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Cosmology, Physics, and Philosophy Worldwide Acclaims to the Ist Edition Cosmology, Physics, and Philosophy Worldwide Acclaims to the Ist Edition ... a master piece ... any good library must have a copy of this classical work ..... The well-known author bases his philosophy on a very sound knowledge of the present-day scientific theories .... Indian Journal of Physics This is a great book, and an exciting book readable, worth reading and enlightening. The philosopher Sir Karl Popper "Gal-Or's book is really a tour de foce, which I have no doubt will be widely read and appreciated by physicists and philosophers all round the world ... a magnificent and sus­ tained piece of work!". Sir Alan Cottrell, Cambridge University's Chancellor I do not know a better modern expression of science, philosophy and classical human­ ism than that of Gal-Or's book. Ha'aretz Daily · ... inescapably fascinating ..... Stern und WeItraum · ... We are all Gal-Orians! Foundations of Physics (the editor) The task that Gal-Or has attempted is a very important one ... (he) bemoans the gulf that has grown up between philosophy and cosmology and attempts to bridge it by inform­ ing philosophers about the modern theories of physics and by trying to interest physicists in philosophy. Nature This is a very unusual book indeed, trying to unify cosmology, physics and philosophy in one extensive set of lectures. Many excellent illustrations and many quotations from various sources enrich the book. Physics Bulletin Benjamin Gal-Or is a man with a message. (His book is) audacious, ambitious and pro- vocative ... (it) will appeal to scientists of all disciplines who are prepared to open thier minds ... it shines a welcome light in some dark corners of science. New Scientist · ... richness of ideas and structures ... Physikalische Blatter · .. will excite everybody who is aware of the narrowness of his own field ... provocative Die Naturwissenschaften · .. interesting to read ... integrating much scientific material ... a good introduction to relativity theory, quantum mechanics and theoretical cosmology for readers interested in natural sciences in general. Deutsche Literaturzeitung The reader learns a lot about Einstein's theory, the development of biological struc­ tures and especially about the multi facet interrelations between the natural sciences and philosophy. But first of all he learns to ask questions. (This book) stimulates to think anew about "understood" concepts and things. Sterne und Weltraum Benjamin Gal-Or's remarkable book is an attempt to see and seize the world whole, in his own terms, "Havayism". He emphasizes that all scientists operate under some set of philo­ sophical prejudices and that failure to acknowledge this is self-delusion. Furthermore, he argues that a failure to attend to the philosophical base of physics leads to an empty scien­ tism.... Gal-Or's work is challenging on many levels, constituting a review (with deriva­ tions) of general relativity (as applied to cosmology), thermodynamics, the current state of theoretical particle physics, astrophysics, as well as a summary history of western phi­ losophy (especially the philosophies of time and mind) and critiques of western society, the intelligentsia and the relationship between academic science and government. One (and perhaps the central) theme explored is that of the interplay between symme­ try and asymmetry. His primary interest is not in the recent progress in the unification offorces in gauge theory, although he finds support in it for his Einsteinian outlook, but is rather time, time's arrow, and the asymmetry between past and future. Around time are accumulated discussions, both mathematical and philosophical, of thermodynamic reversibility, time reversal, the nature of causality, and the use of advanced and retarded solutions to wave equations. The second major theme is that of gravity and its overwhelm­ ing domination of the actual form of the universe, at all scales. The combination of these themes is not accidental; they are point and counterpoint to his thesis that the time asym­ metries are connectable to and perhaps even determined by the master asymmetry given by the gravity of general relativity: the remorseless cosmological expansion. He argues that only the expansion can provide the unification of time asymmetries. The expansion pro­ vides, among other things, an unsaturable sink for radiation, which in turn permits the establishment of gradients in temperature and density which provide the basis for the physical process that leads to life. He also criticizes the sloppy and improper use of the concepts of entropy (and the related notions in information theory) and quantum indeterminism, especially as covers for an inadequate understanding of temporal asymmetries. Taking an Einsteinian position on the interpretation of quantum mechanics, he looks forward to a revitalization of Einstein's quest for a deterministic interpretation of quantum events . the value of