The traditional topics of the "philosophy of nature" - space, time, causality, the structure of the universe - are overwhelmingly present in our modern scientific theories. This book traces the complex paths that discussion of these topics has followed, from Plato and Aristotle, through Descartes, Leibniz, Kant and other great thinkers, right up to the relativistic cosmologies and the grand unified theories of contemporary science. In the light of this historical development, it becomes clear that modern science gives us not only a technological power over the world, but also a deeper understanding of physical reality. In this sense, science could be regarded as an heir to the traditional "philosophy of nature". Moreover, the reader will learn why science itself deserves to be the subject of philosophical reflection.

We humans are collectively driven by a powerful - yet not fully explained - instinct to understand. We would like to see everything established, proven, laid bare. The more important an issue, the more we desire to see it clarified, stripped of all secrets, all shades of gray. What could be more important than to understand the Universe and ourselves as a part of it? To find a window onto our origin and our destiny? This book examines how far our modern cosmological theories - with their sometimes audacious models, such as inflation, cyclic histories, quantum creation, parallel universes - can take us towards answering these questions. Can such theories lead us to ultimate truths, leaving nothing unexplained? Last, but not least, Heller addresses the thorny problem of why and whether we should expect to find theories with all-encompassing explicative power.

This study is based on a wide range of business sources as well as newspapers, journals, novels and oral history, allowing Heller to put forward a new interpretation of working conditions for London clerks, highlighting the ways in which clerical work changed and modernized over this period.

This two-volume collection brings together the most important articles on the tragedies of the commons and anticommons. The first volume presents the bedrock articles that define commons and anticommons theory, from Aristotle to the present. The second volume continues with cutting edge property theory and applications. A judicious selection of articles shows how commons and anticommons metaphors inform current debates at the innovation frontier, ranging from patent thickets to broadcast spectrum licensing. In this extensive introduction, Michael Heller contextualizes the selected papers and provides scholars and policy-makers with an entry point into this rapidly evolving field.

This study is based on a wide range of business sources as well as newspapers, journals, novels and oral history, allowing Heller to put forward a new interpretation of working conditions for London clerks, highlighting the ways in which clerical work changed and modernized over this period.

This concise landmark in law and jurisprudence offers the first coherent, liberal account of contract law. The Choice Theory of Contracts answers the field's most pressing questions: what is the 'freedom' in 'freedom of contract'? What core values animate contract law and how do those values interrelate? How must the state act when it shapes contract law? Hanoch Dagan and Michael Heller - two of the world's leading private law theorists - show exactly why and how freedom matters to contract law. They start with the most appealing tenets of modern liberalism and end with their implications for contract law. This readable, engaging book gives contract scholars, teachers, and students a powerful normative vocabulary for understanding canonical cases, refining key doctrines, and solving long-standing puzzles in the law.

We humans are collectively driven by a powerful - yet not fully explained - instinct to understand. We would like to see everything established, proven, laid bare. The more important an issue, the more we desire to see it clarified, stripped of all secrets, all shades of gray. What could be more important than to understand the Universe and ourselves as a part of it? To find a window onto our origin and our destiny? This book examines how far our modern cosmological theories - with their sometimes audacious models, such as inflation, cyclic histories, quantum creation, parallel universes - can take us towards answering these questions. Can such theories lead us to ultimate truths, leaving nothing unexplained? Last, but not least, Heller addresses the thorny problem of why and whether we should expect to find theories with all-encompassing explicative power.

Part I. Application of Microarray Technologies: Electronic Microarray Technology and Applications in Genomics and Proteomics.- Gene Expression Profiling Utilizing Microarray Technology and RT-PCR.- Microarray and Fluidic Chip for Extracellular Sensing.- Cell Physiometry Tools Based on Dielectrophoresis.- Hitting the Spot: The Promise of Protein Microarrays.- Use of Electric Field Array Devices for Assisted Assembly of DNA Nanocomponents and Other Nanofabrication Applications.- Peptide Arrays in Proteomics and Drug Discovery.- From One-bead One-compound Combinatorial Libraries to Chemical Microarrays.- Part II. Advanced Microfluidic Devices and Human Genome Project.- Plastic Microfluidic Devices for DNA and Protein Analyses.- Centrifuge Based Fluidic Platforms.- Sequencing the human genome: A historical perspective on challenges for systems integration.- Part III. Nanoprobes for Imaging, Sensing and Therapy.- Hairpin Nanoprobes for Gene Detection.- Fluorescent Lanthanide Labels with Time-resolved Fluorometry in DNA Analysis.- Role of SNPs and Haplotypes in Human Disease and Drug Development.- Control of Biomolecular Activity by Nanoparticle Antennas.- Sequence-dependent Rigidity of DNA: Influence on DNA-protein interactions and DNA in Nanochannels.- Engineered Ribozymes: Efficient Tools for Molecular Gene Therapy and Gene Discovery

This interdisciplinary study of infinity explores the concept through the prism of mathematics and then offers more expansive investigations in areas beyond mathematical boundaries to reflect the broader, deeper implications of infinity for human intellectual thought. More than a dozen world-renowned researchers in the fields of mathematics, physics, cosmology, philosophy and theology offer a rich intellectual exchange among various current viewpoints, rather than displaying a static picture of accepted views on infinity. The book starts with a historical examination of the transformation of infinity from a philosophical and theological study to one dominated by mathematics. It then offers technical discussions on the understanding of mathematical infinity. Following this, the book considers the perspectives of physics and cosmology: can infinity be found in the real universe? Finally, the book returns to questions of philosophical and theological aspects of infinity.

