Overview
In both science and philosophy, the twentieth century saw a radical breakdown of certainty in the human worldview, as quantum uncertainty and linguistic ambiguity destroyed the comfortable certitudes of the past. As these disciplines form the foundation for a human position in the world, a major epistemological reorganization had to take place. In this book, quantum theorist Stig Stenholm presents Bohr and Wittgenstein, in physics and in philosophy, as central figures representing this revision. Each of them took up the challenge of replacing apparent order and certainty with a provisional understanding based on limited concepts in constant flux. Stenholm concludes that the modern synthesis created by their heirs is far from satisfactory, and the story is so far an unfinished one. The book will appeal to any researcher in either discipline curious about the foundation of modern science, and works to provoke a renewal of discussion, and the eventual emergence of a reformed clarity and understanding.
Full Product Details
Author: Stig Stenholm (Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden)
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.30cm
, Height: 1.90cm
, Length: 23.50cm
Weight: 0.508kg
ISBN: 9780199603589
ISBN 10: 0199603588
Pages: 232
Publication Date: 30 June 2011
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: To order
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.
Reviews
This is really an unique book which should be read by everyone who is interested in the foundations of modern physics from a philosophical point of view or anyone who is working in the modern fields of quantum optics and quantum information. -- Anton Zeilinger, University of Vienna Stenholm, a theoretical physicist specializing in quantum optics, has a wide understanding of many of the philosophical issues that lie at the heart of the debate that surrounds the foundations of quantum theory. -- Basil Hiley, Birkbeck College, University of London
<br> This is really an unique book which should be read by everyone who is interested in the foundations of modern physics from a philosophical point of view or anyone who is working in the modern fields of quantum optics and quantum information. -- Anton Zeilinger, University of Vienna<br><p><br> Stenholm, a theoretical physicist specializing in quantum optics, has a wide understanding of many of the philosophical issues that lie at the heart of the debate that surrounds the foundations of quantum theory. -- Basil Hiley, Birkbeck College, University of London<br><p><br>
Author Information
Stig Stenholm has done distinguished work in quantum optics for 40 years, holding professorships and research positions at the universities of Stuttgart and Helsinki, at IBM Research Laboratory, San Jose, California and at the Optical Sciences Center, Tucson, Arizona, before his retirement from KTH Stockholm in 2004. He has received the Alexander von Humboldt Award, Germany, and the The Homén Prize in Physics from the Societas Scientiarum Fennica.