this book for physicists lies in the challenging combination of ideas which Gal-Or presents, which goes far beyond what can be sensibly described in a review. Gal-Or's use for punctuation (up to four exclamation points), italics, and neologisms is initially distracting but is best seen as a lexical transcription of a lively lecturing style. Gal­ Or's work may be too large to digest as a text in these days of the decline of academic insti­ tutions (as Gal-Or describes them), but that will be the loss of both the faculty and students. American Journal of Physics ... Gal-Or takes on himself an ambitious task: to integrate the most important discoveries achieved during the last years. A Textbook which includes all major notions to be understood by anybody who intends to study contemporary science. In a very original and impressing style the Author correlates the individual areas of mod­ em physics. Gal-Or gives a short course of the history of philosophy while stressing the relation to natu­ ral science. Gravitation, according to this book, is the main source of asymmetry and order in the universe. Stressing the importance of gravitation in all world phenomena, leads to the formulation of the doctrine of gravitism. Gravitism is a part of the still more universal theory to which the Author gives an exotic name: HA VA YISM (from the Hebrew HA VA Y A, which means the substance of all existence, and the dynamic correlation of nature). The greatest merit of the book is in its surmounting the boundaries of artificially isolated scientific disciplines and laying stress on the interrelation of the latest scientific discover­ ies with the philosophical tradition of European science, applying a pedagogicallly well­ founded method which takes the reader into elevated and fascinating spheres, and, yet, enables him to continue using his own methods. Bulletin of the Czekoslovenska Biochemical Society I have in the meantime studied your book carefully, with great interest, and made pages of notes on it. I feel as if I had been on numerous walks and talks with you on the great questions, and know that would be great to go on with them! Who cannot be impressed by your love for the great men of all times and all countries, by your phrase, "working back and forth between theory and fact", by your belief that philosophy is too important to be left to the philosophers, by your concern for where thought and language lie in the scheme of things - and by so much more! I continue to reflect, again and again, on your central thesis that expansion is the origin of all asymmetry in time. What an ingen­ ious phrase is your, "smuggle irreversibility in without declaring the contraband"! I regard your book as seeking to accomplish two tasks - and being two books - at the very least. One is the exposition of your central thesis with all clarity, and careful muster­ ing of every argument pro and con that can lead to testable consequences. I don't see how it is possible to do proper justice to a thesis of such importance by mixing it in with the other great task. That is to give students an appreciation of the unity of philosophy and modem physics. You do both tasks far better than I could hope to. I give you my personal thanks for putting the two books into a package that I person­ ally have found most thought-provoking. John Archivald Wheeler Director of the Center for Theoretical Physics, The University of Texas at Austin The red thread that runs through everything is the conception of the author that pres­ ent-day research (and education) in physics, like our view about men and society, is harmed because it is not enough guided by philosophy, where he sees it as the task of phi- losophy to construct a coherent and comprehensive vision of the world, starting from the results of diverse scientific specialism. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Natuurkunde Recommended to all who are interested in the great queston of the irreversibility of time. The author has a profound and extensive knowledge of these subjects. Olivier Costa de Beauregard Revue de Synthese An interesting and original book .... supplying also an interesting review of much of modern physical science. The reader can either follow the (order of) the chapters or make his own choice among the various subjects. The mathematical requirements are minimal, yet they may prove too difficult for students of philosophy. The book is easy to read, interesting and fascinating. It is very useful also as a refer­ ence book. Nuovo Cimento Cosmology, Physics, and Philosophy Including a New Theory of Aesthetics Benjamin Gal-Or The Jet Propulsion Laboratory Technion-Israel Institute of Technology Haifa, Israel 2nd Edition 1987 Springer-Verlag New York Inc. First Printing 1981 Second Printing 1983 Second Edition, 1987 Benjamin Gal-Or Technion - Israel Institute of Technology © Benjamin Gal-Or 1981, 1983, 1987 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 3rd edition 1987 All rights reserved.
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