Space, Time and the Limits of Human Understanding

In this compendium of essays, some of the world’s leading thinkers discuss our notions of space and time, including observations about the limits of human understanding. The book will appeal to all readers interested in philosophy, but does not require any specialist knowledge.

Time and again, a new understanding of space and time has revolutionised the way we perceive the universe and its underlying workings and many different disciplines have contributed to this understanding, begetting numerous schools of thought in the process.

First on the scene were the philosophers, both eastern and western, with treatises on the nature of space and time, the paradox of Zeno, etc. Later on, physics brought to the table rich but complex mathematical descriptions – classical, quantum and relativistic – to address questions such as the arrow of time, entropy, action at a distance, non-locality and more.

Mathematics deals with abstract notions of space, with topology and its daughters, stochastic processes, and more. In cognitive science and psychology we are concerned with the perceptual aspects of space (vision etc.,) and the sense of time passing. These in turn draw us into qualia and the hard problem of consciousness. Finally we learn from computer scientists about their notions of space (storage) and time (computation), and associated challenges such as the P vs NP problem, quantum computation.

The final section of essays yield insights into the limitations, both of our understanding of space and time, and of the formalism from which it derives. Be it the ancient Descartes demon, or Godel’s incompleteness theorems, or the modern idea of Planck length or Planck time – each appears to impose fundamental limits to our description and comprehension of the world.

Together these essays weave a phenomenological tapestry of space and time that is seamless but discrete, holistic yet atomic, and which will stimulate new cross disciplinary awareness.

GianCarlo Ghirardi is Chair of the Department of Theoretical Physics at the University of Trieste and Consultant and member of the Academic Board of the ICTP, Trieste. He has made important contributions to the foundations of quantum mechanics, particularly through the GRW interpretation, proposed jointly with Rimini and Weber. GianCarlo has authored many articles and books, and organized many conferences. An intellectual leader, he is a recipient of many honors, accolades and international awards.

Shyam is working as a research and resource associate for R. N. Podar institute.? A computer-science graduate, he has a long-standing interest in various areas of mathematics, theoretical physics, philosophy and cognitive sciences.?