The present volume is part of the ‘Worldviews, Science and Us’ series of proceedings. It contains selected contributions on the subject of bridging knowledge and its implications for our perspectives of the world. This volume also represents the proceedings of the interdisciplinary stream of the international workshop (Part 1) Times of Entanglement, 21-22 September 2010 at the Minsheng Art Museum in Shanghai, People's Republic of China in the context of the Shanghai World Expo 2010 and, related cutting-edge investigations in the quantum paradigm from discussion panels organized by the Leo Apostel Center for Interdisciplinary studies within the framework of the ‘Research on the Construction of Integrating Worldviews’ research community set up by the Flanders Fund for Scientific Research. Further information about this research community and a full list of the associated international research centers can be found at www.vub.ac.be/CLEA/res/worldviews/.

Confucianism, Chinese History and Society is a collection of essays authored by world renowned scholars on Chinese studies, including Professor Ho Peng Yoke (Needham Research Institute), Professor Leo Ou-fan Lee (Harvard University), Professor Philip Y S Leung (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Professor Liu Ts'un-Yan (Australian National University), Professor Tu Wei-Ming (Harvard University), Professor Wang Gungwu (National University of Singapore) and Professor Yue Daiyun (Peking University). The volume covers many important themes and topics in Chinese Studies, including the Confucian perspective on human rights, Nationalism and Confucianism, Confucianism and the development of Science in China, crisis and innovation in contemporary Chinese cultures, plurality of cultures in the context of globalization, and comparative study of the city cultures in modern China. These essays were originally delivered at the Professor Wu Teh Yao Memorial Lectures. Wu Teh Yao (1917–1994) was an educator, political scientist, specialist in Confucianism and original drafter of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The present volume is part of the ?Worldviews, Science and Us? series of proceedings. It contains selected contributions on the subject of bridging knowledge and its implications for our perspectives of the world. This volume also represents the proceedings of the interdisciplinary stream of the international workshop (Part 1) Times of Entanglement, 21?22 September 2010 at the Minsheng Art Museum in Shanghai, People's Republic of China in the context of the Shanghai World Expo 2010 and, related cutting-edge investigations in the quantum paradigm from discussion panels organized by the Leo Apostel Center for Interdisciplinary studies within the framework of the ?Research on the Construction of Integrating Worldviews? research community set up by the Flanders Fund for Scientific Research. Further information about this research community and a full list of the associated international research centers can be found at http: //www.vub.ac.be/CLEA/res/worldviews/.

This volume is part of the ?Worldviews, Science and Us? series of proceedings and contains several contributions on the subject of worlds, cultures and society. It represents the proceedings of several workshops and discussion panels organized by the Leo Apostel Center for Interdisciplinary studies within the framework of the ?Research on the Construction of Integrating Worldviews? research community set up by the Flanders Fund for Scientific Research, over the period of time between 2005 to 2010. Further information about this research community and a full list of the associated international research centers can be found at http: //www.vub.ac.be/CLEA/res/worldviews/

This publication features an interdisciplinary group of contributors which questions aspects of today's worldviews and science that are often taken for granted and tacitly determine the boundaries of what is generally conceived of as the 'world' and 'science'. Some authors stress that existing demarcations are obsolete and often prevent new insights. Others show how they influence the way people perceive themselves and believe the world ontologically to be, determining people's actions and the social fabric. There are yet others who point out how a redemarcation may stimulate the development of knowledge acquisition and social well-being. Examples of how bridging knowledge between different fields leads to new crucial insights, while identifying the pattern of too strict a demarcation preventing such insights, are also analyzed in this volume.

This book has its origins in a special issue of the journal Science & Education (Volume 18 Numbers 6–7, 2009). The essay by Costas Skordoulis – ‘Science and Worldviews in the Marxist Tradition’ – did not appear in that special issue due to a mistake in production scheduling. It was published in an earlier issue of the journal (Volume 17 Number 6, 2008), but has been included in this book version of the special issue. As explained in the Introduction, the catalyst for the journal special issue was the essay on ‘Science, Worldviews and Education’ submitted to the journal by Hugh G. Gauch Jr. This was circulated to the other contributors who were asked to write their own contribution in the light of the arguments and literature contained in the paper. Hugh made brief ‘Responses and Clari?cations’ after the papers were written. However the Tanis Edis article on Islam and my own article on Priestley were processed too late to bene?t from Hugh’s appraisal. The journal is associated with the International History, Philosophy, and Science Teaching Group which was formed in 1987. The group stages biennial international conferences and occasional regional conferences (details can be found at www. ihpst. org). The group, though the journal, conferences, and its electronic newsletter (at www. ihpst.

Updated throughout and with three entirely new chapters, Worldviews: An Introduction to the History and Philosophy of Science, Second Edition furthers its reputation as the definitive introductory text on the historical developments and philosophical issues that inform our scientific view of the world around us. Represents an innovative introduction to the history and philosophy of science, designed especially for those coming to the subject for the first time Updated new edition features the addition of chapters focusing on scientific laws, evolutionary theory, and implications of evolution Covers the key historical developments and philosophical themes that have impacted our scientific view of the world around us Analyzes the transitions from the Aristotelian worldview to the Newtonian worldview to a new and currently developing worldview Explores challenges to the Western scientific worldview brought on by recent discoveries