The Challenge of Chance: A Multidisciplinary Approach from Science and the Humanities (Frontiers Collection) - Softcover
Buch 50 von 82: The Frontiers Collection
Inhaltsangabe
This book presents a multidisciplinary perspective on chance, with contributions from distinguished researchers in the areas of biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, genetics, general history, law, linguistics, logic, mathematical physics, statistics, theology and philosophy. The individual chapters are bound together by a general introduction followed by an opening chapter that surveys 2500 years of linguistic, philosophical, and scientific reflections on chance, coincidence, fortune, randomness, luck and related concepts.
A main conclusion that can be drawn is that, even after all this time, we still cannot be sure whether chance is a truly fundamental and irreducible phenomenon, in that certain events are simply uncaused and could have been otherwise, or whether it is always simply a reflection of our ignorance. Other challenges that emerge from this book include a better understanding of the contextuality and perspectival character of chance (including its scale-dependence), and the curious fact that, throughout history (including contemporary science), chance has been used both as an explanation and as a hallmark of the absence of explanation. As such, this book challenges the reader to think about chance in a new way and to come to grips with this endlessly fascinating phenomenon.
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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor
Klaas Landsman (1963) obtained his PhD in Theoretical High-Energy Physics from the University of Amsterdam in 1989. He was a research fellow at the University of Cambridge from 1989-1997, with a sojourn as Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in Hamburg from 1993-94. He was subsequently a Royal Academy Research Fellow at the University of Amsterdam from 1997-2002, and obtained a Pioneer Grant from NWO in 2002. Klaas has held the Chairs in Analysis and subsequently in Mathematical Physics at the Radboud University since 2004, and in 2011 was awarded the Bronze Medal of this university for his outreach work in mathematics. His research is mainly concerned with non-commutative geometry and with the mathematical foundations of quantum theory. The latter topic lies behind his interest in (pure) chance and probability.
Ellen van Wolde (1954) obtained her PhD in Biblical Studies from Radboud University in 1989. She was a professor at the Faculty of Theology of University of Tilburg from 1992-2008, and has held the chair in Textual Sources of Judaism and Christianity at Radboud University since 2009. In 2005 she was appointed a member of the KNAW, becoming a member of its Executive Board in 2011. Ellen’s research is mainly concerned with the Old Testament Books of Genesis and Job, and with methodological approaches that acknowledge the role played by culture and language in the formation of biblical texts. A related field of interest
of hers is the question how chance, bad luck, or coincidence were explained in ancient cultures and religions, especially in so far as these explanations still influence our present views.Von der hinteren Coverseite
This book presents a multidisciplinary perspective on chance, with contributions from distinguished researchers in the areas of biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, genetics, general history, law, linguistics, logic, mathematical physics, statistics, theology and philosophy. The individual chapters are bound together by a general introduction followed by an opening chapter that surveys 2500 years of linguistic, philosophical, and scientific reflections on chance, coincidence, fortune, randomness, luck and related concepts.
A main conclusion that can be drawn is that, even after all this time, we still cannot be sure whether chance is a truly fundamental and irreducible phenomenon, in that certain events are simply uncaused and could have been otherwise, or whether it is always simply a reflection of our ignorance. Other challenges that emerge from this book include a better understanding of the contextuality and perspectival character of chance (including its scale-dependence), and the curious fact that, throughout history (including contemporary science), chance has been used both as an explanation and as a hallmark of the absence of explanation. As such, this book challenges the reader to think about chance in a new way and to come to grips with this endlessly fascinating phenomenon.
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