Beginning in 1983, the Swedish Council for Planning and Coordination of Research has organized an annual workshop devoted to some aspect of the behavior and modeling of complex systems. These workshops have been held at the Abisko Research Station of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, a remote location far above the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden. During the period of the midnight sun, from May 4-8, 1987 this exotic venue served as the gathering place for a small group of scientists, scholars, and other connoisseurs of the unknown to ponder the problem of how to model "living systems," a term singling out those systems whose principal components are living agents. The 1987 Abisko Workshop focused primarily upon the general system-theoretic concepts of process, function, and form. In particular, a main theme of the Workshop was to examine how these concepts are actually realized in biological, economic, and linguistic situations. As the Workshop unfolded, it became increasingly evident that the central concern of the participants was directed to the matter of how those quintessential aspects of living systems-metabolism, self-repair, and replication-might be brought into contact with the long-established modeling paradigms employed in physics, chemistry, and engineering.

The concept of self-motion is not only fundamental in Aristotle's argument for the Prime Mover and in ancient and medieval theories of nature, but it is also central to many theories of human agency and moral responsibility. In this collection of mostly new essays, scholars of classical, Hellenistic, medieval, and early modern philosophy and science explore the question of whether or not there are such things as self-movers, and if so, what their self-motion consists in. They trace the development of the concept of self-motion from its formulation in Aristotle's metaphysics, cosmology, and philosophy of nature through two millennia of philosophical, religious, and scientific thought. This volume contains "Self-Movers" (David Furley), "Aristotle on Self-Motion" (Mary Louise Gill), "Aristotle on Perception, Appetition, and Self-Motion" (Cynthia Freeland), "Self-Movement and External Causation" (Susan Sauvé Meyer), "Aristotle on the Mind's Self-Motion" (Michael Wedin), "Mind and Motion in Aristotle" (Christopher Shields), "Aristotle's Prime Mover" (Aryeh Kosman), "The Transcendence of the Prime Mover" (Lindsay Judson), "Self-Motion in Stoic Philosophy" (David Hahm), "Duns Scotus on the Reality of Self-Change" (Peter King), "Ockham, Self-Motion, and the Will" (Calvin Normore), and "Natural Motion and Its Causes: Newton on the 'Vis Insita' of Bodies" (J. E. McGuire). Originally published in 1994. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The existence of God as demonstrated from motion has preoccupied men in every age, and still stands as one of the critical questions of philosophic inquiry. The four thinkers Father Buckley discusses were selected because their methods of reasoning exhibit sharp contrasts when they are juxtaposed. Originally published in 1971. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Mechanics, the science of moving bodies and their interactions, is among the finest accomplishments of western civilization. This is the story of development, from the ground-breaking attempts of the Greeks, through the brilliant abstractions of medieval logicians, to the breathtaking achievements of Galileo, Huygens, and Newton, to the dazzling virtuosity of Maxwell and Einstein. Crowe's presentation allows the reader to appreciate this story from the inside, following the thoughts of the original authors in their own words. Ample commentary places these scientific giants in their context and helps modern readers understand the unfamiliar modes of expression of earlier times. In the course of telling the story, this book also provides a practical introduction to mechanics, with sample computations and problems in both classical physics and relativistic kinematics.

Aristotle on Method and Metaphysics is a collection of new and cutting-edge essays by prominent Aristotle scholars and Aristotelian philosophers on themes in ontology, causation, modality, essentialism, the metaphysics of life, natural theology, and scientific and philosophical methodology.

For all of you who break out in a sweat at the thought of thermodynamics, or freeze up at the mention of quantum mechanics, like a bolt from the blue, INSTANT PHYSICS will zap you through the fascinating history of our most basic, yet baffling, science. From the thousand-year search for proof of the existence of the ever-elusive atom to the varied and heated arguments behind the big bang theory, INSTANT PHYSICS answers all the heavy questions with a light touch. You'll learn:* How the Greek philosophers used the sledgehammer of mathematics to break apart the mysteries of the physical universe.* Why gravity is a "romantic" force.* How to tell the difference between a gluon, a meson, and a quark, even if you can't see them.INSTANT PHYSICS is crammed with special features, including chapter summaries, who's who lists, biographical and historical tidbits, and a host of illustrations, photos, equations, diagrams, and drawings.