A collection of favorite essays on the cosmos, written by a well-known American Museum of Natural History astrophysicist and author of Origins, includes the title essay, "Holy Wars," "The Search for L
The novel understanding of the physical world that characterized the Scientific Revolution depended on a fundamental shift in the way its protagonists understood and described space. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, spatial phenomena were described in relation to a presupposed central point; by its end, space had become a centerless void in which phenomena could only be described by reference to arbitrary orientations. David Marshall Miller examines both the historical and philosophical aspects of this far-reaching development, including the rejection of the idea of heavenly spheres, the advent of rectilinear inertia, and the theoretical contributions of Copernicus, Gilbert, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes, and Newton. His rich study shows clearly how the centered Aristotelian cosmos became the oriented Newtonian universe, and will be of great interest to students and scholars of the history and philosophy of science.
Meditates on scientific findings that are changing the understanding of the cosmos, exploring such topics as the debate between science and religion, the conflict between the desire for permanence and
Explore the cosmos with zany teenage heroes-for-hire, the Bravest Warriors!Reminisce on the super-powered team's greatest adventures from Cartoon Hangover's hit animated series, Bravest Warriors! Warp
The cosmos comes to life in this truly spectacular look at our ever-expanding universe through the lens of the Hubble telescope. “Gasp-worthy photographs. . . . This title should be essenti
Achilles inflicts countless agonies on the Achaeans, although he is supposed to be fighting on their side. Odysseus' return causes civil strife on Ithaca. The Iliad and the Odyssey depict conflict where consensus should reign, as do the other major poems of the early Greek hexameter tradition: Hesiod's Theogony and the Homeric Hymns describe divine clashes that unbalance the cosmos; Hesiod's Works and Days stems from a quarrel between brothers. These early Greek poems generated consensus among audiences: the reason why they reached us is that people agreed on their value. This volume, accordingly, explores conflict and consensus from a dual perspective: as thematic concerns in the poems, and as forces shaping their early reception. It sheds new light on poetics and metapoetics, internal and external audiences, competition inside the narrative and competing narratives, local and Panhellenic traditions, narrative closure and the making of canonical literature.
Spectacular observational breakthroughs, particularly by the WMAP satellite, have led to a new epoch of CMB science long after its original discovery. Taking a physical approach, the authors of this volume probe the problem of the 'darkness' of the Universe: the origin and evolution of dark energy and matter in the cosmos. Starting with the observational background of modern cosmology, they provide an accessible review of this fascinating yet complex subject. Topics discussed include the kinetics of the electromagnetic radiation in the Universe, the ionization history of cosmic plamas, the origin of primordial perturbations in light of the inflation paradigm, and the formation of anisotropy and polarization of the CMB. This fascinating review will be valuable to advanced students and researchers in cosmology.
Highlights of Astronomy, Volume 16, summarizes the proceedings of the IAU XXVIII General Assembly held in Beijing, 20–31 August 2012, which brought together more than 2700 astronomers from 75 member countries. The wide range of topics cover the latest developments in almost every area of modern astronomy, including star formation, galaxies, the accelerating cosmos and dark energy, massive stars, high-energy emission in AGN, space-time reference systems, intergalactic magnetic fields, star-planet relations, the interstellar medium, data intensive astronomy, future large scale facilities, and Chinese astronomy. This volume features the Special Sessions, Joint Discussions and Invited Discussions that provide extended reviews of topics, as well as more focused, shorter chapters that reflect the activity of the world community in each field. Taken together with the eight IAU Symposia Proceedings (IAU S288–296), this volume presents the vast panorama of astronomical research at the time of t
Since the dawn of the Space Age, when the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite and sent the first human into the cosmos, science fiction literature and cinema from Russia has fascinate
Ennius' Annales, which is preserved only in fragments, was hugely influential on Roman literature and culture. This book explores the genesis, in the ancient sources for Ennius' epic and in modern scholarship, of the accounts of the Annales with which we operate today. A series of appendices detail each source's contribution to our record of the poem, and are used to consider how the interests and working methods of the principal sources shape the modern view of the poem and to re-examine the limits imposed and the possibilities offered by this ancient evidence. Dr Elliott challenges standard views of the poem, such as its use of time and the disposition of the gods within it. She argues that the manifest impact of the Annales on the collective Roman psyche results from its innovative promotion of a vision of Rome as the primary focus of the cosmos in all its aspects.
