The Nature of the Physical World

The Nature of the Physical World is a seminal work of science and philosophy written by British physicist and astronomer Arthur Stanley Eddington. Published in 1928, the book explores the fundamental nature of reality and the relationship between physics and metaphysics.Eddington argues that the physical world is not a collection of separate objects and events, but rather a unified whole that can only be understood through a combination of empirical observation and intuitive insight. He also discusses the limitations of scientific knowledge and the role of consciousness in shaping our understanding of reality.The book covers a wide range of topics, including relativity, quantum mechanics, the nature of time and space, and the origins of the universe. Eddington's writing is clear and accessible, making complex scientific concepts understandable to a general audience.The Nature of the Physical World is widely regarded as a classic of 20th-century science writing and has had a profound influence on the development of modern physics and philosophy. It remains an essential read for anyone interested in the nature of reality and the limits of human knowledge.1929. The course of Gifford Lectures that Eddington delivered in the University of Edinburgh in January to March 1927. It treats of the philosophical outcome of the great changes of scientific thought which have recently come about. The theory of relativity and the quantum theory have led to strange new conceptions of the physical world; the progress of the principles of thermodynamics has wrought more gradual but no less profound change. The first eleven chapters are for the most part occupied with the new physical theories, with the reasons which have led to their adoption, and especially with the conceptions which seem to underlie them. The aim is to make clear the scientific view of the world as it stands at the present day, and, where it is incomplete, to judge the direction in which modern ideas appear to be tending. In the last four chapters I consider the position which this scientific view should occupy in relation to the wider aspects of human experience, including religion. Contents: The Downfall of Classical Physics; Relativity; Time; The Running-Down of the Universe; Becoming; Gravitation-the Law; Gravitation-the Explanation; Man�������s Place in the Universe; The Quantum Theory; The New Quantum Theory; World Building; Pointer Readings; Reality; Causation; and Science and Mysticism.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.