Publisher's Synopsis
Ask someone "What time is it?" and the response will be without hesitation. However, ask "What is time?" and you will get a quite different response. The answer to this question (and others) is presented three parts; Part 1: Space and Time, Part 2: Perception and Reality, and Part 3: Consciousness and Deity. Each of the six words in these titles all have common everyday conversational meanings, and all six have less familiar, deeper meanings. Questions such as what is space and why does consciousness exist, and new notions about deity are presented for the non-specialist in an informal and understandable manner. Is life merely the emergence of certain properties due to an appropriate aggregation of organic molecules or is the basis of life found at all levels and in all world-stuff? What concrete knowledge do we have of the intrinsic properties and capabilities of matter at the most basic levels? For example, in Part 1, space and time are considered, and then reconsidered to show that our notions about space and time are possibly wrong and that new ways of thinking about time are possible, desirable, and even necessary. In a similar manner, the author takes on the topics of perception, reality, consciousness, and deity such that each are considered and reconsidered in a manner that offers new and novel insight into each. The author claims that religious sentiment has many emotions, but perhaps the most important one is the feeling of a striving toward something greater than ourselves with which we seek harmony and concordance such that it is a spiritual appetite and a natural result of our inherent tendency to seek within the hierarchy of ministrations that which is greater and higher than ourselves. Additionally, the author states that current knowledge of the vastness of the universe and the unexpected strangeness of the micro-world require that we rethink some of our most strongly held beliefs. We need to remember that many of our beliefs originated thousands of years ago, in the setting of a small universe, and where earth was the center of that universe. Although modern cosmology has many questionable notions, enough of it is established to the point where rethinking our place in the universe is both desirable and necessary. As this work progresses, it becomes increasingly conceptual and speculative. In this way, the author opens new doors into our world, which provides enrichment and a greater appreciation for the complexity and wonder of our world. It is safe to say, that some things that now seem complex will be simplified and some things that seem simple will become more complex. In this way, the author opens new doors into our world, which provides enrichment and a greater appreciation for the complexity and wonder of our world. As the author states in the preface, "Portions of this book may be common knowledge to some, new and novel to some, and, possibly, completely absurd to some. I hope that not too many will have the latter experience. Of course, the same reader could have all three experiences."
