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Information to Users INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored o r poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. hi the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back o f the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. EINSTEIN'S GOD: THE COMMON GEOMETRICAL STRUCTURE OF RATIONALITY DIALECTICAL HISTORY AND THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE BY Thu Phuong Tran Nguyen submitted to the Faculty of The College of the Arts and Sciences of American University in Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Philosophy Chair: ^ ^ Prof. David F.T. Rodier iZJ-J Prof. Richard Bere: Dean Howard M. Wachtel _ K Ay*t tin 1997 American University Washington, D.C. 20016 V O 4VEBIC1V UIIYEHSIW LXBBARV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1387026 Copyright 1997 by Nguyen, Thu Phuong Tran All rights reserved. UMI Microform 1387026 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © COPYRIGHT BY THU P. NGUYEN 1997 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. EINSTEIN'S GOD: THE COMMON GEOMETRICAL STRUCTURE OF RATIONALITY DIALECTICAL HISTORY AND THE PHYSICAL UNIVERSE BY THU P. NGUYEN ABSTRACT Throughout history, the human mind has long inquired into the rational unity of all things. Unfortunately, the problem to this has always been the structural reconciliation of two sets of dialectically opposing concepts. They are respectively (1) rational stability and observable change and (2) structural unity and infinity. The two solutions to these problems came from (1) Plato who might have seen observable reality and rational stability united within a mediating axis of forms, and (2) Aristotle who attempted to contain infinity within a structurally recapitulating universe. The results of these solutions were transformed into the structural dynamics of history in which we evolve from one of eternal recapitulation to one of an ever progressing spiral of history. It is the conclusion from this work that ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. there is a purpose and a progress fundamental to human history and that it is highly dependent upon a faith in rationally consistent and complete understanding of the world. 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PREFACE Nothing is more fundamental and wide sweeping than the history concerning the interpretation of the Platonic Forms. They condition our most influential views on God, mathematics and the movement of ideas through history. As such, The Platonic Theory of Forms comprises our most basic historical construct upon which the origins and the histories of Grand Unified Theories are based. Of course, when talking about Grand Unified Theories, one can not help but to discuss the overall sense of "origins". In this work, I will pursue two categories of origins. The first will be of a historical standpoint concerning why The Theory of Forms was developed. The second will be on their structural location from which The Forms purport to serve their end purpose within God, mathematics and how ideas evolve through dialectical history. What I am about to propose is a radical new re-interpretation of the Platonic Forms according to these three fundamental lines of thought. This radical re­ interpretation of the Forms will be within their common unity with the world over and against the theory of separation. What makes my re-interpretation unique is its iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. foundation, on two fundamental assumptions. These assumptions are the interconnected concepts of consistency and completion which lies at the very heart of all Grand Unified Theories that emerged from The Platonic Theory of Forms. In a modern and specific way, these two assumptions hearken back to Einstein's two simple and philosophical givens based upon his Theory of Relativity. They are (l)that the laws of physics are the same everywhere and (2) that the speed of light is constant. (Their importance will be discussed later and in greater detail in Chapter 4) Behind these two givens, I will argue, are two simpler and more basic historical assumptions in consistency and completion. They are what makes Einstein's Theory of Relativity historically significant within the context of these two assumptions. Together, these two assumptions offer a remarkably beautiful view of the broader philosophical universe before Einstein. Therefore, the simple title of "Einstein's God" is a little misleading. I would also like to say that part of the argument towards a more unified Theory of Forms within the world is not new. There is even strong evidence that Plato himself in his later years supported this view. In fact, the unity of the Forms to the world satisfied the consistency and completion criteria, which in turn, validates the view that v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Plato's Theory of Forms offer a Meta - Grand Unified Theory upon which all the other Grand Unified Theories can trace their lineage. Therefore, if separation of the Forms are to be argued, then it contradicts the very idea that the purpose of the Forms is to provide a comprehensive and complete theory of human knowledge concerning the world. In other words, in order for a Grand Unified Theory to be what it purports to be, it must explain everything or nothing at all. Separation of the Forms into another and mysterious world contradicts this position. Perhaps, the most problematic flaw that faced modem philosophy is the startling recognition of infinite regress due to this final separation. This recognition meant that The Forms no longer operated from the point of view evolving out of "self - evidence", but rather from a more slippery point of view coming out of "self - reflexiveness". As such, origins of knowledge upon which we derive our certainty is not as stable as we once thought. In this instance, Foucault argues that there can be no stable "point of origin" from which a linear point of view can be traced. Human knowledge, is therefore, forever left without this certainty of beginning. This is, of course, if we apply the separation principle along with its linear interpretation of Forms. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Historically, almost all of the Neoplatonic defenders of unity did so in a verbal manner that necessarily required the argument to be processed sequentially and from a linear point of view. This is not surprising since words by their very nature must be processed sequentially in order to be understood. Yet, it is from this linear point of view that problems arise concerning the origins and the structure of The Infinite. I offer, in addition to a written defense, a new visual/structural argument that appeals not only to the human sense of beauty, but also to the human mind's ability to see multiple images and meanings from one simple model. This simple model which will be discussed throughout the work is from an infinitely rotating sphere pivoting on a common mediating axis. It is from this mediating axis that the abstract and the natural world come together in correspondence to each other. It is also from this mediating point of origin that we will not only see the unity of the Forms within the world, but also the unity of God, mathematics and the infinite number of rotating spheres that revolve throughout this world. In short, the work is about faith in God whose intellect is mirrored within the human ability to understand, and from such faith in understanding, even the vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. incomprehensible beauty of The Infinite Universe can be understood. Thu P. Nguyen American University August 1, 1997 viii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Cui dono lepidum novum libellum arida modo pumice expolitum? — Catullus To my family who supported me all these years without knowing exactly what it is that I do.
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