the philosophical implications of their findings and morality and meaning was left to the church. As a result our modern world doesn't have a shared cosmology. Philosophy is dominated by Post-Modernists who deconstruct rather than construct meaning. Religion claims moral authority but based on outmoded myths. And scientists take an objective neutral stance. Only new age writers seem to try to pull it altogether but based on unsubstantiated wishes. These authors explain the latest scientific findings and explain why humans are important. There are some very good reasons to see us as being at the theoretical center of the universe. Finally a proposed cosmology that is evidence based, ethical and rational. This and their previous book "The View from the Center of the Universe" are must-reads.

[Mike Languay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and clear.

[Osama Qandeel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that the book has many interesting ideas and is worth reading. However, I didn't like the followings things in the book.

Firstly, the book quickly goes through interesting scientific ideas, theories, and discoveries that are mouthwatering for more, but the book needs to be more detailed on them.

Secondly, without discussing the ultra-utopian suggestion of one cosmic society, I wonder how the writers take it for granted that it would be accepted by everyone. It sounded a little naive and unrealistically optimistic. The writers do acknowledge that many people still do not believe in hard scientific theories like evolution and climate change, yet they hope for an even wider acceptance of their metaphysical ideas.

Additionally, some of their solutions were like suggesting that the solution is "to find a solution". For example, we face the risk of climate change and at the same time, we can't handle economic stagnation and can't stop producing goods. Their solution is finding a sustainable, cheap, and clean energy source – a brilliant idea that no one has seen before !!.

I am more curious about "The View From the Center of the Universe," and I hope that I like it more than this book.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're interested in the physical nature of the cosmos, this work has some excellent distillations/ metaphors to help an nonphysicist, like myself, understand what in the heck is going on out there. However, a decade later, at this moment in political time, i.e. 2022, (think trumputinism), it's a downright depressing read for those, like myself, who believed a liberal world order could maintain the growth of its rainbow arc of progress and not succumb to the 2nd law of thermodynamics. In 2011, when it was published, the brilliant husband/wife team, who are its authors, presented a hopeful, though urgent, solution to help human society onto a sustainable path before it committed planetary suicide. Love to know what they think about the ideas they presented in this charming New Age book now...

[Darryl Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent book, well illustrated.