What do you think?
Rate this book
The Freedom of Man (The Terry Lectures Series) by Arthur H. Compton
This volume is based upon the twelfth series of lectures delivered at Yale University on the Foundation established by the late Dwight H. Terry of Plymouth, Connecticut, through his gift of an endowment fund for the delivery and subsequent publication of "Lectures on Religion in the Light of Science and Philosophy."The deed of gift declares that "the object of this Foundation is not the promotion of scientific investigation and discovery, but rather the assimilation and interpretation of that which has been or shall be hereafter discovered, and its application to human welfare, especially by the building of the truths of science and philosophy into the structure of a broadened and purified religion.
Hardcover
First published November 28, 1935
11 people want to read
About the author
Arthur Holly Compton
49 books1 followerAmerican physicist Arthur Holly Compton shared a Nobel Prize of 1927 for his discovery of the effect.
An electron scatters electromagnetic radiation, especially an x-ray or a gamma-ray photon, and Compton effect increases its wavelength.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_...
An electron scatters electromagnetic radiation, especially an x-ray or a gamma-ray photon, and Compton effect increases its wavelength.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 21, 2018
An interesting glimpse of how the whole mass of philosophic and religious issues around free will, consciousness, a providential God, and life after death looked to a Nobel-winning quantum physicist in 1935. [He was an unabashed theist and believer in free will, if you want to cut to the conclusions.]
The first two chapters are the most interesting. I think the discussion of the significance of the uncertainty principle, that there are physical limits to our ability to probe the causal structure of nature, and that there is all the room one could need down at the quantum scale for indeterminism and free will, is still pretty much valid. The neuroscience of the day has probably been transcended, but it's still interesting to peek at this time capsule.
In any case it's short and extremely readable. If you can get your hands on a copy, it's well worth a few hours.
The first two chapters are the most interesting. I think the discussion of the significance of the uncertainty principle, that there are physical limits to our ability to probe the causal structure of nature, and that there is all the room one could need down at the quantum scale for indeterminism and free will, is still pretty much valid. The neuroscience of the day has probably been transcended, but it's still interesting to peek at this time capsule.
In any case it's short and extremely readable. If you can get your hands on a copy, it's well worth a few hours.
Displaying 1 of 1 review