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What is consciousness? Does free will exist?There exists a
widespread conviction that the recent scientific discoveries,
especially those related to physics and biology, in particular in
contemporary neurosciences, question the traditional attempts to
give meaning to life and a basis for our moral compass. Current
scientific thinking usually identifies the mind with the mere
exchange of electrical signals among neurons. It claims that
consciousness is an irrelevant epiphenomenon and that introspection
is an unreliable instrument to achieve any form of knowledge. Also,
that the physical universe is causally closed and therefore all
that occurs only has physical causes and all kind of freedom is
excluded. The problem of assigning meaning and purpose to our
lives, to the essential conceptions of the value of human life and
social justice, becomes practically insoluble if one accepts the
predominant notions that supposedly stem from contemporary science.
The clash between the scientific and humanistic conception of human
beings seems to have no option but to abandon the latter.The aim of
this book is to show that, contrary to what is usually considered,
current advances in science allow to re-evaluate the role of
consciousness and human freedom without entering into contradiction
with empirical evidence or scientific theories in place today. The
book starts by analyzing the certainties provided by the scientific
thought and philosophical reflection while discussing the role and
content of physical theories, and in particular, quantum mechanics.
It discusses in detail the nature of quantum objects and the role
they may have in consciousness. In particular, it analyzes models
that allow phenomena of quantum nature to manifest themselves in
the brains of animals and humans, and account for many of the
properties of consciousness. Finally, we analyze how self-conscious
and free entities like persons emerge, making compatible the
scientific view with a renewed and better supported way of
perceiving people, their values and culture.
This volume provides a self-contained introduction to applications
of loop representations, and the related topic of knot theory, in
particle physics and quantum gravity. These topics are of
considerable interest because they provide a unified arena for the
study of the gauge invariant quantization of Yang-Mills theories
and gravity, and suggest a promising approach to the eventual
unification of the four fundamental forces. The book begins with a
detailed review of loop representation theory and then describes
loop representations in Maxwell theory, Yang-Mills theories as well
as lattice techniques. Applications in quantum gravity are then
discussed, with the following chapters considering knot theories,
braid theories and extended loop representations in quantum
gravity. A final chapter assesses the current status of the theory
and points out possible directions for future research. First
published in 1996, this title has been reissued as an Open Access
publication on Cambridge Core.
'Written by young theoretical physicists who are experts in the
field, this volume is meant both to provide an introduction to the
field and to offer a review of the latest developments, not
discussed in many other existing books, for senior researchers. It
will also appeal to scientists who do not work directly on LQG but
are interested in issues at the interface of general relativity and
quantum physics.'CERN CourierThis volume presents a snapshot of the
state-of-the-art in loop quantum gravity from the perspective of
younger leading researchers. It takes the reader from the basics to
recent advances, thereby bridging an important gap.The aim is
two-fold - to provide a contemporary introduction to the entire
field for students and post-docs, and to present an overview of the
current status for more senior researchers. The contributions
include the latest developments that are not discussed in existing
books, particularly recent advances in quantum dynamics both in the
Hamiltonian and sum over histories approaches; and applications to
cosmology of the early universe and to the quantum aspects of black
holes.
'Written by young theoretical physicists who are experts in the
field, this volume is meant both to provide an introduction to the
field and to offer a review of the latest developments, not
discussed in many other existing books, for senior researchers. It
will also appeal to scientists who do not work directly on LQG but
are interested in issues at the interface of general relativity and
quantum physics.'CERN CourierThis volume presents a snapshot of the
state-of-the-art in loop quantum gravity from the perspective of
younger leading researchers. It takes the reader from the basics to
recent advances, thereby bridging an important gap.The aim is
two-fold - to provide a contemporary introduction to the entire
field for students and post-docs, and to present an overview of the
current status for more senior researchers. The contributions
include the latest developments that are not discussed in existing
books, particularly recent advances in quantum dynamics both in the
Hamiltonian and sum over histories approaches; and applications to
cosmology of the early universe and to the quantum aspects of black
holes.
This volume provides a self-contained introduction to applications
of loop representations, and the related topic of knot theory, in
particle physics and quantum gravity. These topics are of
considerable interest because they provide a unified arena for the
study of the gauge invariant quantization of Yang-Mills theories
and gravity, and suggest a promising approach to the eventual
unification of the four fundamental forces. The book begins with a
detailed review of loop representation theory and then describes
loop representations in Maxwell theory, Yang-Mills theories as well
as lattice techniques. Applications in quantum gravity are then
discussed, with the following chapters considering knot theories,
braid theories and extended loop representations in quantum
gravity. A final chapter assesses the current status of the theory
and points out possible directions for future research. First
published in 1996, this title has been reissued as an Open Access
publication on Cambridge Core.
This book provides an accessible introduction to loop quantum
gravity and some of its applications, at a level suitable for
undergraduate students and others with only a minimal knowledge of
college level physics. In particular it is not assumed that the
reader is familiar with general relativity and only minimally
familiar with quantum mechanics and Hamiltonian mechanics. Most
chapters end with problems that elaborate on the text, and aid
learning. Applications such as loop quantum cosmology, black hole
entropy and spin foams are briefly covered. The text is ideally
suited for an undergraduate course in the senior year of a physics
major. It can also be used to introduce undergraduates to general
relativity and quantum field theory as part of a 'special topics'
type of course.
To request a copy of the Solutions Manual, visit: http:
//global.oup.com/uk/academic/physics/admin/solutions
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