Cosmological Theories Of Value

Building from foundations of modern science and cosmic evolution, as well as psychological and philosophical perspectives of value and meaning, this book explores some of humanity’s biggest questions: · Is the Universe “about something”? · What might be roles for life and intelligence in cosmic evolution? · How might we think about value, meaning, purpose, and ethics in a cosmic evolutionary context? The author explores how the sciences of relativity and quantum theory, combined with cosmic evolution and philosophical traditions such as process philosophy, contribute to the development of a broad “relationalist framework”. That framework helps inform perspectives such as “scientific minimalism” and “cosmological theories of value”. Cosmological Reverence, Cosmocultural Evolution, and the Connection-Action Principle are explored as examples of cosmological theories of value, all of which help inform how we might think about ethics, value, and meaning in a cosmic context – including application to the search for extraterrestrial life and the future of intelligence in the universe. This book will benefit a diverse range of practitioners in philosophy, science, and policy, including interdisciplinary fields such as Science and Society and cultural evolution studies. From the Foreword: “This volume ranges from the sciences of cosmic evolution, relativity, and quantum mechanics, to value theory and process philosophy, all with the goal of exploring how they relate to humanity in the sense of worldviews and meaning. With his three cosmological theories of value, Lupisella goes beyond the bounds of most books on naturalism, and into fundamental questions about the nature of the universe and our relation to it. To read Lupisella is to have a mind-boggling experience, to want to race to references, to want to know more.” Steven J. Dick Former Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/ Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology Former NASA Chief Historian

We humans are collectively driven by a powerful - yet not fully explained - instinct to understand. We would like to see everything established, proven, laid bare. The more important an issue, the more we desire to see it clarified, stripped of all secrets, all shades of gray. What could be more important than to understand the Universe and ourselves as a part of it? To find a window onto our origin and our destiny? This book examines how far our modern cosmological theories - with their sometimes audacious models, such as inflation, cyclic histories, quantum creation, parallel universes - can take us towards answering these questions. Can such theories lead us to ultimate truths, leaving nothing unexplained? Last, but not least, Heller addresses the thorny problem of why and whether we should expect to find theories with all-encompassing explicative power.

This book presents the main aspects of cosmology such as: the cosmological principle, Hubble's law and the recession of galaxies Newtonian and relativistic cosmology the problems of flatness and the horizon, the De Sitter and Lemaitre models the cosmological theories of the Big Bang and steady state cosmological thermodynamics and cosmological eras the role of dark matter

The theory presented in this book is a combination of Einstein's original special and general relativity, but now the starting point is not the propagation of light but the expansion of the Universe. The traditional Hubble constant H0 (which is not constant) is called in this book the Hubble parameter. Its value at low gravity is denoted by h, and its reciprocal is denoted by τ. Thus τ is the Big Bang time (some authors call it the Hubble-Carmeli constant). This is actually the only constant that appears in this theory, just as c is the only constant that appears in Einstein's theory. There is no cosmological constant but there is a critical mass density. The theory presents general relativity in the space-velocity (of the receding galaxies) which is later on extended to include the time dimension. So far all experimental findings are satisfied by this theory.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction: The Stars Tell Us How We Should Live -- 1 Natural Right and the New Scientific Cosmology -- 2 Cosmology with a Human Face -- 3 Co-opting the Evolutionary Narrative -- 4 Teleological Interpretation of the Cosmological Timeline -- 5 Natural Right and Nature's God -- 6 Politics without Natural Right -- 7 Cosmology and Natural Right -- Index

This book has three major themes: the nature of the universe, what the nature of the universe tells us about God, and in using our understanding of the universe and the nature of God, we conjecture a life after death or immortality.

Modern cosmology tells us that the universe is remarkably 'fine-tuned' for life. If the constants of physics or the initial conditions at the Big Bang were different by the smallest of margins then the universe would have been dull and lifeless. Why should the universe be so accommodating to life? Many cosmologists believe that the existence of many universes can explain why ours is so special. In this book Rodney Holder subjects this 'multiverse' hypothesis to rigorous philosophical critique. A multitude of problems is exposed. Going substantially further than existing treatments, Holder argues that divine design is the best explanation for cosmic fine-tuning, specifically that design by God is a superior explanation in terms of both initial plausibility and explanatory power, and is therefore the most rational position to take on the basis of the cosmological data.

A cultural philosopher and an astrophysicist attempt to decipher how we fit into the universe, and the impact our placement has on us. After a four-century rupture between science and the questions of value and meaning, this groundbreaking book presents an explosive and potentially life-altering idea: if the world could agree on a shared creation story based on modern cosmology and biology—a story that has just become available—it would redefine our relationship with Planet Earth and benefit all of humanity, now and into the distant future. Written in eloquent, accessible prose and illustrated in magnificent color throughout, including images from innovative simulations of the evolving universe, this book brings the new scientific picture of the universe to life. It interprets what our human place in the cosmos may mean for us and our descendants. It offers unique insights into the potential use of this newfound knowledge to find solutions to seemingly intractable global problems such as climate change and unsustainable growth. And it explains why we need to “think cosmically, act globally” if we're going to have a long-term, prosperous future on Earth. “Should be read by anyone, not just scientists, who worry about the human condition.”—Deepak Chopra, The Huffington Post “A prophetic book. Its message ranks right up there with those of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Joel. Like the prophets, it is at times poetic, demanding, grounded, soaring, empowering, and always awe-inspiring.”—Matthew Fox, Tikkun “The ideas and images are fascinating and certainly contribute to a sense of the profound stakes involved in what we’re doing to the planet and ourselves.”—William Kowinski, North Coast Journal

In this fascinating journey to the edge of science, Vidal takes on big philosophical questions: Does our universe have a beginning and an end or is it cyclic? Are we alone in the universe? What is the role of intelligent life, if any, in cosmic evolution? Grounded in science and committed to philosophical rigor, this book presents an evolutionary worldview where the rise of intelligent life is not an accident, but may well be the key to unlocking the universe's deepest mysteries. Vidal shows how the fine-tuning controversy can be advanced with computer simulations. He also explores whether natural or artificial selection could hold on a cosmic scale. In perhaps his boldest hypothesis, he argues that signs of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations are already present in our astrophysical data. His conclusions invite us to see the meaning of life, evolution and intelligence from a novel cosmological framework that should stir debate for years to come.