Far Future Universe

by George R. Ellis

Overview

Will our universe continue to expand 100 billion years from now? Does human life and all intelligence inevitably come to an end as the universe evolves? Could our present space be converted catastrophically in to a new kind of space governed by different physical laws? Can we construct a theology of the future universe? Would the continuation of the universe for eternity be a good thing? The Far-Future Universe presents eighteen provocative essays offering speculations on various scenarios for the future, from the perspectives of cosmology, physics, biology, humanity and theology. Other contributors consider global time, artificial intelligence, religious ideas about the end of the world, and the nature of existence. Stimulating, challenging and exciting, these visions of the far future are a starting point for further reflection and speculation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781890151904
Publisher:	Templeton Press
Publication date:	10/30/2002
Edition description:	First Edition, First Edition, First Edition, 1
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	984,131
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

George F. R. Ellis is as widely respected for his anti-apartheid Quaker activism as for his contributions to cosmology. For the past decade, he has been a professor of applied mathematics at the University of Cape Town while lecturing throughout the world. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. The many prizes he has been awarded include the Star of South Africa Medal, which was presented to him in 1999 by President Nelson Mandela. Co-author with Stephen W. Hawking of The Large Scale Structure of Space Time (1973), he has also written more than 200 scientific papers and eight major books.

Editorial Reviews

How might religious descriptions of an afterlife, the age to come or eternity be interpreted in terms of current scientific knowledge and speculation about the long-term future of humanity and the universe? This collection brings together theologians, philosophers and scientists (most of them physicists) to discuss the significance of cosmic time-scales which, for the future as well as the past, seem to dwarf the human horizon. Several of the best-known writers on such topics, including John Barrow, Paul Davies, Robert John Russell and Freeman Dyson, are represented here-the latter by both his 1979 paper "Time Without End" and a new response to recent critics. Theologian Jergen Moltmann, aiming to "turn the subject upside down," contributes an authoritative but innovative discussion of the themes and implications of Christian eschatology for the future of the universe. Anthologies produced from conference proceedings-this time co-sponsored by the Templeton Foundation and the Vatican Observatory-are not unusual in the theology-and-science field. But this collection is stronger than most due to the quality of the individual pieces and the fairly well-defined topic. One limitation of this format is that most essays reflect the contributors' initial perspectives, rather than any ensuing exchange of ideas or clarification of terms. Readers interested in how different viewpoints might cohere or conflict will largely have to tie the loose ends together themselves. Still, this is a valuable contribution to the growing literature on theology and science. (Nov.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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