Victor J. Stenger's Books

Quantum Gods

Creation, Chaos, and the Search for Cosmic Consciousness

By: Victor J. Stenger

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Quantum Gods

Creation, Chaos, and the Search for Cosmic Consciousness

By: Victor J. Stenger

Stenger alternates his discussions of popular spirituality with a survey of what the findings of 20th-century physics actually mean in laypersons terms--without equations.

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292

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Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1615920587

ISBN 13

9781615920587

Has Science Found God?

The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe

By: Victor J. Stenger

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Has Science Found God?

The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe

By: Victor J. Stenger

In the past few years a number of scientists have claimed that there is credible scientific evidence for the existence of God. In 1998 Newsweek went so far as to proclaim on its cover, "Science Finds God." Is this true? Are scientists close to solving the greatest of all mysteries? Physicist Victor J. Stenger delves into this fascinating question from a skeptical point of view in this lucid and engrossing presentation of the key scientific facts. Stenger critically reviews the attempts of many contemporary theologians and some scientists to resurrect failed natural theologies in new guises. Whether these involve updated arguments from design, "anthropic" coincidences, or modern forms of deism, Stenger clearly shows that nothing in modern science requires supernatural explanation. He offers naturalistic explanations for empirical observations that are frequently given theistic interpretations: for example, that information in the universe implies an intelligent designer, that a universe with a beginning requires a Creator, and that the elegant laws of physics suggest a transcendent realm. He shows that alleged spiritual, nonmaterial phenomena do not lie beyond the experimental reach of physics. This thorough and careful consideration of scientific evidence covers much ground yet remains accessible and highly informative to the educated lay reader.

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374

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Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1615921583

ISBN 13

9781615921584

The Comprehensible Cosmos

Where Do the Laws of Physics Come From?

By: Victor J. Stenger

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The Comprehensible Cosmos

Where Do the Laws of Physics Come From?

By: Victor J. Stenger

Stenger provides an in-depth presentation for those fascinated by how physicsexplains the universe and affects philosophy.

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340

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Prometheus Books

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ISBN 10

161592079X

ISBN 13

9781615920792

God and the Atom

By: Victor J. Stenger

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God and the Atom

By: Victor J. Stenger

This history of atomism, from Democritus to the recent discovery of the Higgs boson, chronicles one of the most successful scientific hypotheses ever devised. Originating separately in both ancient Greece and India, the concept of the atom persisted for centuries, despite often running afoul of conventional thinking. Until the twentieth century, no direct evidence for atoms existed. Today it is possible to actually observe atoms using a scanning tunneling microscope. In this book, physicist Victor J. Stenger makes the case that, in the final analysis, atoms and the void are all that exists. The book begins with the story of the earliest atomists - the ancient Greek philosophers Leucippus, Democritus, and Epicurus, and the Latin poet Lucretius. As the author notes, the idea of elementary particles as the foundation of reality had many opponents throughout history - from Aristotle to Christian theologians and even some nineteenth-century chemists and philosophers. While theists today accept that the evidence for the atomic theory of matter is overwhelming, they reject the atheistic implications of that theory. In conclusion, the author underscores the main point made throughout this work: the total absence of empirical facts and theoretical arguments to support the existence of any component to reality other than atoms and the void can be taken as proof beyond a reasonable doubt that such a component is nowhere to be found.

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411

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Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1616147547

ISBN 13

9781616147549

God and the Folly of Faith

The Incompatibility of Science and Religion

By: Victor J. Stenger

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God and the Folly of Faith

The Incompatibility of Science and Religion

By: Victor J. Stenger

Looking at both historical and contemporary contexts, the author argues that religion has played a major role in suppressing scientific pursuit.

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412

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Prometheus Books

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ISBN 10

1616145994

ISBN 13

9781616145996

The New Atheism

Taking a Stand for Science and Reason

By: Victor J. Stenger

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The New Atheism

Taking a Stand for Science and Reason

By: Victor J. Stenger

In recent years a number of bestselling books have forcefully argued that belief in God can no longer be defended on rational or empirical grounds, and that the scientific worldview has rendered obsolete the traditional beliefs held by Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The authors of these books—Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Victor J. Stenger—have come to be known as the "New Atheists." Predictably, their works have been controversial and attracted a good deal of critical reaction. In this new book, Victor J. Stenger, whose God: The Failed Hypothesis was on the New York Times bestseller list in 2007, reviews and expands upon the principles of New Atheism and answers many of its critics. He demonstrates in detail that naturalism—the view that all of reality is reducible to matter and nothing else—is sufficient to explain everything we observe in the universe, from the most distant galaxies to the inner workings of the brain that result in the phenomenon of mind. Stenger disputes the claim of many critics that the question of whether God exists is beyond the ken of science. On the contrary, he argues that absence of evidence for God is, indeed, evidence of absence when the evidence should be there and is not. Turning from scientific to historical evidence, Stenger then points out the many examples of evil perpetrated in the name of religion. He also notes that the Bible, which is still taken to be divine revelation by millions, fails as a basis for morality and is unable to account for the problem of unnecessary suffering throughout the world. Finally, he discusses the teachings of ancient nontheist sages such as Buddha, Lao Tzu, and Confucius, whose guidelines for coping with the problems of life and death did not depend upon a supernatural metaphysics. Stenger argues that this "way of nature" is far superior to the traditional supernatural monotheisms, which history shows can lead to a host of evils. The New Atheism is a well-argued defense of the atheist position and a strong rebuttal of its critics.

