I have always been astounded by the mysteries of life and the cosmos. I soon realized that religion did not provide a satisfactory answer to these mysteries. Majoring in philosophy in college, I studied the world’s great thinkers and began an ongoing exploration of scientific theories purporting to explain the world we live in. These theories, based on scientific materialism, also proved unsatisfying, though for different reasons than religion. Consequently, I devoted 35 years–during a legal career–to researching and writing my book, intended to go beyond science and religion in the quest to explain the mysteries of the cosmos.
I wrote
The Collapse of Materialism: Visions of Science, Dreams of God
I love this book because, in 130 pages, it summarizes how the fundamental elements, forces, and constants of our universe are precisely tuned to allow for the possibility of life. The book is scientifically rigorous and filled with just enough facts, figures, and charts to present a powerful case.
But in making his case, Paul Davies also shows his own curiosity over how it came to pass that the inear-nfinite, ever-changing pieces of our world work together. Is the universe an accident or, as Roger Penrose (another leading scientist) once said, a “put-up job?” In the end, I like this book because it shows that the deepest scientific investigation of the world leads to the same sense of wonder I have experienced in the fields of philosophy and spirituality.
In The Accidental Universe renowned expositor Paul Davies grapples with the most fundamental questions of all. What is our purpose and the purpose of the universe? Are both an accident of nature? Paul Davies guides us through the mysterious coincidences underlying the structure and properties of the universe we inhabit. He sets out the intriguing hypothesis that the appearance of the universe and its properties are highly contrived. Paul Davies gives a survey of the range of apparently miraculous accidents of nature that have enabled the universe to evolve its familiar structure of atoms, stars, galaxies and life itself. This…
I love this book because it is a science and philosophy education bound together between two covers.
The book is thick, and its title is intimidating, but once I started reading it, I became engrossed in the story it tells. The mystery of the fine-tuning of the cosmos is the same mystery encountered by thinkers throughout the ages.
In recent decades, this mystery has evolved into the anthropic principle, the notion that because we are participants in this finely tuned universe, the properties of the universe must, in some way, be geared to allow us to exist.
Last, I enjoyed this book because it combines insights and ideas from science, philosophy, and even visionaries, like Pierre de Teilhard Chardin, as it ends with the thought that life evolves to the Omega Point, where life finally gains control of the inner workings of the universe.
Is there any connection between the vastness of the universes of stars and galaxies and the existence of life on a small planet out in the suburbs of the Milky Way? This book shows that there is. In their classic work, John Barrow and Frank Tipler examine the question of Mankind's place in the Universe, taking the reader on a tour of many scientific disciplines and offering fascinating insights into issues such as the nature of life, the serach for extraterrestrial intelligence, and the past history and fate of our universe.
I love this book because it takes a creative and mind-expanding approach to the fine-tuning of the universe. Against modern-day proponents of the principle that humankind, resting on a “pale blue dot” in an insignificant solar system, holds no privileged place in the universe, the authors argue that Planet Earth is not only uniquely fit for habitability but also for scientific discovery.
The authors weave together the coincidences that make life possible with the conditions that allow science to even exist: a clear atmosphere; a viewing location in the Milky Way allowing deep observations of surrounding galaxies; and a habitable planet that allows technological life to thrive, with all the scientific instruments now used to probe the inner and outer depths of the cosmos.
I particularly like how the authors highlight simple natural phenomena, such as tree rings that mark time naturally and the seemingly harmonized shapes and orbits of the Sun and the Moon that allow for a solar eclipse, to make the point that we indeed live in a privileged place.
Contrary to popular belief, Earth is not an insignificant blip on the universe's radar. Our world proves anything but average in Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards' The Privileged Planet: How Our Place in the Cosmos Is Designed for Discovery.
But what exactly does Earth bring to the table? How does it prove its worth among numerous planets and constellations in the vastness of the Milky Way? In The Privileged Planet, you'll learn about the world's life-sustaining capabilities, water and its miraculous makeup, protection by the planetary giants, and how our planet came into existence in…
I love this book because of the lively exchanges between the authors and because they do not shy away from asking the big questions. I like the way it combines a question-and-answer section, a dialogue, a debate, and original metaphors.
Focused on the odd coincidences in cosmology, such as the uniformity of the cosmic background radiation, the value of the cosmological constant, the horizon problem, and the strange predominance of matter over antimatter, the book takes the reader on a whirlwind tour through the mysteries of the cosmos.
I found the book easy to read because the authors approach the topic with humor and humility, two traits rarely found in a modern-day cosmologist. Lastly, I like this book because one of the authors, Luke Barnes, graciously appeared on my podcast, Conversations Beyond Science and Religion.
Over the last forty years, scientists have uncovered evidence that if the Universe had been forged with even slightly different properties, life as we know it - and life as we can imagine it - would be impossible. Join us on a journey through how we understand the Universe, from its most basic particles and forces, to planets, stars and galaxies, and back through cosmic history to the birth of the cosmos. Conflicting notions about our place in the Universe are defined, defended and critiqued from scientific, philosophical and religious viewpoints. The authors' engaging and witty style addresses what fine-tuning…
I love this book because, in typical Paul Davies fashion, it approaches the fine-tuning issue from all perspectives, asks the big questions, and then, like a murder mystery, probes the most likely explanations. The book is a feast for the intellect.
While it describes many of the cosmos's most notable fine-tuning features, such as the strength of gravity, the value of the cosmological constant, and the smoothness of the cosmic background radiation, Paul Davies puts his own spin on the mysteries, examining them with the rigor of a scientist and a philosopher.
I also like this book because Davies shows care for the reader, filling the book with simple examples (such as synchronized ballerinas to illustrate the horizon problem) to explain a scientific conundrum and summarizing key points at the end of each chapter. Last, I appreciate the books of Paul Davies because, whether I agree or disagree with his conclusions, they are always thought-provoking.
The Goldilocks Enigma is Paul Davies spectacular and eagerly awaited return to cosmology. Here he tackles all the 'big questions' and introduces the latest discoveries that have allowed scientists to piece together the story of the universe in unprecedented detail. And he explains why, despite all this, cosmologists are more divided than ever. Why is everything just right for life on earth? And how have we tried to explain this? How has belief shaped the scientific debate? What do we really know about our place in the universe? Paul Davies decodes the real science and gets to the very heart…
Scientific materialism dominates our lives. In this worldview, the universe, from stars to living organisms and human emotions, consists of nothing but mindless particles. Creation goes from matter to mind: the Big Bang to a swamp from which life emerged, and then to a human brain from which consciousness emerged. In materialism, life has no purpose, meaning, or goal.
But materialism cannot explain the fine-tuning of the universe, the origin of matter, life, or mathematical order, dark matter, the conflict between general relativity and quantum theory, or religious sentiment, among other deep mysteries. My book approaches the universe from the opposite direction, with creation going from mind to matter. This modernized idealist perspective explains the mysteries materialism leaves unsolved.
When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more on topic, but it would be more accurate to say that I wrote a book about SS men as husbands and fathers.
From 1931 to 1945, leaders of the SS, a paramilitary group under the Nazi party, sought to transform their organization into a racially-elite family community that would serve…
From 1931 to 1945, leaders of the SS, a paramilitary group under the Nazi party, sought to transform their organization into a racially-elite family community that would serve as the Third Reich's new aristocracy. They utilized the science of eugenics to convince SS men to marry suitable wives and have many children.
Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS by Amy Carney is the first work to significantly assess the role of SS men as husbands and fathers during the Third Reich. The family community, and the place of men in this community, started with one simple order issued by…