Infinity: New Research Frontiers - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1107003873 ISBN 13: 9781107003873

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2011

Synopsis

"The infinite! No other question has ever moved so profoundly the spirit of man; no other idea has so fruitfully stimulated his intellect; yet no other concept stands in greater need of clarification than that of the infinite." - David Hilbert This interdisciplinary study of infinity explores the concept through the prism of mathematics and then offers more expansive investigations in areas beyond mathematical boundaries to reflect the broader, deeper implications of infinity for human intellectual thought. More than a dozen world-renowned researchers in the fields of mathematics, physics, cosmology, philosophy, and theology offer a rich intellectual exchange among various current viewpoints, rather than displaying a static picture of accepted views on infinity. The book starts with a historical examination of the transformation of infinity from a philosophical and theological study to one dominated by mathematics. It then offers technical discussions on the understanding of mathematical infinity. Following this, the book considers the perspectives of physics and cosmology: Can infinity be found in the real universe? Finally, the book returns to questions of philosophical and theological aspects of infinity.

About this title

Book Description:

This interdisciplinary study of infinity explores the concept through the prism of mathematics and offers expansive investigations in areas beyond mathematical boundaries to reflect the implications of infinity for human intellectual thought. More than a dozen world-renowned researchers offer an intellectual exchange among viewpoints, rather than displaying a static picture of accepted views on infinity.

About the Author:

Revd Dr Michael Heller is the Founder and Director of the Copernicus Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Cracow. He is a Professor of Philosophy at the Pontifical University of John Paul II, Cracow, Poland; an Adjunct Member of the Vatican Observatory; and Ordinary Member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Heller is the author of more than thirty books and nearly two hundred scientific papers.

Dr W. Hugh Woodin is a Professor of Mathematics and the Chair of the Mathematics Department at the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Woodin has published numerous articles and books and is the managing editor of the Journal of Mathematical Logic and editor of Mathematical Research Letters, Mathematical Logic Quarterly and Electronic Research Announcements (American Mathematical Society).

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1107003873
• ISBN 13: 9781107003873
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 326
• Editor: Heller Michael, Woodin W. Hugh