The traditional topics of the "philosophy of nature" - space, time, causality, the structure of the universe - are overwhelmingly present in our modern scientific theories. This book traces the complex paths that discussion of these topics has followed, from Plato and Aristotle, through Descartes, Leibniz, Kant and other great thinkers, right up to the relativistic cosmologies and the grand unified theories of contemporary science. In the light of this historical development, it becomes clear that modern science gives us not only a technological power over the world, but also a deeper understanding of physical reality. In this sense, science could be regarded as an heir to the traditional "philosophy of nature". Moreover, the reader will learn why science itself deserves to be the subject of philosophical reflection.

The infinite No other question has ever moved so profoundly the spirit of man; no other idea has so fruitfully stimulated his intellect; yet no other concept stands in greater need of clarification than that of the infinite. David Hilbert This interdisciplinary study of infinity explores the concept through the prism of mathematics and then offers more expansive investigations in areas beyond mathematical boundaries to reflect the broader, deeper implications of infinity for human intellectual thought. More than a dozen world renowned researchers in the fields of mathematics, physics, cosmology, philosophy, and theology offer a rich intellectual exchange among various current viewpoints, rather than displaying a static picture of accepted views on infinity. The book starts with a historical examination of the transformation of infinity from a philosophical and theological study to one dominated by mathematics. It then offers technical discussions on the understanding of mathematical infinity. Following this, the book considers the perspectives of physics and cosmology: Can infinity be found in the real universe? Finally, the book returns to questions of philosophical and theological aspects of infinity."

Why is our world comprehensible? This question seems so trivial that few people have dared to ask it. In this book we explore the deep roots of the mystery of rationality. The inquiry into the rationality of the world began over two-and-a-half-thousand years ago, when a few courageous people tried to understand the world with the help of reason alone, rejecting the comforting fabric of myth and legend.

After many philosophical and theological adventures the Greek concept of rationality laid the foundations of a revolutionary way of thinking: the scientific method, which transformed the world.

But looking at the newest fruits of the world's rationality - relativity theory, quantum mechanics, the unification of physics, quantum gravity - the question arises: what are the limits of the scientific method? The principal tenet of rationality is that you should never stop asking questions until everything has been answered ...

"A Comprehensible Universe is a thoughtful book by two authors who have professional expertise in physics and astronomy and also in theology. They are exceptionally well informed about the history of the relation between science and theology, and they maintain throughout their discussion a respect for empirical evidence and a dedication to rationality. Even though I do not agree with all of their conclusions on matters of great complexity I am impressed by the fairness of their argumentation."

Abner Shimony, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Physics, Boston University

Less than twenty years ago photolithography and medicine were total strangers to one another.Theyhadnotyetmet,andnotevenlookingeachotherupintheclassi?eds.And then,nucleicacidchips,micro?uidicsandmicroarraysenteredthescene,andrapidlythese strangersbecameindispensablepartnersinbiomedicine. Asrecentlyastenyearsagothenotionofapplyingnanotechnologytothe?ghtagainstd- easewasdominantlytheprovinceofthe?ctionwriters.Thoughtsofnanoparticle-vehicled deliveryoftherapeuticalstodiseasedsiteswereanexerciseinscienti?csolitude,andgrounds for questioning one's ability to think "like an established scientist". And today we have nanoparticulatepaclitaxelastheprimeoptionagainstmetastaticbreastcancer,proteomic pro?lingdiagnostictoolsbasedontargetsurfacenanotexturing,nanoparticlecontrastagents forallradiologicalmodalities,nanotechnologiesembeddedinhigh-distributionlaboratory equipment, and no less than 152 novel nanomedical entities in the regulatory pipeline in theUSalone. Thisisatransformingimpact,byanymeasure,withclearevidenceoffurtheracceleration, supported by very vigorous investments by the public and private sectors throughout the world. Even joining the dots in a most conservative, linear fashion, it is easy to envision scenariosofpersonalizedmedicinesuchasthefollowing: patient-speci?cpreventionsupplantinggross,facelessinterventionstrategies; early detection protocols identifying signs of developing disease at the time when thediseaseismosteasilysubdued; personally tailored intervention strategies that are so routinely and inexpensively realized,thataccesstothemcanbesecuredbyeveryone; technologiesallowingforlonglivesinthecompanyofdisease,asgoodneighbors, withoutimpairmentofthequalityoflifeitself. Thesevisionswillbecomereality.Thecontributionsfromtheworldsofsmall-scalete- nologies are required to realize them. Invaluable progress towards them was recorded by the very scientists that have joined forces to accomplish the effort presented in this 4-volume collection. It has been a great privilege for me to be at their service, and at the service of the readership, in aiding with its assembly. May I take this oppor- nity to express my gratitude to all of the contributing Chapter Authors, for their - spired and thorough work. For many of them, writing about the history of their s- cialty?eldsofBioMEMSandBiomedicalNanotechnologyhasreallybeenreportingabout their personal, individual adventures through scienti? c discovery and innovation-a sort xxii FOREWORD of family album, with equations, diagrams, bibliographies and charts replacing Holiday pictures...

