Research Catalog

Title

The rigor of angels : Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the ultimate nature of reality / William Egginton.

Author

Egginton, William, 1969-

Publication

• New York : Pantheon Books, [2023]
• ©2023

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xxvii, 338 pages; 25 cm

Summary

"A monumental and riveting account of how a poet, a physicist, and a philosopher pursued truth to the very limits of human apprehension and revealed the fundamental nature of our place in the universe. Spiraling in the wreckage of a failed love affair, Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges channeled his devastation into his work, reassessing the slippery nature of our own identities and the way we perceive reality, ultimately securing his place in the literary pantheon. Doggedly fighting against the scientific establishment for his controversial interpretation of quantum mechanics, German physicist Werner Heisenberg dared to accept the experimental evidence at face value, leading him to a principle that has been a guiding light for physicists ever since. Prussian philosopher Immanuel Kant, horrified by the possibility that all knowledge might rest on uncertain grounds, undertook to test the limits of reason, placing human understanding on a firmer footing than ever before. What these three thinkers shared, in addition to their uncommon intellect, was their skepticism-not only of the accepted wisdom of their culture, but also of their own reasoning. What set them apart was their willingness to submit their ideas to the same rigor they would bring to someone else's. In so doing, they made extraordinary leaps in answering some of the most enduring questions about the nature of reality-about the flow of time in human consciousness, about the origins and nature of the universe, but most importantly, about the possibility of coming to know reality as it is itself. In an era like ours, in which dogma of all kinds seems to rule the day, the story of these thinkers serves as a crucial reminder that maverick thinking demands submitting our intuitions and even our own deeply held beliefs to the cold light of reason. In their lives and work we recognize that the mysteries of our place in the world may always loom over us, not as a threat, but as a reminder of our humble humanity"--

Alternative Title

Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the ultimate nature of reality

Subject

• Borges, Jorge Luis, 1899-1986
• Heisenberg, Werner, 1901-1976
• Kant, Immanuel, 1724-1804
• Reality
• Ontology
• ontology (metaphysics)
• Consciousness
• Reasoning

Genre/Form

Informational works.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages [285]-319) and index.

Contents

Part I. Standing on a sliver of time. Unforgettable ; A brief history of this very instant ; Visualize this! -- Part II. Not being God. Entanglements ; Sup specie aeternitatis ; In the blink of an eye -- Part III. Does the universe have an edge? The universe (which others call the Library) ; Gravitas ; Made to measure -- Part IV. The abyss of freedom. Free will ; Forking paths ; Putting the demon to rest -- Postscript.

Call Number

JFE 23-3262

ISBN

• 9780593316306
• 0593316304
• 9780593316313 (canceled/invalid)

LCCN

2022062201

OCLC

1354648190

Author

Egginton, William, 1969- author.

Title

The rigor of angels : Borges, Heisenberg, Kant, and the ultimate nature of reality / William Egginton.

Publisher

New York : Pantheon Books, [2023]

Copyright Date

©2023

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages [285]-319) and index.

Other Form:

Online version: Egginton, William. Rigor of angels New York : Pantheon Books, [2023] 9780593316313 (DLC) 2022062202

Research Call Number

JFE 23-3262