Product Description

Time is fundamental to our experience, but remains mysterious. This book shows how philosophers and scientists have tried to grapple with this most extraordinary of ordinary phenomena. From the attempts of early astronomers to reconcile solar and lunar and terrestrial reckonings, to the huge expansions and contractions of time consciousness brought on by scientists as diverse as Newton, Darwin, and Einstein, this book shows how time is as much a matter of human choice as it is a matter of scientific precision.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1356244 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 175 pages

Review
From the reviews:

"In this philosophical rumination on time, Mainzer delves rigorously into time's logical constructs as they have been devised over the history of occidental science." Booklist

"Klaus Mainzer a ] provides a brief overview of the concept of time from antiquity to the present. a ] The Little Book of Time succinctly and clearly covers human concepts of time, from the ancients to Newton to Einsteina (TM)s theory of relativity and the conceptions of time in quantum mechanics, with its profound consequences for modern cosmology." (Science in Africa, October, 2002)

"Time is a big subject a ] . The book will probably be interesting to enthusiasts a ] . The flavor is philosophical, which is not surprising since Mainzer is a philosopher. a ] the book is a nice summary." (Thomas R. Berger, MathDL, January, 2004)

From the Back Cover
WHAT IS TIME, REALLY?

Time. It's a tool we use to measure virtually every aspect of our lives. And yet as important as time is, rarely do we ponder the myriad of questions about it. What is time, and how did humans first measure it? How was it that disparate ancient cultures around the world came up with similar means of telling time? Is time a constant, or can it speed up and slow down? What happens to time when things travel at the speed of light? How long does the present last? Does time go by continuously or in steps? Why is it that time flows in only one direction- from the past to the future? And will this direction be reversed at some point? And will time, eventually, come to an end?

In this book, Klaus Mainzer considers these and many other questions and provides a brief overview of the concept of time from antiquity to the present. As a philosophical concept, time started out in the realm of philosophers like Heraclitus, who likened it to the irreversible flow of a river. After the Renaissance and the Copernican revolution, time became the subject of scientists and especially physicists. The Little Book of Time succinctly and clearly covers human concepts of time, from the ancients to Newton to Einstein's theory of relativity and the conceptions of time in quantum mechanics, with its profound consequences for modern cosmology.

About the Author
Klaus Mainzer is a Professor of Philosophy and Systems Science at the University of Augsburg, Germany. Among his previous books are Thinking in Complexity: The Complex Dynamics of Matter, Mind and Mankind (Springer Verlag, 1997) and Symmetries of Nature: A Handbook for Philosophy of Nature and Science.