This concise landmark in law and jurisprudence offers the first coherent, liberal account of contract law. The Choice Theory of Contracts answers the field's most pressing questions: what is the 'freedom' in 'freedom of contract'? What core values animate contract law and how do those values interrelate? How must the state act when it shapes contract law? Hanoch Dagan and Michael Heller - two of the world's leading private law theorists - show exactly why and how freedom matters to contract law. They start with the most appealing tenets of modern liberalism and end with their implications for contract law. This readable, engaging book gives contract scholars, teachers, and students a powerful normative vocabulary for understanding canonical cases, refining key doctrines, and solving long-standing puzzles in the law.

'A delicious book.' Jared Diamond Who controls the space around an aeroplane seat: you or the person behind you trying to work on their laptop? Who owns your favourite football player? And why do Facebook and Google want your private data? In Mine! Michael Heller and James Salzman reveal the hidden economic and social rules that guide everyday life, demonstrating that much of what we assume about ownership is wrong. Whether a lost wallet, a playground swing or a London flat, Mine! explores what ownership means and why it governs everything we do.

This book gets to the heart of science by asking a fundamental question about its essence: what is the true nature of space and time? Both defy modern physics, and scientists find themselves continually searching for answers. This unique volume brings together world leaders in cosmology, particle physics, quantum gravity, mathematics, philosophy and theology, to provide fresh insights into the deep structure of space and time. In an attempt to understand the question, subjects ranging from dark matter to the philosophical and theological implications of spacetime are covered, ensuring that the issue is thoroughly explored. Interesting and thought-provoking answers provide a well-rounded read.

Literary Nonfiction. Poetry History & Criticism. This expanded edition of SPEAKING THE ESTRANGED brings together Michael Heller's writings on the work of George Oppen (1908-1984), one of America's most remarkable and distinguished poets. Heller's essays, written over the last twenty years since his groundbreaking book on the Objectivist poets, CONVICTION'S NET OF BRANCHES, cover all of Oppen's poetry and how other poets and critics have read him. They touch on all phases of his career, from his early roots in the Objectivist tradition to his abandonment of poetry for political and social activism in the nineteen thirties and his coming back to poetry in the nineteen fiftes. Oppen's work won the Pulitzer Prize in 1968, and is considered by many to be one of the most extraordinary and original bodies of poetry in the twentieth century.

This ground-breaking collection of essays tackles the philosophical issues at play in cosmology, physics, mathematics, and neuroscience. The book considers topics such as the presence of ontology in cosmological theory and physics. It also weighs the philosophical issues connected with mathematical method, the neuroscience of emotions, and evolutionary anthropology. The contributions look at structuralism in the Platonic philosophy of science and the issue of knowledge and faith. This book is a must read for anyone interested in the philosophy of science and the increasingly blurred borders between the two.

'A delicious book.' Jared Diamond Who controls the space around an aeroplane seat: you or the person behind you trying to work on their laptop? Who owns your favourite football player? And why do Facebook and Google want your private data? In Mine! Michael Heller and James Salzman reveal the hidden economic and social rules that guide everyday life, demonstrating that much of what we assume about ownership is wrong. Whether a lost wallet, a playground swing or a London flat, Mine! explores what ownership means and why it governs everything we do.

'A delicious book.' Jared Diamond Who controls the space around an aeroplane seat: you or the person behind you trying to work on their laptop? Who owns your favourite football player? And why do Facebook and Google want your private data? In Mine! Michael Heller and James Salzman reveal the hidden economic and social rules that guide everyday life, demonstrating that much of what we assume about ownership is wrong. Whether a lost wallet, a playground swing or a London flat, Mine! explores what ownership means and why it governs everything we do.

"La cosa piu incomprensibile del mondo e il fatto che sia comprensibile," ebbe a dire un giorno Albert Einstein. A ben pensarci, non e stupefacente che l Universo abbia un intima essenza razionale e matematica, tale da abilitare la mente umana a indagarlo e a conoscerlo?

Questo libro tratta dell evoluzione storica del concetto di razionalita, dal mondo greco classico fino ai nostri giorni, passando attraverso i contributi, spesso sottovalutati o mal compresi, dei Padri della Chiesa e dei teologi medievali. Se non si tengono nel giusto conto i risultati del costruttivo e serrato confronto tra scienza e religione sul tema della comprensibilita del mondo, non si possono cogliere le specificita delle figure di due "giganti" come Galileo e Newton, della scoperta del metodo scientifico e dei conseguenti trionfi della scienza moderna. L interazione conflittuale tra scienza e teologia attraversa i secoli e rappresenta una delle pagine piu entusiasmanti della storia del pensiero umano.