Collapse: V. 5: Philosophical Research and Development: The Copernican Imperative

Collapse #5

by Various

Addresses the “deanthropomorphization” of reality initiated by the Copernican Revolution and the enduring chasm between the spontaneous image of reality bequeathed to us by evolution and that revealed by the sciences in the wake of Copernicus.

Ever since Nicolaus Copernicus unmoored the Earth from its anchorage at the centre of the Universe and set it hurtling around the Sun, science has progressively uncovered the lineaments of an objective reality to which human experience stands as only the most superficial and attenuated of abstractions.

The fifth volume of Collapse brings together some of the most intellectually-challenging contemporary work devoted to exploring the philosophical implications of this ever-widening gulf between the real and the intuitable from a variety of overlapping and complementary standpoints.

With articles by groundbreaking philosophers and scientists, in-depth interviews with prominent thinkers, and new work from contemporary artists, this volume addresses the issues of the “deanthropomorphization” of reality initiated by the Copernican Revolution and the enduring chasm between the spontaneous image of reality bequeathed to us by evolution and that revealed by the sciences in the wake of Copernicus.

Genres: Philosophy

587 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2012

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Stevensanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have two brain cells to rub together and like to think about how the world works, and why we think the world works the way it does, you'll read this journal series.

It tends to be pretty dense. It's best read if you are well schooled, but your average person can get through it with a dictionary and some time spent chewing over the concepts and learning some foundational material to figure out what is being discussed.

[vr reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tonic for the exhausted and punished mind.

this was exactly where Collapse needed to go after speculative realism / concept horror. brings our attention back to the very notion of a center and the lenses we struggle to be free from while managing to be conversant with the previous issues.

The Catren piece should be required reading for anyone who liked vol 2. Oh and there's a banger Kant piece in here too.

[Loki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely stimulating, though I often found myself puzzled at the conclusions drawn. In some essays, I agree with the prelude but the conclusion seems like a complete 180 from the arguments made. Somewhat grasping for anthropocentrism, which is not what I hoped for from this volume. Regardless, it's all worth thinking about.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Certainly one of the most stimulating works of any sort that I've ever read. It's like a blowtorch cutting through the chains of mysticism, obscurantism, and superstition. A truly liberating experience.