This book discusses analogies between relativistic cosmology and various physical systems or phenomena, mostly in the earth sciences, that are described formally by the same equations. Of the two independent equations describing the universe as a whole, one (the Friedmann equation) has the form of an energy conservation equation for one-dimensional motion. The second equation is fairly easy to satisfy (although not automatic): as a result, cosmology lends itself to analogies with several systems. Given that a variety of universes are mathematically possible, several analogies exist. Analogies discussed in this book include equilibrium beach profiles, glacial valleys, the shapes of glaciers, heating/cooling models, freezing bodies of water, capillary fluids, Omori's law for earthquake aftershocks, lava flows, and a few mathematical analogies (Fibonacci's sequence, logistic equation, geodesics of various spaces, and classic variational problems). A century of research in cosmology can solve problems on the other side of an analogy, which in turn can suggest ideas in gravity. Finding a cosmic analogy solves the inverse variational problem of finding a Lagrangian and a Hamiltonian for that system, when nobody thought one exists. Often, the symmetries of the cosmological equations translate in new symmetries of the analogous system. The book surprises the reader with analogies between natural systems and exotic systems such as possible universes.

Although scholars routinely state that the Iliad is an "oral poem," since very near the time of its composition the great epic has circulated as a text stabilized in writing. Thus whether or not it is in some sense "oral poetry," the Iliad undoubtedly has features that render it quite satisfactory to readers and reading. But the question of what these features might be has been difficult for modern Homeric scholarship even to frame, much less address, within the research paradigm of "oral poetics." In Homer's Cosmic Fabrication Bruce Heiden delineates a new approach aimed at evaluating what the Iliad furnishes to readers that makes it comprehensible and engaging. His program conceptualizes the act of reading as a flexible repertoire of cognitive functions that a reader might deploy in collaboration with the poem's signs. By positing certain functions hypothetically and applying them to the poem, Heiden's experiments uncover the kind and degree of suitable "reading material" the poem provides. These analyses reveal that the trajectory of events in the Iliad manifests the central agency of one character, Zeus, and that the transmitted articulation of the epic into chapter-like "books" conforms to distinct narrative subtrajectories. The analyses also show, however, that the fixed sequence of "books" functions suitably as a design that cues attention to the major crises in the story, as well as to themes that develop its significance. The transmitted arrangement therefore furnishes an implicit cognitive map that both eases comprehension of the storyline and indicates previously unexplored pathways of interpretation. Through Homer's Cosmic Fabrication enthusiasts of the Iliad will gain enhanced understanding of the epic's poetic design and the philosophical rewards it offers to thoughtful study.

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication.

Accessible and scholarly, this classic book considers the underlying philosophy and the aesthetics of Chinese art and poetry, the expression of the Taoist approach to existence. Chung-yuan Chang's always lucid narrative explores the relationship between the Tao and the creative arts, introducing classic paintings and poems to bring Taoism to life.

In Echoes of an Invisible World Jacomien Prins offers an account of the transformation of the notion of Pythagorean world harmony during the Renaissance and the role of the Italian philosophers Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) and Francesco Patrizi (1529-1597) in redefining the relationship between cosmic order and music theory. By concentrating on Ficino’s and Patrizi’s work, the book chronicles the emergence of a new musical reality between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a reality in which beauty and the complementary idea of celestial harmony were gradually replaced by concepts of expressivity and emotion, that is to say, by a form of idealism that was ontologically more subjective than the original Pythagorean and Platonic metaphysics.

Revolutions: Finished and Unfinished, From Primal to Final is an important philosophical contribution to the study of revolution. It not only makes new contributions to the study of particular revolutions, but to developing a philosophy of revolution itself. Many of the contributors have been inspired by the philosophical approaches of Eric Voegelin or Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, and the tension between these two social philosophies adds to the philosophical uniqueness and richness of the work.