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282

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Prometheus Books

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ISBN 10

1615923446

ISBN 13

9781615923441

God: The Failed Hypothesis

How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist

By: Victor J. Stenger

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God: The Failed Hypothesis

How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist

By: Victor J. Stenger

Throughout history, arguments for and against the existence of God have been largely confined to philosophy and theology, while science has sat on the sidelines. Despite the fact that science has revolutionized every aspect of human life and greatly clarified our understanding of the world, somehow the notion has arisen that it has nothing to say about the possibility of a supreme being, which much of humanity worships as the source of all reality. This book contends that, if God exists, some evidence for this existence should be detectable by scientific means, especially considering the central role that God is alleged to play in the operation of the universe and the lives of humans. Treating the traditional God concept, as conventionally presented in the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, like any other scientific hypothesis, physicist Stenger examines all of the claims made for God's existence. He considers the latest Intelligent Design arguments as evidence of God's influence in biology. He looks at human behavior for evidence of immaterial souls and the possible effects of prayer. He discusses the findings of physics and astronomy in weighing the suggestions that the universe is the work of a creator and that humans are God's special creation. After evaluating all the scientific evidence, Stenger concludes that beyond a reasonable doubt the universe and life appear exactly as we might expect if there were no God. This paperback edition of the New York Times bestselling hardcover edition contains a new foreword by Christopher Hitchens and a postscript by the author in which he responds to reviewers' criticisms of the original edition.

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310

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Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

161592003X

ISBN 13

9781615920037

God and the Multiverse

Humanity's Expanding View of the Cosmos

By: Victor J. Stenger

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God and the Multiverse

Humanity's Expanding View of the Cosmos

By: Victor J. Stenger

Cosmologists have reasons to believe that the vast universe in which we live is just one of an endless number of other universes within a multiverse-a mind-boggling array that may extend indefinitely in space and endlessly in both the past and the future. Victor Stenger reviews the key developments in the history of science that led to the current consensus view of astrophysicists, taking pains to explain essential concepts and discoveries in accessible terminology. The author shows that science's emerging understanding of the multiverse-consisting of trillions upon trillions of galaxies-is fully explicable in naturalistic terms with no need for supernatural forces to explain its origin or ongoing existence. How can conceptions of God, traditional or otherwise, be squared with this new worldview? The author shows how long-held beliefs will need to undergo major revision or otherwise face eventual extinction.

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450

Published Date

ISBN 10

1616149701

ISBN 13

9781616149703

The New Atheism

Taking a Stand for Science and Reason

By: Victor J. Stenger

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The New Atheism

Taking a Stand for Science and Reason

By: Victor J. Stenger

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282

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Prometheus Books

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ISBN 10

1615923446

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9781615923441

Quantum Gods

Creation, Chaos, and the Search for Cosmic Consciousness

By: Victor J. Stenger

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Quantum Gods

Creation, Chaos, and the Search for Cosmic Consciousness

By: Victor J. Stenger

Stenger alternates his discussions of popular spirituality with a survey of what the findings of 20th-century physics actually mean in laypersons terms--without equations.

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292

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Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1615920587

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9781615920587

God: The Failed Hypothesis

How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist

By: Victor J. Stenger

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God: The Failed Hypothesis

How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist

By: Victor J. Stenger

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310

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Prometheus Books

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ISBN 10

161592003X

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9781615920037

God and the Folly of Faith

The Incompatibility of Science and Religion

By: Victor J. Stenger

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God and the Folly of Faith

The Incompatibility of Science and Religion

By: Victor J. Stenger

A thorough and hard-hitting critique that is a must read for anyone interested in the interaction between religion and science. It has become the prevalent view among sociologists, historians, and some theistic scientists that religion and science have never been in serious conflict. Some even claim that Christianity was responsible for the development of science. In a sweeping historical survey that begins with ancient Greek science and proceeds through the Renaissance and Enlightenment to contemporary advances in physics and cosmology, Stenger makes a convincing case that not only is this conclusion false, but Christianity actually held back the progress of science for one thousand years. It is significant, he notes, that the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century occurred only after the revolts against established ecclesiastic authorities in the Renaissance and Reformation opened up new avenues of thought. The author goes on to detail how religion and science are fundamentally incompatible in several areas: the origin of the universe and its physical parameters, the origin of complexity, holism versus reductionism, the nature of mind and consciousness, and the source of morality. In the end, Stenger is most troubled by the negative influence that organized religion often exerts on politics and society. He points out antiscientific attitudes embedded in popular religion that are being used to suppress scientific results on issues of global importance, such as overpopulation and environmental degradation. When religion fosters disrespect for science, it threatens the generations of humanity that will follow ours.

