TY - BOOK ID - 17583562 TI - Ultimate Explanations of the Universe PY - 2009 SN - 9783642021039 9783642021022 3642021026 3642021042 3642021034 9786612459856 1282459856 PB - Berlin, Heidelberg : Springer Berlin Heidelberg : Imprint: Springer, DB - UniCat KW - Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology. KW - Popular Science, general. KW - Science (General). KW - Physics. KW - Epistemology. KW - Metaphysics. KW - Mathematical logic. KW - Astronomy. KW - Astrophysics. KW - Cosmology. KW - Popular works. KW - Mathematical Logic and Foundations. KW - Astronomy KW - Deism KW - Metaphysics KW - Astronomical physics KW - Cosmic physics KW - Physics KW - Physical sciences KW - Space sciences KW - Algebra of logic KW - Logic, Universal KW - Mathematical logic KW - Symbolic and mathematical logic KW - Symbolic logic KW - Mathematics KW - Algebra, Abstract KW - Metamathematics KW - Set theory KW - Syllogism KW - God KW - Ontology KW - Philosophy KW - Philosophy of mind KW - Epistemology KW - Theory of knowledge KW - Psychology KW - Natural philosophy KW - Philosophy, Natural KW - Dynamics KW - Knowledge, Theory of. KW - Cosmology KW - Knowledge, Theory of KW - Genetic epistemology. KW - Logic, Symbolic and mathematical. KW - Developmental psychology UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:17583562 AB - 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. ER -