This introduction to one of the liveliest and most popular fields in philosophy is written specifically for a beginning readership with no background in philosophy or science. Step-by-step analyses of the key arguments are provided and the philosophical heart of the issues is revealed without recourse to jargon, maths, or logical formulas. The book introduces Einstein's revolutionary ideas in a clear and simple way, along with the concepts and arguments of philosophers, both ancient and modern that have proved of lasting value. Specifically, the theories of the ancient Greek philosophers, Zeno, Euclid and Parmenides are considered alongside the ideas of Newton, Leibniz and Kant as well as the giants of twentieth-century physics, Einstein and Lorentz. The problems at the heart of the philosophy of space and time, such as change, motion, infinity, shape, and inflation, are examined and the seismic impact made by relativity theory and quantum theory is assessed in the light of the latest research. The writing is lucid and entertaining, allowing a beginning readership to grasp some difficult concepts while offering the more experienced reader a succinct and illuminating presentation of the state of the debate. "Space, Time and Einstein" shows the reader the excitement of scientific discovery and the beauty of theory in the search for answers to these fundamental questions.

"A ground-breaking study of Plato's dialogues, which presents an entirely new way of thinking about Plato. The adoption of computer-generated stichometric analysis of Plato's dialogues and its connection to Pythagorean music opens new lines of inquiry not only in philosophy but in music, mathematics, and literary theory. By discovering the elegant formal unity underneath Plato's meandering dialogues, Kennedy has developed a new approach to study Plato." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review J.B. Kennedy presents a radical interpretation of the dialogues of Plato. In a detailed and systematic examination of the Symposium and Euthyphro, Kennedy reveals an underlying musical structure to Plato's dialogues, one that uses symbols to encode Pythagorean doctrines. The followers of Pythagoras famously thought that the cosmos had a hidden musical structure and that wise philosophers would be able to hear this "harmony of the spheres." Kennedy, an expert in Pythagorean mathematics and music theory, shows that Plato - thought by many of his contemporaries and followers to have been influenced by the Pythagoreans - built a similar, musical structure into his dialogues. Kennedy's careful stichometric analysis reveals that each dialogue can be divided into twelve parts, each symbolically representing the notes in a twelve-note musical scale. These passages are shown to be relatively harmonious or dissonant. Plato used, Kennedy shows, the underlying musical scale as an outline for his dialogues, with arguments and episodes populating the intervals between notes, and major concepts or turns in the argument located at notes. Kennedy's findings are shown to chime with many of Plato's ancient followers who insisted that Plato used symbols to conceal his own views within the dialogues. That modern commentators have denied this, Kennedy argues, is a legacy of the Reformation's turn towards literalism and its rejection of theological allegory. The Musical Structure of Plato's Dialogues argues for the rehabilitation of the allegorical Plato. It is a bold and ambitious book and one that will prompt much debate.

"A ground-breaking study of Plato's dialogues, which presents an entirely new way of thinking about Plato. The adoption of computer-generated stichometric analysis of Plato's dialogues and its connection to Pythagorean music opens new lines of inquiry not only in philosophy but in music, mathematics, and literary theory. By discovering the elegant formal unity underneath Plato's meandering dialogues, Kennedy has developed a new approach to study Plato." - Bryn Mawr Classical Review J.B. Kennedy presents a radical interpretation of the dialogues of Plato. In a detailed and systematic examination of the Symposium and Euthyphro, Kennedy reveals an underlying musical structure to Plato's dialogues, one that uses symbols to encode Pythagorean doctrines. The followers of Pythagoras famously thought that the cosmos had a hidden musical structure and that wise philosophers would be able to hear this "harmony of the spheres." Kennedy, an expert in Pythagorean mathematics and music theory, shows that Plato - thought by many of his contemporaries and followers to have been influenced by the Pythagoreans - built a similar, musical structure into his dialogues. Kennedy's careful stichometric analysis reveals that each dialogue can be divided into twelve parts, each symbolically representing the notes in a twelve-note musical scale. These passages are shown to be relatively harmonious or dissonant. Plato used, Kennedy shows, the underlying musical scale as an outline for his dialogues, with arguments and episodes populating the intervals between notes, and major concepts or turns in the argument located at notes. Kennedy's findings are shown to chime with many of Plato's ancient followers who insisted that Plato used symbols to conceal his own views within the dialogues. That modern commentators have denied this, Kennedy argues, is a legacy of the Reformation's turn towards literalism and its rejection of theological allegory. The Musical Structure of Plato's Dialogues argues for the rehabilitation of the allegorical Plato. It is a bold and ambitious book and one that will prompt much debate.

This introduction to one of the liveliest and most popular fields in philosophy is written specifically for a beginning readership with no background in philosophy or science. Step-by-step analyses of the key arguments are provided and the philosophical heart of the issues is revealed without recourse to jargon, maths, or logical formulas. The book introduces Einstein's revolutionary ideas in a clear and simple way, along with the concepts and arguments of philosophers, both ancient and modern that have proved of lasting value. Specifically, the theories of the ancient Greek philosophers, Zeno, Euclid and Parmenides are considered alongside the ideas of Newton, Leibniz and Kant as well as the giants of twentieth-century physics, Einstein and Lorentz. The problems at the heart of the philosophy of space and time, such as change, motion, infinity, shape, and inflation, are examined and the seismic impact made by relativity theory and quantum theory is assessed in the light of the latest research. The writing is lucid and entertaining, allowing a beginning readership to grasp some difficult concepts while offering the more experienced reader a succinct and illuminating presentation of the state of the debate. "Space, Time and Einstein" shows the reader the excitement of scientific discovery and the beauty of theory in the search for answers to these fundamental questions.