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412

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Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1616146001

ISBN 13

9781616146009

Has Science Found God?

The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe

By: Victor J. Stenger

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Has Science Found God?

The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe

By: Victor J. Stenger

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374

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Prometheus Books

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ISBN 10

1615921583

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9781615921584

The Comprehensible Cosmos

Where Do the Laws of Physics Come From?

By: Victor J. Stenger

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The Comprehensible Cosmos

Where Do the Laws of Physics Come From?

By: Victor J. Stenger

Stenger provides an in-depth presentation for those fascinated by how physicsexplains the universe and affects philosophy.

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340

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Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

161592079X

ISBN 13

9781615920792

Not by Design

By: Victor J. Stenger

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Not by Design

By: Victor J. Stenger

Much of the world seems chaotic and unpredictable, but the regular movement of celestial bodies and certain demonstrable physical phenomena seem to indicate the existence of a world that is basically orderly. This orderliness is often taken as evidence for an intelligence beyond our experience - a "creator" responsible for the first moment in time and all ensuing infinite patterns of the universe. Yet the science of the origin of the universe is still highly speculative and incomplete. How did the universe begin? According to Professor Victor J. Stenger, the simplest hypothesis so far is that it began by accident. Stenger insists that the existence of order does not necessarily imply that it is the result of design. Nothing currently known about the universe, he writes, requires that its structure was somehow imposed upon it from the outside. The universe is complex, but the laws of nature are simple; in fact, the universe may have originated because of a series of spontaneous random events. The book begins with a discussion of the meaning of order and examples of orderly patterns generated by chance. (Play enough poker hands, Stenger writes, and one day you will be dealt four aces.) Subsequent chapters introduce readers to the unique perspective of the universe provided by physics, with historical and philosophical material intertwined with a systematic but nontechnical presentation of basic physics. This leads to a description of the basic structure of the universe and the way in which symmetries of space, time, and inner dimensions account for the "laws" obeyed by particles. The origin of the universe is then described as a chance event, with space, time, matter, and the laws of nature the result of a spontaneous process of symmetry-breaking. Focusing on the question of planned versus unplanned origin, Stenger shows that the issue is not philosophical but scientific and that order can and does happen every day - by chance.

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204

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Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1615928391

ISBN 13

9781615928392

The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning

Why the Universe Is Not Designed for Us

By: Victor J. Stenger

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The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning

Why the Universe Is Not Designed for Us

By: Victor J. Stenger

A number of authors have noted that if some physical parameters were slightly changed, the universe could no longer support life, as we know it. This implies that life depends sensitively on the physics of our universe. Does this "fine-tuning" of the universe suggest that a creator god intentionally calibrated the initial conditions of the universe such that life on earth and the evolution of humanity would eventually emerge? In his in-depth and highly accessible discussion of this fascinating and controversial topic, the author looks at the evidence and comes to the opposite conclusion. He finds that the observations of science and our naked senses not only show no evidence for God, they provide evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that God does not exist.

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Page Count

326

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Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1616144440

ISBN 13

9781616144449

Timeless Reality

Symetry, Simplicity, and Multiple Universes

By: Victor J. Stenger

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Timeless Reality

Symetry, Simplicity, and Multiple Universes

By: Victor J. Stenger

A professor of physics and astronomy studies a theory that time is reversible, and explains how physicists have generally been reluctant to accept the reversibility of time because of the implied causal paradoxes. Illustrations.

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396

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Prometheus Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1615922288

ISBN 13

9781615922284

Blackbody Radiometry

Volume 1: Fundamentals

By: Victor Sapritsky,Alexander Prokhorov

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Blackbody Radiometry

Volume 1: Fundamentals

By: Victor Sapritsky,Alexander Prokhorov

This book, the first of a two-volume set, focuses on the basic physical principles of blackbody radiometry and describes artificial sources of blackbody radiation, widely used as sources of optical radiation, whose energy characteristics can be calculated on the base of fundamental physical laws. Following a review of radiometric quantities, radiation laws, and radiative heat transfer, it introduces the basic principles of blackbody radiators design, details of their practical implementation, and methods of measuring their defining characteristics, as well as metrological aspects of blackbody-based measurements. Chapters are dedicated to the effective emissivity concept, methods of increasing effective emissivities, their measurement and modeling using the Monte Carlo method, techniques of blackbody radiators heating, cooling, isothermalization, and measuring their temperature. An extensive and comprehensive reference source, this book is of considerable value to students, researchers, and engineers involved in any aspect of blackbody radiometry.

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Page Count

698

Publisher

Springer Nature

Published Date

ISBN 10

3030577899

ISBN 13

9783030577896

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