Remapping Reality: Chaos and Creativity in Science and Literature (Goethe, Nietzsche, Grass)Rodopi, 2006 - 373 pages This book is about intersections among science, philosophy, and literature. It bridges the gap between the traditional "cultures" of science and the humanities by constituting an area of interaction that some have called a "third culture." By asking questions about three disciplines rather than about just two, as is customary in research, this inquiry breaks new ground and resists easy categorization. It seeks to answer the following questions: What impact has the remapping of reality in scientific terms since the Copernican Revolution through thermodynamics, relativity theory, and quantum mechanics had on the way writers and thinkers conceptualized the place of human culture within the total economy of existence? What influence, on the other hand, have writers and philosophers had on the doing of science and on scientific paradigms of the world? Thirdly, where does humankind fit into the total picture with its uniquely moral nature? In other words, rather than privileging one discipline over another, this study seeks to uncover a common ground for science, ethics, and literary creativity. Throughout this inquiry certain nodal points emerge to bond the argument cogently together and create new meaning. These anchor points are the notion of movement inherent in all forms of existence, the changing concepts of evil in the altered spaces of reality, and the creative impulse critical to the literary work of art as well as to the expanding universe. This ambitious undertaking is unified through its use of phenomena typical of chaos and complexity theory as so many leitmotifs. While they first emerged to explain natural phenomena at the quantum and cosmic levels, chaos and complexity are equally apt for explaining moral and aesthetic events. Hence, the title "Remapping Reality" extends to the reconfigurations of the three main spheres of human interaction: the physical, the ethical, and the aesthetic or creative. |
Table des matières
10 | |
11 | |
13 | |
35 | |
Literary Iterations | 167 |
Emergence Horizons Continuance | 323 |
Bibliography | 337 |
361 | |
Autres éditions - Tout afficher
Remapping Reality: Chaos and Creativity in Science and Literature (Goethe ... John Aloysius McCarthy Aucun aperçu disponible - 2006 |
Remapping Reality: Chaos and Creativity in Science and Literature (Goethe ... John Aloysius McCarthy Aucun aperçu disponible - 2006 |
Expressions et termes fréquents
aesthetic agonistic aphorism argues Arthur Koestler artist Blechtrommel Cambridge University Press Cantor set chaos theory chapter cited complexity theory concept connotations consciousness Consilience cosmic creative culture David Bohm deep structure dynamic Earth Spirit elements emergence energy eternal eternal return evil existence forces fractal Frankfurt a.M. Friedrich Nietzsche function genius Goethe Goethe's Faust Günter Grass Homunculus human humankind individual inner interaction interconnections interpretation Johann Julia sets Kant knowledge Koestler Leben Leibniz lines literary Literature mathematical matter Matzerath meaning Menschen Mephisto metaphor microtubules modern Mothers motifs movement Munich myth nature Nietzsche's nonlinear notion novel object organic Oskar Oskar Matzerath paradox particles perspective philosophy photons physical play principle quantum quarks reality relationship role scientific sense space Spinoza strange attractor symbol thinking thought Tin Drum traditional trans ultimate underscores Verlag Werke York Zarathustra