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Has Cosmology Advanced in Recent Years ?


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Starting with Einstein's General Theory of Relativity (1915) and the ever growing accumulation of astronomical data from land based and orbiting telescopes, our understanding of the universe has vastly advanced. Yet the fundamental philosophical questions of cosmology remain unanswered, Are space and time finite of infinite? Has the universe a beginning and an end? Is there a purpose, design of meaning in the scheme of things. (teleology)?

Recent observation of very remote galaxies into 12 billion tight years away, and the current estimate that the universe contains over 100 billion gataxies, each with many billions of stars, present us a picture impossible to visualize and reminds us of the limits of human cognitive power. Philosophy though not advancing in the sense of scientific cosmology, can here tay bare the source of the mystery and cure our disquiet reminding us of Wittgenstein'’s staternent about the therapeutic use of philasophy. Philasophy according to Wittgenstein is wholly distinet from science, philosophy orily clarifies questions and does not contribute to the advance of a science like astronomy of cosmology.


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  • C Callender and C Hoefer, Philosphy of Space-Time Physics (in the Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy.......of Science) 2002

  • Ron Cowe, Galaxy Hunters, National Geographic Magazine, February 2003.

  • HFM Goener, What kind of Science is Cosmology? (in E. Rudolph and I.Stamatescu (eds)Philosophy......... Mathematics and Modern Physics, Springer Verlag) 1994.

  • J Horgan, The End of Science, Broadway Books, New York, 1997.

  • J Mosterin, Observation and Speculation in Cosmology (in E. Agazzi and M. Pauri (eds): The Reality of the Unobservable, 219-229, Kluwer Acad Publishers), 2000.

  • MK Munitz, Cosmic Understanding, Princeton University Press, 1986.

  • Martin Rees, Before the Beginning, The Free Press, U K, 1997.

  • S Sanatani, Philosophy as a Guide fo Life, Proc. 24th International Wittgenstein Symposium, Kirchberg .................Vol. 2 p. 264, 2001.

  • Scientific American, Understanding Cosmology, Warner Books, 2002.


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  • Has Cosmology Advanced in Recent Years ?

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Authors

Saurabh Sanatani
Vienna, Austria

Abstract


Starting with Einstein's General Theory of Relativity (1915) and the ever growing accumulation of astronomical data from land based and orbiting telescopes, our understanding of the universe has vastly advanced. Yet the fundamental philosophical questions of cosmology remain unanswered, Are space and time finite of infinite? Has the universe a beginning and an end? Is there a purpose, design of meaning in the scheme of things. (teleology)?

Recent observation of very remote galaxies into 12 billion tight years away, and the current estimate that the universe contains over 100 billion gataxies, each with many billions of stars, present us a picture impossible to visualize and reminds us of the limits of human cognitive power. Philosophy though not advancing in the sense of scientific cosmology, can here tay bare the source of the mystery and cure our disquiet reminding us of Wittgenstein'’s staternent about the therapeutic use of philasophy. Philasophy according to Wittgenstein is wholly distinet from science, philosophy orily clarifies questions and does not contribute to the advance of a science like astronomy of cosmology.


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