A magickal handbook for working with the cycles of nature through accessible recipes, rituals, and herbalism! The natural world is composed of complex, intersecting, and overlapping cycles. We experience these cycles as the passing of the seasons, moon phases, and twelve constellations of astrology. Working with natural magick is an excellent way to ground the energy of the cosmos in our real, practical experience of the world. In The Modern Witch's Guide to Natural Magick, cottage witch Tenae Stewart shares her knowledge of natural magick to celebrate and channel the energy of life's seasons. This magickal guide offers sixty recipes and rituals for connecting with nature and explores how devoting time and energy to these practices can benefit your daily life. Elements of natural magick practices explored in The Modern Witch's Guide to Natural Magick include: The basics of blending teas and oils for relaxation and celebrationThe metaphysical and magickal properties of common plantsN
This volume of Proclus' commentary on Plato's Timaeus records Proclus' exegesis of Timaeus 27a–31b, in which Plato first discusses preliminary matters that precede his account of the creation of the universe, and then moves to the account of the creation of the universe as a totality. For Proclus this text is a grand opportunity to reflect on the nature of causation as it relates to the physical reality of our cosmos. The commentary deals with many subjects that have been of central interest to philosophers from Plato's time onwards, such as the question whether the cosmos was created in time, and the nature of evil as it relates to physical reality and its ontological imperfection.
Revenge is an important motivation in human affairs relating to conflict and violence, and it is a notable feature in many societies within Oceania, where revenge is traditionally a sacred duty to the dead whose spirits demand it. Revenge instantiates a norm of reciprocity in the cosmos, ensuring a balance between violent and peaceful sequences of ritual action. Revenge further remains an important hidden factor in processes of violence beyond Oceania, revealing deep human propensities for retaliatory acts and the tendency to elevate these into principles of legitimacy. Sacred revenge may also be transcended through practices of wealth exchange.
Jonathan Bennett's analysis of the second half of Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, in which Kant concerns himself with topics such as substance, the nature of the self, the cosmos, freedom and the existence of God, continues to be an engaging and accessible exploration of Kant's major work. Presented in a fresh twenty-first-century series livery, and including a specially commissioned preface written by Karl Ameriks, illuminating its enduring importance and relevance to philosophical enquiry, this influential work has been revived for a new generation of readers.
Plato's entire fictive world is permeated with philosophical concern for Eros, well beyond the so-called erotic dialogues. Several metaphysical, epistemological and cosmological conversations - Timaeus, Cratylus, Parmenides, Theaetetus and Phaedo - demonstrate that Eros lies at the root of the human condition and that properly guided Eros is the essence of a life well lived. This book presents a holistic vision of Eros, beginning with the presence of Eros at the origin of the cosmos and the human soul, surveying four types of human self-cultivation aimed at good guidance of Eros and concluding with human death as a return to our origins. The book challenges conventional wisdom regarding the 'erotic dialogues' and demonstrates that Plato's world is erotic from beginning to end: the human soul is primordially erotic and the well-cultivated erotic soul can best remember and return to its origins, its lifelong erotic desire.
Lewis Thomas's fascinating observations of the quirkiness of the world's lifeforms cause the listener to ponder simultaneously a tiny organism and the workings of the cosmos. In one chapter he examine
Vicious interstellar conflict with an indestructible alien species. Bloody civil war over the last habitable zones of the cosmos. Political unrest, militaristic police forces, dire threats to the Sola
In his final book, the late Arthur Hatto analyses the Khanty epic tradition in Siberia on the basis of eighteen texts of Khanty oral heroic epic poems recorded and edited by a succession of Hungarian and Russian scholars in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The book examines the world view of an indigenous culture as reconstructed from its own words, demonstrates a flexible outline for organising an analytical dossier of the genre of oral heroic epic poetry in a specific culture, and presents an abundance of new information to compare with better-known heroic epics. Consisting of main sections on The Cosmos, Time, The Seasons, Geography, Spirits, Personae, Warfare, Armour and Weapons, and Men's Handiwork, the book also includes a section of background information on the Khanty people. Marianne Bakró-Nagy contributes specialist knowledge of the Khanty language to the linguistic interpretation of the texts, and there is an afterword by Daniel Prior.
The Little Book of Big History is an endeavor to encapsulate the entire story of the cosmos, from the Big Bang to the current day, into an engaging and comprehensive narrative. Combining methods from
Welcome to the Universe is a personal guided tour of the cosmos by three of today's leading astrophysicists. Inspired by the enormously popular introductory astronomy course that Neil deGrasse Tyson,
