Synchronicity : the epic quest to understand the quantum nature of cause and effect / Paul Halpern.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Halpern, Paul, 1961- author.

Contributor:

Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pauli, Wolfgang, 1900-1958.

Pauli, Wolfgang.

Jung, C. G. (Carl Gustav), 1875-1961.

Jung, C. G.

Quantum entanglement.

Simultaneity (Physics).

Causality (Physics).

Physics--Philosophy--History.

Physics.

Physics--Philosophy.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 volume

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Basic Books, 2020.

Summary:

"In Synchronicity Paul Halpern tells the little-known story of the unlikely friendship between the Nobel-prize-winning quantum physicist Wolfgang Pauli and the father of psychoanalysis, Carl Jung. In the 1930s, Pauli and Jung began collaborating on a unified theory of quantum and the mind, the result of which was Jung's synchronicity principle-the idea that events connected by meaning need not be explained by causality. Pauli's work on entanglement theory, which allowed for instantaneous cause and effect relationships, was particularly appealing to Jung, as it seemed to give weight to his controversial theory of a collective unconscious. Casting their relationship within a larger intellectual history of entanglement theory, Halpern poses a question that has mystified physicists and philosophers alike since the times of Aristotle: Is the speed of light finite, as Einstein posited, or is it, as Pauli and the proponents of entanglement theory asserted, variable across time and dimensions? As Halpern works his way through the history of the physics of cause and effect, he shows that this centuries-old debate is not only relevant at the smallest scales of particle physics but also at the largest scales of the cosmos itself"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Touching the Heavens

Ancient Views of the Celestial Realm p. 11

2 By Jupiter, Light Lags! p. 39

3 Illuminations

The Complementary Visions of Newton and Maxwell p. 63

4 Barriers and Shortcuts

The Mad Landscapes of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics p. 85

5 The Veil of Uncertainty

Turning Away from Realism p. 113

6 The Power of Symmetry

Connections beyond Causality p. 145

7 The Road to Synchronicity

The Jung-Pauli Dialogue p. 173

8 False Reflections

Navigating Nature's Imperfect House of Mirrors p. 207

9 Reality's Rodeo

Wrangling With Entanglement, Taming Quantum Jumps, and Harnessing Wormholes p. 227.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9781541673632

1541673638

OCLC:

1130697231

Publisher Number:

99985095713