Harrison E. Masks of the Universe: Changing Ideas on the Nature of the Cosmos

Cambridge University Press, 2003, 2nd edition, 342 pagesIn Masks of the Universe, Edward Harrison brings together fundamental scientific, philosophical and religious issues in cosmology and raises thought provoking questions. Philosophical issues dominated cosmology in the ancient world. Theological issues ranked foremost in the Middle Ages; astronomy and the physical sciences have taken over in more recent times. Yet every attempt to grasp the true nature of the universe creates a new "mask," People have always pitied the universes of their ancestors, believing that their generation has at last discovered the "real" universe. Do we now stand at the threshold of knowing everything, or have we created yet another "mask," doomed to fade like those preceding ours?Introducing the Masks
The Magic Universe
The Mythic Universe
The Geometric Universe
The Medieval Universe
The Infinite Universe
The Mechanistic Universe
Dance of the Atoms and Waves
Fabric of Space and Time
What Then is Time?
Nearer to the Heart’s Desire
The Cosmic Tide
Do Dreams Come True?
The Spear of Archytas
Ultimum Sentiens
All That is Made
The Cloud of Unknowing
Learned Ignorance