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Seeing Double: Shared Identities in Physics, Philosophy, and Literature, by Peter Pesic
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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.
- Sales Rank: #854960 in Books
- Brand: Brand: The MIT Press
- Published on: 2003-08-29
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.00" h x .50" w x 5.38" l, .46 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 192 pages
Features
- Used Book in Good Condition
From Publishers Weekly
In this suggestive but almost terse volume, Pesic, a musician-physicist at St. John's College, probes the mysteries of individuality and identity in light of quantum theory. For Pesic, quantum theory poses a paradox: electrons and other elementary particles exhibit no individuality, yet we who are composed of these particles believe we are individuals. Every electron is so devoid of distinguishing features that one cannot even mark a particular electron to trace its history; they are perfectly identical instances of their species, a property Pesic christens "identicality." To explore the implications of identicality, Pesic looks not only to science but also to literature and philosophy. He considers Penelope's recognition of Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, the ship of Theseus, Democritus, Leibniz, Kant, Martin Guerre, Conrad and Kafka, and hopscotches through the history of physics from Newton and Maxwell to Planck and the articulation of quantum theory in the 1920s. Pesic argues that the admittedly strange quantum realm becomes more intelligible if one treats the loss of individuality as a fundamental postulate rather than a peripheral consequence of scaling down the physical world. He concludes by suggesting how identicality may point to novel ways of viewing ourselves, perhaps as modes of a single field, existing through participation. The prose style is clear and accessible, the treatment concise and admirably suited for the author's goal of beginning "a thoughtful conversation among many people," including nonspecialists. But the issues are so large and compelling that the book's brevity is at times frustrating, particularly in its most crucial sections on quantum theory and its implications. Still, the book does a respectable job of opening the conversation it seeks.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* The '60s comedy troupe Firesign Theater famously asked, "How can you be in two places at once when you're really nowhere at all?" And everyone chuckled at the pun on the idiomatic meaning of being nowhere: being a square. It turns out, however, that that question restates a central inquiry of science and philosophy, which literature often ponders, too--to wit, Is identity resemblance or distinction? That is, does identity consist of being exactly like something else or being distinguishable from it? As Pesic imparts, the answer to the questions about identity is yes, and the answer to Firesign Theater's laugh line is, "Easy, if you're physical." Those are the answers because physical reality consists of unchanging things that are exactly alike and changing things that are individually distinct. The irreducible particles of quantum physics can "be" in two places simultaneously--but nowhere in particular--because they are indistinguishable. Meanwhile, bodies comprising those particles are distinct and can't be in more than one place at once. Pesic arrives at this puzzling understanding of existence by starting with the ancient Greeks' consideration of the identity problem in literature, myth, and philosophy, and proceeding through medieval thought to the Newtonian era, the nineteenth-century eruption in physics, and quantum physics. In passing, he cites literary treatments of double identity to illustrate what the scientific controversies imply, and he suavely creates a masterpiece by saying much in little space. Ray Olson
Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
... an ambitious but sober reminder of the deep philosophical questions revolving around the ideas of individuality, identity and distinguishability.
(Levy-Leblond Physics World)
An enchanting analysis of individuality and identity that should delight laypersons, humanists, and scientists alike. Peter Pesic recounts how some of the deepest thinkers from Homer and Aristotle to Leibniz and Einstein wrestled with the 'genuine questions' about identity, each adding an unforeseen dimension and changing their scope in the process. As Dr. Pesic guides us through the evolution of thought, we cannot but marvel at nature's uncanny ability to reveal, time and again, that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
(Abhay Ashtekar, Director, Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry, and Eberly Professor of Physics, Pennsylvania State University)
Identity and individuality have been constant subjects of study and speculation among intellectuals from time immemorial, but almost everyone approaches them from narrow disciplinary points of view. Peter Pesic's Seeing Double is a successful challenge to this approach, for it successfully mixes physics, literature, and philosophy in an account that is both suggestive and enlightening. Written in a clear and elegant style, this is a logical starting point for anyone who wants to delve into these topics.
(Jorge J. E. Gracia, Samuel P. Capen Chair and SUNY Distinguished Professor, Department of Philosophy, State University of New York at Buffalo)
Reaching from Homer's Iliad and ancient Greek philosophy to modern chemistry and current physics, Pesic's new tour de force is a fitting sequel to his Labyrinth, this time concentrating on age-old philosophic puzzles on identity and their re-emergence in the transition from nineteenth-century physics to quantum field theory to illuminate the conceptual structure of science.
(George E. Smith, Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Department of Philosophy, Tufts University)
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)
... offers a rare insight into the bizarre quantum realm and its implications for our sense of self.
(PD Smith The Guardian)
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, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Professor of History of Science, Emeritus, Harvard University)
Pesic suavely creates a masterpiece by saying much in little space.
(Ray Olson Booklist)
Most helpful customer reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
A wedding of two regretfully estranged worlds
By Jason Bielagus
For those new to science, or for those who have little experience with quantum physics, "Seeing Double," by Dr. Pesic, will serve as a wonderful introduction to quantum physics, a field that was the most spectacular and influential to the 20th century. The book provides a historical overview that is elucidated by references and parallels to examples from the classics and humanities.
For the seasoned physicist, "Seeing Double" will be a refreshing departure from rigorous scientific reading, which aims at being specialized, focused, and forensically convincing. Instead of choosing one very specialized point and thoroughly pursuing its depth, Pesic's writing courses broadly, like lightening across water, discovering a multitude of connections to the classics and humanities. Like Goethe's biological poetry and Schr�dinger's "What is Life?" Pesic does a wonderful job of wedding his work to broader academic disciplines. One of the great misfortunes of the rise of science in the 20th century has been its separation from other academic disciplines, such as the humanities. This separation runs contrary to the nature of human thought. This work is an encouraging victory in the reunification between the sciences and humanities.
Pesic's writing is conversational. The reader feels as if he is in an arm-chair, an arm's length away, in a tea-infused discussion. One feels in reading Pesic that he has put the responsibility of being understood on the writer, and not the reader.
Although less broad than "Labyrinth," which explained modern scientific method by tracing its ancestors in law and code-breaking, nonetheless "Seeing Double" makes a wide variety of far-reaching yet just connections to other fields that are usually regretfully kept apart from science. The overall effect is quite exciting. Like Aladdin's carpet, or swift-footed Hermes, Pesic will take you on an exhilarating journey across the vista of the history of human achievement.
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