The Physics of Immortality - Hardcover

Frank J. Tipler

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385467982 ISBN 13: 9780385467988

Publisher: Doubleday, 1994

Synopsis

A theoretician and professor of mathematical physics shares his conclusions on the existence of God, the possession of free will, and the reality of eternal life from a scientific and logical perspective. 75,000 first printing. $75,000 ad/promo. Tour.

About this title

About the Author

Frank J. Tipler is Professor of Mathematical Physics at Tulane University.

Reviews

In this higly unorthodox attempt to fold theology into physics, Tipler, a Tulane professor of mathematical physics, uses quantum mechanics, information theory, modern mathematics and physics in an effort to prove the existence of God, an afterlife, heaven, purgatory and the physical resurrection of the dead. Borrowing French Jesuit paleontologist Teilhard de Chardin's concept of God as the "Omega Point," an omniscient person "on the boundary of all future time," Tipler pursues a reductionist approach. The human soul, he says, is a "software" program run on the brain's "hardware." This paradoxically leads him to embrace free will and a loving God, who will one day resurrect us all, though "whether we shall be raised is separate from the question of whether we shall be granted eternal life after being raised." Along with technical and mathematical sections of this demanding treatise, readers will find diverse material on interstellar rocket probes, Jewish messianism, the deism of America's Founding Fathers and concepts of immortality in the world's major faiths. Illustrations. Library of Science and Astronomy Book Club main selections; Reader's Subscription and Natural Science Book Club alternates; QPB selection; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A scientific argument that foresees the evolution of computer intelligence into an equivalent of God is likely to be greeted with skepticism by the majority of readers, and those who wade through this densely argued text are likely to emerge more puzzled than enlightened. Tipler (Mathematical Physics/Tulane) offers a cosmological theory he calls the Omega Point, based on the expansion of intelligent life to fill the known universe. Since the distances between habitable planets are so great, only spacegoing computers can ever hope to colonize the universe, he argues. The constant increase of computer intelligence will allow future computers not only to equal human accomplishments, but to recreate in exact detail all human beings who have ever lived. Tipler's insistence on calling this recreation a ``resurrection'' seems to be overstating his case. Similarly, a universal computer intelligence may be the sort of deity suitable to science fiction, but not one that many church-goers would find satisfactory. As tests of his theory, Tipler makes several predictions, one of which, involving the mass of the top quark, is in agreement with recently obtained experimental data, but most of which the average reader has no way to evaluate. He devotes the concluding chapters to consideration of such traditional theological questions as the problem of evil, the nature of heaven and hell, and a comparison of the Omega Point theory to the views of the world's great religions. An ``Appendix for Scientists'' provides more rigorous presentation of his arguments for those capable of following advanced mathematics. Tipler is wrestling with issues of enormous importance, but in the end his answers seem highly idiosyncratic and unlikely either to convert the skeptics or to satisfy the religious. (20 line drawings) (Quality Paperback Book Club selection; author tour) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

What to make of a book that postulates mathematical proof of the existence of God, guarantees the resurrection of the dead, and promises that, for those who so desire, there will be sex in heaven? Tipler certainly has all the credentials of a bona fide physicist. He's a professor of mathematical physics at Tulane University and specializes in global general relativity, the branch of physics pioneered by Roger Penrose and Stephen Hawking, but his study of the cosmos has led him to some rather extreme and disconcerting ideas based on an uneasy mix of science, theology, and fantasy. While some of his discussions about time, space, and life, which he defines as "information preserved by natural selection," are challenging and alluring, his conclusions are simply wild. For instance, Tipler rather blithely tells us that after leaving the doomed earth to colonize other planets, our species will eventually become extinct, but life itself will survive in our "machine descendants," who will, in turn, ensure the resurrection of each and every person who ever lived. When will this occur? "The dead will be resurrected when the computer capacity of the universe is so large that the amount of capacity required to store all possible human simulations is an insignificant fraction of the entire capacity." Apparently, Tipler takes great comfort in this thought, as will, perhaps, some of his readers. The rest may just experience an overwhelming sense of dismay. Donna Seaman

Expect to hear a great deal about this book, which will be boosted through major advertising and a 13-city author tour. Tipler, a professor of mathematical physics at Tulane, presents a scientific argument for the existence of God.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Doubleday
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385467982
• ISBN 13: 9780385467988
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 528