The Artful Universe: The Cosmic Source of Human Creativity [Paperback]

John D. Barrow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996

In this eclectic and entertaining study of the interrelationship between the arts and the sciences, Barrow explains how the landscape of the Universe has influenced the development of philosophy and mythology, and how millions of years of evolutionary history have fashioned our attraction to certain patterns of sound and color.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`... thought-provoking and illuminating... a wide-ranging and imaginative tour de force... provocative and compelling nonetheless.' New Statesman and Society, 24 November 1995

`thought-provoking and illuminating ... a wide-ranging and imaginative tour de force ... provocative and compelling nonetheless' New Statesman and Society, 24 November 1995

`provocative book ... This is a stimulating book on being human beings conceived as advanced and advancing children of the universe ... it's a genuinely educational experience. A Big Bang of a book.' Alan Bold, Glasgow Herald

... The Artful Universe is full of good things. s

`...he has a real knack for clearly explaining and synthesizing disparate areas of science, and the book is a marvellous assemblage of recent research on topics such as ancient astronomy, the unique features of Earth in our solar system, the origins of language acquisition, and the perception of colour and sound.' Choice

`Relating the complexity of biological species to the complexity of the universe is likely always to be daunting but this author does very well indeed without resorting to mysticism, common enough nowadays. Thus he managed to unearth a number of phenomena which are rarely adduced to support his thesis. The history of technology is somehow incorporated and the whole is cleverly contrived to demonstrate how aesthetics is grounded in science.' Aslib Book Guide, vol.61, no.10, October 1996 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

About the Author:
John D. Barrow is Professor of Astronomy at the University of Sussex. He is the author of several best-selling books, including Pi in the Sky and Theories of Everything.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316082422
• ISBN-13: 978-0316082426
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,577,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Cosmic Anthropological Principle, September 16, 2000

By 

"kristor" (Berkeley) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Artful Universe (Hardcover)

Barrow, of course, is with Frank Tipler the author of The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, which argues that the fundamental constants and initial conditions of the cosmos had to be more or less exactly as they are or life - thus our conscious, self-aware human life - could not have happened.

In The Artful Universe, Barrow explores in great and fascinating detail just exactly how the fine structure of the cosmos bears fruit in the structure of the human body, and in particular the structure of our ideas, preferences, values, aesthetic reactions, ways of thinking; our minds. The primary thrust of this wide-ranging survey is that animal minds and bodies subjected to natural selection are in big trouble if they embody propositions about the world, and therefore about the appropriate way to behave, that are in any important way essentially wrong. He argues that just as the structure of the eye constitutes evidence one way or the other for the correspondence to reality of our ideas about light, so the structure of, e.g., our mathematical faculties constitutes evidence for the mathematical structure of reality.

Barrow is terrifyingly erudite, and a clear, graceful writer. He manages to convey boatloads of highly technical concepts from numerous fields in crystalline arguments accessible to anyone with a basic scientific education. You will learn a ton from this book. You'll work for it - Barrow never condescends - but you will be well rewarded.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No mind was ever a tabula rasa, July 8, 2005

By 

Luc REYNAERT (Beernem, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Artful Universe: The Cosmic Source of Human Creativity (Paperback)

John Barrow illuminates in this book the relationship between the sciences and the arts with a new perspective on our emergence in the Universe by means of natural selection.
As the philosopher Victor Zuckerkandl says (quoted in this book): 'Art does not aim at beauty. It uses beauty (or ugliness) to arrive ultimately at knowledge, at truth.' (as science)

Many natural adaptations have given rise to curious by-products, some of which have played a role in determining our aesthetic sense.
Although sometimes very tentative, this rich book sheds an insightful light on more or less hidden links, like
- the connection between the heavenly bodies and the pattern of life on earth (28 days)

- the importance of symmetry: living beings are symmetrical, which is rare for inanimate objects. Also, our evaluation of physical beauty focuses on symmetry.

- size as a key to survival, with the adage 'small is best'. 'The Almighty had an inordinate fondness of beetles.'

- the origin of painting: a natural outgrowth of the fallibility of human memory and the need to communicate. Also, the reason why we like savannah landscapes and not computer paintings because they seem unnatural.

- the Chomsky (innate patterns) / Piaget (blank slate) controversy on the origin of language

- the origin of literature: the craving for social cohesion and well-being met by oral history and stories in which the hearers appear in a leading role. More, 'The pen is mightier than the sword.'

- the origin of dance: a need for frenzied activity or heightened sensibilities in preparation for war, in celebration of fertility or birth or in mourning death. The rhythmic gyrations of primitive dance bind people together.

- the origin of music (the purest form of art): animal mating calls.
John Barrow explains clearly the relationship between music and mathematics as well as theories on mathematics (Platonism, intuitionism, inventionism, formalism) and music (absolutism and referentialism).

This book is an excellent exploration of a vast and very interesting human domain. Not to be missed.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why are we the way we are? This book explains it all...., April 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Artful Universe: The Cosmic Source of Human Creativity (Paperback)

A book which explains how natural laws of the universe shape our size, our myths and legends, our attraction to certain patterns etc. Everything is explained in scientific terms, but illustrated very nicely by examples, so makes a great read.... even for those whose mother language isn' t English!