Seeing Double: Shared Identities in Physics, Philosophy, and Literature

Pesic, Peter

ISBN 10: 0262162059 / ISBN 13: 9780262162050

Published by The MIT Press Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2002

About this Item

The boards have a few light marks and some fading along the edges. Small dark mark to the bottom edges of the pages. Previous owner's name in pen on the front free endpaper. The jacket has a few light surface dents and scratches. First printing.

Seller Inventory # 016526

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Seeing Double: Shared Identities in Physics, Philosophy, and Literature
• Publisher: The MIT Press Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262162059
• ISBN 13: 9780262162050
• Binding: Original Cloth
• Edition: First Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

CHOICE Outstanding Academic Book for 2002

The separateness and connection of individuals is perhaps the central question of human life: What, exactly, is my individuality? To what degree is it unique? To what degree can it be shared, and how? To the many philosophical and literary speculations about these topics over time, modern science has added the curious twist of quantum theory, which requires that the elementary particles of which everything consists have no individuality at all. All aspects of chemistry depend on this lack of individuality, as do many branches of physics. From where, then, does our individuality come?

In Seeing Double, Peter Pesic invites readers to explore this intriguing set of questions. He draws on literary and historical examples that open the mind (from Homer to Martin Guerre to Kafka), philosophical analyses that have helped to make our thinking and speech more precise, and scientific work that has enabled us to characterize the phenomena of nature. Though he does not try to be all-inclusive, Pesic presents a broad range of ideas, building toward a specific point of view: that the crux of modern quantum theory is its clash with our ordinary concept of individuality. This represents a departure from the usual understanding of quantum theory. Pesic argues that what is bizarre about quantum theory becomes more intelligible as we reconsider what we mean by individuality and identity in ordinary experience. In turn, quantum identity opens a new perspective on us.

Review

"In what consists your identity? With the potential of cloning on the horizon, what defines individuality? Drawing on philosophy, literature, and physics in accessible prose, Peter Pesic illuminates the meaning of unique personhood. A challenging and civilizing tour-de-force."--Gerald Holton, Harvard University