The New Universe and the Human Future: How a Shared Cosmology Could Transform the World (The Terry Lectures Series) by Nancy Ellen Abrams (PDF)

Description

Two cutting-edge thinkers—one a cultural philosopher and the other a leading astrophysicist—combine their abilities to present a new picture of the universe with critical relevance for our time After a four-century rupture between science and the questions of value and meaning, this groundbreaking book presents an explosive and potentially life-altering idea: if the world could agree on a shared creation story based on modern cosmology and biology—a story that has just become available—it would redefine our relationship with Planet Earth and benefit all of humanity, now and into the distant future.Written in eloquent, accessible prose and illustrated in magnificent color throughout, including images from innovative simulations of the evolving universe, this book brings the new scientific picture of the universe to life. It interprets what our human place in the cosmos may mean for us and our descendants. It offers unique insights into the potential use of this newfound knowledge to find solutions to seemingly intractable global problems such as climate change and unsustainable growth. And it explains why we need to “think cosmically, act globally” if we’re going to have a long-term, prosperous future on Earth.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “So what kind of meaning do Primack and Abrams find in the cosmos? Their book answers this question through a totally engaging and very readable exploration of ‘the new universe’ explained by quantum physics and contemporary astrophysics. . . . The View from the Center of the Universe goes a long way in that direction, and it should be read by anyone, not just scientists, who worry about the human condition.”—Deepak Chopra, The Huffington Post”Primack and Abrams open the only way forward that can possibly work.”—Deepak Chopra, The Huffington Post”This book is in every sense of the word, a prophetic book. Its message ranks right up there with those of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Joel. Like the prophets, it is at times poetic, demanding, grounded, soaring, empowering, and always awe-inspiring.”—Matthew Fox, Tikkun”The authors tell the cosmology story well and illustrate it with stunning images, in the book and online at www.new-universe.org.”—Ron Cowan, Science News”The ideas and images are fascinating and certainly contribute to a sense of the profound stakes involved in what we’re doing to the planet and ourselves.”—William Kowinski, North Coast Journal”Told in beautiful prose, appealing to brain and heart.”—Johan Galtung, Foreign Policy JournalWinner of the 2012 Nautilus Gold Award for the science/cosmology category. The Nautilus Awards recognizes Books and Audio Books that promote spiritual growth, conscious living & positive social change, while at the same time stimulating the “imagination” and offering the reader “new possibilities” for a better life and a better world.Winner of the 2012 Spirit of Rustum Roy Award, as awarded by The Chopra Foundation. Abrams & Primack received the award for their contribution to science in expanding our understanding of what it is to be human.”Abrams and Primack argue for an interpretation of contemporary cosmology suggestive of human significance in a universe filled with meaning. They do so for a general audience, with elegant prose, provocative images, and stunning online animations.”—William Grassie, Metanexus Institute”When science reveals to us an opportunity for profound hope — a potential bond among all humans — we must grasp it and celebrate it. The New Universe and the Human Future shows us how the strange and newly discovered nature of our universe can empower us to meet the gravest challenges of our time.”—Archbishop Desmond Tutu, winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace”. . . fascinating and potentially transformative.”—Priyamvada Natarajan, Yale University”Whenever I read the work of Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack I gain more insight into the Cosmology that stands behind the structures of the Kabbalah. Their work shows how the ongoing discovery of a universe made of dark matter and dark energy is opening up not only new vistas in Kabbalah but even more vital offers new and optimistic perspective on humanity’s problems. In beautiful prose they present a meaningful creation story that helps us feel how we belong in the timescales of the universe — a creation story that is equally true for everyone and a boon for vast contemplation. They use new cosmological metaphors to help us grasp the enormous stakes in the political and ecological decisions being made in all countries today. That they are able to do this largely through pictures is a special treat.”—Rabbi Zalman Hiyyah Schachter-Shalomi, co-author of Jewish With Feeling and A Heart Afire “The strikingly beautiful images of the universe that run through this wonderful book are in and of themselves a sublime prompt for us to stop looking for differences, and instead build a cosmology that unites culture and science. Nancy Abrams and Joel Primack show us the way!”—Roald Hoffman, Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, 1981 About the Author Nancy Ellen Abrams is an attorney, philosopher of science, and lecturer. Joel R. Primack is Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy. Both are at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Judge a book by its cover because this book does address some of the biggest questions we humans face. Try this for size….”There is a gaping hole in modern thinking that may never have existed in human society before. It’s so common that scarcely anyone notices it, while global catastrophes of natural and human origin plague our planet and personal crises of existential confusion plague our private lives. The hole is this: we have no meaningful sense of how we and our fellow humans fit into the big picture.”The book states the case for needing a coherent, believable picture of the universe that applies to us all. Thus bringing meaning. Instead we fall into crazy group thinking – as Friedrich Nietzsche’s famous epigram explains, ‘Madness in individuals is something rare – but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule.’ This is why so many of us shy away from the inconvenient truth, preferring a reassuring lie.Searching for a story that unifies, religion of course plays a part as it so often does. In fact given that (in the words of Joseph Campbell) ‘The old gods are dead or dying.’ the search for the story is more relevant now than it ever has been.Perhaps the search for our origin story (that will no doubt be embedded in metaphor) will create our connection. Then we can answer the meta question – meaning of the universe anyone?

