From Aristotle to Hawking

BOOK SYNOPSIS FROM ARISTOTLE TO HAWKING By Paul Pissanos The narrator speaks of the first questions he asked himself in his life that demanded answers about man, nature, the Universe, and God. He vividly describes the Big Bang as depicted by certain scientists, and he disputes it. He acquaints us with Aristotle and his basic principles of natural laws, as conceived by the great philosopher. He concludes with the views of Einstein about a unified theory of the universe. The narrator encounters a young salesman of scientific instruments in a picturesque neighborhood of Athens, who describes to him "what laws are" The narrator is astonished at the knowledge of the young salesman and goes back to the principles and laws put forward by the ancient Greek philosophers. This quest leads to the "principles" of the Creation of Man and the world, to the principles that govern the sciences, especially mathematics, physics, and music. He completes the presentation of his views by providing scientific information about the manner in which the universe operates. The narrator discusses with Professor of Philosophy, Stanley Sfekas, if the world had a beginning. They agree that the manner in which laws operate does not permit a beginning of the universe. The questions expand: "why does the universe exist" To the great questions "What is real and what is not" answers are provided by Aristotle himself. Stephen Hawking describes the 4 forces of the cosmos, and scientists summarize their views about the manner that the "Whole" of the cosmos operates. There follows a presentation of the views of the ancient Greek philosophers about the real, the incorruptible, the unborn, the eternal, the perfect, and the plenum, which all together are encapsulated in the "world soul" The narrator is conversing in the Athens Planetarium with the astrophysicist D. Simopoulos about the future of earth and the cosmos. Dr. Simopoulos is optimistic t