Recasting reality: Wolfgang Pauli’s philosophical ideas and contemporary science

Harald Atmanspacher, Hans Primas3540851976, 9783540851974, 9783540851981, 3540851984

Wolfgang Pauli was not only one of the most influential physicists of the 20th century: His huge correspondence and unpublished manuscripts also demonstrate his deep interest in questions beyond physics.

This volume explores the relevance of Pauli’s visionary ideas with respect to several topics in science and philosophy that are of great contemporary interest: the role of symmetries in theoretical science; dual-aspect approaches to the mind-brain problem; the tension between psychological and physical time; the nature of creative activity and the origin of mathematical insight; and adaptive mutations and epigenetics in biology. Today we are in a position to appreciate how relevant Pauli’s work and speculations have turned out to be. This book, authored by a team of internationally renowned experts, provides material and suggests directions for future studies of a variety of deep-seated and open problems, in particular concerning the relation between mind and matter.