⭐A book I strongly urge every literate man, woman and child living on this planet today to read. At last a plausible unifying truth of what, where and when we are within the universe and it’s implications for our responsibility for the decisions we make as one remarkably unique human species – to preserve our planet while sustaining the well being of humankind. Regardless of political agendas, race, culture or religious faiths, this scientific evidenced based unifying story can serve as an under carriage for all of humanity to rest upon. And just perhaps it may soften the superficial divisions (geo-political/socio-economic) our species has constructed, enabling us to make informed large-scale decisions as one human tribe. This book promotes a world wide paradigm shift, that could one day heal our spirits, dissolve our continual conflicts, and link us together in a cohesive cosmic consciousness, allowing us to maximize our potential as a species and thereby that of the universe itself.

⭐Rich. Creative. With so many new possibilities being suggested here. I only wish more of Nancy’s personal story had been included. In combination with the science presented, it’s her story that makes their shared vision come alive. Please seek out some of her additional writing by googling her name on the web. Important stuff!

⭐The absolutely amazing Cosmic Story as revealed by science is beautifully and understandably presented. We are invited to become a new global society on Earth with a common origin story in which we find meaning and purpose in the 21st century and beyond. This is a “must read” if humans are to have a sustainable future on Earth in which we participate in mutually enhancing ways with all human beings, with all species, and with all of Earth’s Systems.

⭐Maybe this is the answer. Actually it probably is the answer but how to get people to read it and live it. It is wonderful full of facts and actionable ideas that should be read by everyone. How to accomplish this though? This should be read by everyone beyond the age of 12.

⭐This is a great book and will enliven the thinking of anyone interested in the role of the universe story in contemporary society, a great follow on from work by Swimme, Berry, Tucker et al.

⭐Brilliant, everyone should read this! I had to read several parts more than once, but all in all, it was explained simply enough for a non-scientist like me.

⭐This is the most thought-provoking book I have read this year. It tackles difficult subjects in clear and understandable prose. The photos are an added plus in better understanding the concepts they are discussing. This book provides a different world-view, that has a scientific basis, and at the same time provides a critical role for humankind in determining the future of our universe.

⭐loved this book so much i bought 4 more copies for friends and family, it raises as many questions as it answers and provokes interesting debate. I read a lot of science, cosmology and astronomy books but this book is the first to make me question our size in the cosmos

