Suggested Readings (General)

My additions were: The Reenchantment of the World, by Morris Berman, Conceptual Revolutions by Paul Thagard, Phoenix: A Tale of the Future by Osamu Tezuka, Green Space, Green Time by Connie Barlow, and A Place for Consciousness by Gregg Rosenberg.

Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time"

yellowseed — Nov 03, 2009

Final paragraphs:

"Up to now, most scientists have been too occupied with the development of new theories that describe what the universe is to ask the question why. On the other hand, the people whose business it is to ask why, the philosophers, have not been able to keep up with the advance of scientific theories. In the eighteenth century, philosophers considered the whole of human knowledge, including science, to be their field and discussed questions such as: did the universe have a beginning? However, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, science became too technical and mathematical for the philosophers, or anyone else except a few specialists. Philosophers reduced the scope of their inquiries so much that Wittgenstein, the most famous philosopher of this century, said, "The sole remaining task for philosophy is the analysis of language." What a comedown from the great tradition of philosophy from Aristotle to Kant!

However, if we do discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we would know the mind of God."

http://www.nt.ntnu.no/users/lale/e_book/stephenHawking-ABriefHistoryOfTi...