John Horgan Book order (chronological)

These papers are from a meeting at University College Cork, Ireland, at which terrorism experts from academia and law enforcement presented and dicussed their views on future developments in terrorism.

This book takes readers to meet the presumed experts on how the brain works, but demonstrates that we cannot absolutely understand what is happening inside our heads, that science has achieved virtually nothing in explaining the mind and that science cannot define what makes us human.

John Horgan zeigt in seinem neuen Werk, dass unser Verständnis des menschlichen Geistes nach wie vor begrenzt ist. Trotz der Fortschritte in verschiedenen wissenschaftlichen Disziplinen wie Psychologie, Neurologie und Genetik bleibt das Rätsel des Bewusstseins und der Psyche ungelöst. Horgan beleuchtet die Fragen, Methoden und Antworten der einzelnen Fachrichtungen und führt den Leser durch Hörsäle, Krankenhäuser und Laboratorien. Er thematisiert die hochspezialisierten Kenntnisse, die zur Erklärung von Persönlichkeiten und zur Kategorisierung von Geisteskrankheiten verwendet werden. Dennoch bleibt die Erklärung unseres subjektiven Innenlebens unzureichend, wie Horgan feststellt. Sein kenntnisreicher Streifzug durch das Wissen über den menschlichen Geist zeigt, dass die Wissenschaften in diesem Bereich noch am Anfang stehen. Horgan, ein preisgekrönter Wissenschaftsjournalist, hat mit seinem ersten Buch „An den Grenzen des Wissens“ bereits viel Aufsehen erregt. Sein aktuelles Buch ist eine kluge, unterhaltsame und notwendige Auseinandersetzung mit dem großen Rätsel des menschlichen Geistes.

As a staff writer for Scientific American, John Horgan has unparalleled access to contemporary science, interviewing prominent figures like Lynn Margulis, Roger Penrose, and Stephen Hawking. Throughout this remarkable work, he explores a profound concern: Have all the significant questions been answered? Is there a final theory of everything that signals the end of discovery? Horgan questions whether science has devolved into mere puzzle-solving and detail enhancement of existing theories. Traditionally, scientists have distinguished themselves by believing they discover truth rather than construct it, revealing the empirical universe rather than interpreting it. However, science imposes its own limits—special relativity restricts information transfer beyond light speed, quantum mechanics introduces uncertainty, and chaos theory highlights the impossibility of complete prediction. Additionally, scientific rationality faces challenges from various groups, including Neo-Luddites and religious fundamentalists. Horgan warns that the greatest threat to science may arise from its diminishing status among academic disciplines, potentially reducing it to a form of literary criticism as theorists engage in what he terms "ironic science." Despite his critique, grounded in insights from leading researchers, Horgan also pays tribute to science, suggesting that if it is nearing an end, it is only because it has accomplished its mission so

Die letzten Entdecker? Horgans kontrovers diskutiertes Buch porträtiert die führenden Wissenschaftler und Philosophen unserer Zeit - eine informative Einführung in die wichtigsten wissenschaftlichen Entwicklungen der letzten zwanzig Jahre wie in die Einsichten und Ansichten ihrer zentralen Vertreter. 'Wissenschaftsbuch des Jahres 1998'

As a writer for Scientific American, the author is regularly afforded the opportunity of interviewing comtemporary scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Murray Gell-Mann, Stephen Hawking and Noam Chomsky. In this work, he discusses with them whether all the big scientific questions have been answered and all the knowledge worth knowing become known. Will there eventually be a theory of everything that signals the end? In a time where scientific rationality is under fire from many quarters, Horgan provides an overview of current scientific enterprise as he discusses God, Star Trek, superstrings, quarks, consciousness and many other topics.