⭐Abrams and Primack have created a book which can and SHOULD be read by everyone.They give credit to the ideas, thinking and writing of visionaries like Thomas Berry, Matthew Fox and Brian Swimme (among many others) but the approach they bring is FRESH, clear and resonant adding in several new notions of significant value such as human “inflation” (the notion that humans are exponentially detrimentally affecting Earth’s biosphere – an analogy to the exponential cosmic inflation theorized to have launched our Universe). This ecological imperative makes the book NECESSARY now – we do not have another 10,000 years to figure out what the human species is about in the Universe.There is no shortage of ecological doomsday books out there but what the authors have done to make the prospect of a man-made (I don’t blame the women of Earth! ;^) ) apocalypse really SCARY is to explain, coherently and perhaps for the first time, how truly precious we foolish wonderful humans really are in the Universe. Much of the book explains just exactly how humans fit into the modern cosmological understanding of the Universe. Unlike my hero Carl Sagan, who postulated that Life and Intelligence were abundant within the Galaxy, let alone the Universe, Primack and Abrams, emphasize our uniqueness, perhaps within the entire Multiverse (Universe of Universe). Human self-awareness/consciousness, and the “garden planet of the Universe” (Thomas Berry) which sustains us, may be the rarest gift/miracle within all Creation. To snuff this out in a frenzy of greed, war, consumerism and just plain human ignorance is indeed SCARY. To snuff out a Life is a sin/crime – to commit genocide/biocide (extinction of species) is a greater sin/crime – but how do you measure the loss of billions of years of never-to-be-repeated Cosmic evolution? SCARY indeed.Yet, the book does not dwell on apocalyptic possibilities, it, like the work of Berry/Swimme, weaves an INSPIRING sacred (in a secular sense!) narrative (“Story”) of what our amazing unfolding Universe is really like and where we humans fit in. They left me with a re-affirmed sense of the absolutely miraculous story of our origins which literally blows away all traditional “creation myths” like so much smoke and vapour. Yet, this narrative/story is deeply INSPIRING and intensely sacred in its depth, breadth and meaning – literally TRANSCENDENT.Unlike Richard Dawkins and his “new atheist” pals, Abrams and Primack spend little time directly confronting the narrow, quaint and mostly unprovable claims of the religious traditions of the world. They merely expound their thesis and let you, the reader, decide where it is that you choose to find meaning for your personal and our corporate (and planetary) future. The authors, in fact, suggest that religious communities which adopt and explore their ideas will be most helpful in what they call the transition of human culture into a “Cosmic Society” – one which thinks in terms of millions of years and entire Cosmos – not just personal ambition and the next Quarterly Earnings Statement!Referring to the work of Paul Hawken, Primack and Abrams suggest that in tens of thousands of places on the planet, the transition from tribal, ethnic, national and religious human communities is ongoing as the need for humans to start thinking as a species and for the entire Earth Community is underway. They are HOPEFUL that as the Story of the New Universe penetrates into our children and grand-children’s education and awareness that a new human “Cosmic Society” will emerge which will slowly transition from what we have today to something more far-sighted and more deeply aware of our true place in the Universe. This cultural transition will neither be easy or quick but is NECESSARY.They conclude the book with a short essay – an excerpt from the far future, written by humans of that time – explaining how it was that a courageous band of rebels organized and worked to transform human society in the 21st Century averting planetary collapse and launching the Cosmic Society which has endured for a million years.Not just a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED book – a MUST-READ book!

⭐This book is not just about cosmology, rather it is an artful, poetic and scientific mixture of cosmology and philosophy. The two authors’ aim is inherently a risky and difficult one. Nonetheless, they have successfully described a deeply meaningful and persuasive picture of ourselves in the lonely and vastly boundless universe. Scientific discoveries and logic are largely based on a reductive and analytic method, and as a result it alone shows its limitations in creating an integrated and philosophical meaning for humankind. Science has been providing a great contribution in enhancing our comprehension of ourselves in nature. Without science and reason, we would still be in an entangled and pitchy dark cavern as like one of many other poor creatures. We need absolutely science, but we still need also philosophy, religion or mythology – sound and reasonable one in a modern sense.The authors have interwoven so elegantly those two aspects, science and poetry, that the book’s total message is both spiritual and solid enough. I know that the cosmological facts and principles mentioned in the book are selective, and that nature is neutral to a human being. But it is our inevitable destiny and expression of existence to seek ultimate meaning in our life and nature. The book is full of cosmological wonders and their existential connections to us. Very enjoyable reading for those interested in nature and our humankind’s position in the whole universe. This book is an abridged edition of another by the same authors, ‘The View From the Center of the Universe: Discovering Our Extraordinary Place in the Cosmos’.As far as I know, the other two books are also both inspiring and philosophical. You will find out them spiritually joyful.’The Artful Universe: The Cosmic Source of Human Creativity by John D. Barrow”Journey of the Universe by Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker’

⭐i loved it so much i bought it kindle and paperback! inspiring and well written, its a book you’ll want others to read too.

⭐An interesting semi-popular book promoting cosmology as part of human culture, Very insightful philosophical observations.An excellent complement for another book of the same authors “The View from the Center of the Universe”. Can be successfully used for pedagogical purposes in conjunction with resources from the web site of J Primack.

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