The symbiotic universe: Life and mind in the cosmos [Hardcover]

George Greenstein (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In God and the Astronomers, Robert Jastrow brilliantly summed up our knowledge about ourselves and the universe. He reasoned that the grand climb of science had brought scientists to a hilltop confronting ultimate Mysterya hilltop that had already been crowded by theologians for centuries. No less brilliantly, Greenstein, Amherst astronomy professor, here updates Jastrow's effort. He describes the "coincidences" scientists have observed in recent years in the bizarre world of subatomic particles, quantum mechanics itself and the Big Bang theory of cosmic origin and destiny. Among these are the two separate "resonances" between nuclei found in "red giant" stars, allowing the synthesis of heavy elements necessary for "life"; the precisely equal charges of the electron and the proton; the symmetry of matter and anti-matter, etc. These conditions of physical nature lead him to extrapolate the Anthropic Principle, today largely rejected, and argue his view of the universe as "symbiotic," as evidenced by the fact that we exist, and that the cosmos has been "delicately and precisely attuned" from the moment of the Big Bang. This is bold metaphysics, to which some will say Amen. Photos. BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Greenstein expounds upon physicist Brandon Carter's "Anthropic Principle," which argues that "if some feature of the natural world is required for our existence, then it must indeed be the case." He shows how extraordinary "coincidences" that created an environment suitable for the evolution of life in the universe are actually based in the laws of physics, making biological life likely, if not a sure thing. His book tries to be a popular combination of metaphysics and quantum mechanics, and indeed its heart, a chapter on the quest for a Grand Unification Theory, is not quite as abstruse as the remainder. For knowledgeable readers patronizing academic or large public libraries. Laurie Tynan, Montgomery Cty.
Norristown P.L., Pa.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 271 pages
• Publisher: Morrow; 1st edition (1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688076041
• ISBN-13: 978-0688076047
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,280,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting ideas., December 9, 2007

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Darrel Drumm "Darrel the librarian" (Bunch, OK United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The symbiotic universe: Life and mind in the cosmos (Hardcover)

I'm not going to be as wordy as the other reviews. I picked this up as I have a deep interest in astronomy. I learned some things, especially about the concept of quantum mechanics. I find it interesting that after having read his book, that I come to a completely different conclusion than the other, that being that there is a Creator somewhere who has set it all in motion. There are just too many coincidences for me to think otherwise.

The author was able to express himself in a manner that was understandable, even when discussing difficult concepts. He didn't "write down" to the audience though, just put his words in such a way that a person could understand what he thought.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A chance to feel like a part of the universe, December 19, 2003

By 

Peter Kline (Silver Spring, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The symbiotic universe: Life and mind in the cosmos (Hardcover)

As a reader of a great many books about the universe I find that much of the time I am re-reading what I have read before, with a few new nuggets of insight added toward the end. In this case, however, I was almost constantly learning something new. Greenstein is an artist with the information available to him. He uses scienfic fact and well established theory to lead us towards a conclusion that is both remarkable and heartwarming. It seems, paradoxically enough, that the universe did not create life, but rather life created the universe. How can this be? Well, quantum physics is based on the constantly confirmed observation that the act of observation itself gives reality to what otherwise remains ephemeral. This is a proven reality that contradicts almost all of our assumptions about the world. It is maddening and inescapable. As a result, it is almost like looking into a mirror to observe an electron. We see there not what is, but what results from our act of observation. One of the problems of physics that has not been much dewelt upon is that at the speed of light time stops. This means that for light there is no time. In other words, energy exists in one kind of unierse, and matter in a different one. This dichotomy between matter and energy is so strange that it has not been the subject of much discussion among scientists, and it is not dealt with in this book either. But if you think of all the light in the universe as existing simultaneously throughout space and time, you begin to get a sense of how it might be that life could be creating the universe rather than the other way around. That doesn't tell us how life came to be, but neither does Darwin. This book makes a good prelude to reading AT HOME IN THE UNIVERSE by Stuart Kauffman. Without interacting in their arguments much, these two books seem to illuminate one another. We are left in a kind of Socratic position of realizing that we are wise only to the extent that we know we can't really understand all this.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Musings on the Why of Life, January 2, 2004

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Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The symbiotic universe: Life and mind in the cosmos (Hardcover)

Greenstein has a welcome counterpoint to the pelthora of rather pessimistic tomes that have appeared recently. These speak of the chaos, randomness and pointlessness of the Universe, implying that we can never know nor understand the whys of existence. This book is a poetical reverie on the wonder of existence. The so-called Anthropic Principle - the idea that any feature needed for life must exist because we exist - is used as a foundation for the book.

From this principle one can study the requirements of life and begin to ask why. Although A.N. Wilson has stated that we get in trouble the moment we ask "Why" that is the fate of mankind. These requirements are marvelous, sometimes incomprehensible. For example, the universe as we know it has three dimension because (hearkening back to our principle) it must in order for us to exist. The placement of our planet in the Solar System, the existence of a large moon, the tilt of the axis, the presence of water...all of these are required for the evolution of intelligent life and all must exist because sentient creatures developed on Earth.

The author states that "Creation was Perfect" or otherwise we would not be here. The forces between atomic parts must be as perfect as those between galaxies. For this reason, some have opted for "Intelligent Design" as an alternative to the Big Bang and its sheer randomeness. This book is even cited as a proponent of that view despite the author's belief that life originated from non-life and his clear pronouncement on the matter: "Science expands - rather than shrink - the mysteries. A religious account...has the opposite effect." What is true is that the CONDITIONS for life exist in the universe only because that was how things turned out. This could be Universe 143,000 and the only one that established the conditions for life. Great book.