There Is No Theory of Everything A Physics Perspective on Emergence
The main purpose of this book is to introduce a broader audience to emergence by illustrating how discoveries in the physical sciences have informed the ways we think about it. In a nutshell, emergence asserts that non-reductive behavior arises at h
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There Is No Theory of Everything A Physics Perspective on Emergence
There Is No Theory of Everything
Lars Q. English
There Is No Theory of Everything A Physics Perspective on Emergence
123
Lars Q. English Department of Physics & Astronomy Dickinson College Carlisle, PA, USA
ISBN 978-3-319-59149-0 ISBN 978-3-319-59150-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-59150-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017944205 © Springer International Publishing AG 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Preface
The last time I visited the Museum of Modern Art in New York, something caught my eye that had escaped my notice on a previous visit. Perhaps I happened to be in the right frame of mind that day to receive the message, or maybe I was just following the coordinated motion of the throngs of visitors. As the case may be, I stopped, and there in front of me on a large white canvas were printed the following words in capitalized black letters: DO YOU SENSE HOW ALL THE PARTS OF A GOOD PICTURE ARE INVOLVED WITH EACH OTHER, NOT JUST PLACED SIDE BY SIDE? ART IS CREATION FOR THE EYE AND CAN ONLY BE HINTED AT WITH WORDS The work was by American artist John Baldessari and entitled “What is Painting.” I read it again. There was something about that piece that definitely commanded attention. What specifically was it, though, that intrigued me, that drew me in? Could it have been the oblique selfreference which, on second thought, I realized was actually quite clever, even witty? Or perhaps its appeal was more philosophical in nature. Did it resonate with a larger question I had been pondering lately? Did it speak to the ways in which “meaning” could
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