Travels in Four Dimensions: The Enigmas of Space and Time / Edition 1

by Robin Le Poidevin

Overview

Does time really flow, or is that simply an illusion? Did time have a beginning? What does it mean to say that time has a direction? Does space have boundaries, or is it infinite? Are our space and time unique, or could there be other, parallel worlds with their own space and time? Do space and time really exist, or are they simply the constructions of our minds?

Robin Le Poidevin provides a clear, witty, and stimulating introduction to these deep questions, and many other mind-boggling puzzles and paradoxes. He gives a vivid sense of the difficulties raised by our ordinary ideas about space and time, but he also gives us the basis to think about these problems independently, avoiding large amounts of jargon and technicality. No prior knowledge of philosophy is required to enjoy this book. The universe might seem very different after reading it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198752554
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	02/17/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	294
Sales rank:	529,043
Product dimensions:	8.14(w) x 5.24(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

Robin Le Poidevin is Professor of Metaphysics at the University of Leeds. He is the author of Questions of Time and Tense and coauthor of The Philosophy of Time.

Table of Contents

Preface1. The Measure of All Things2. Change3. A Box with No Sides? 4. Curves and Dimensions5. The Beginning and End of Time6. The Edge of Space7. Infinity and Paradox8. Does Time Pass? 9. The Cinematic Universe10. Interfering with History11. Other Times and Spaces12. The Arrows of TimeConcluding ThoughtsMr Dunne's Dream and Other ProblemsFurther ReadingBibliographyIndex

Editorial Reviews

"A lucid philosophical primer on space and time... unquestionably mind-expanding stuff."— The Guardian

From the Publisher