E Existence Explained

National Book Award Finalist. How did humanity originate and why does a species like ours exist on this planet? Do we have a special place, even a destiny in the universe? Where are we going, and perhaps, the most difficult question of all, "Why?" In The Meaning of Human Existence, his most philosophical work to date, Pulitzer Prize–winning biologist Edward O. Wilson grapples with these and other existential questions, examining what makes human beings supremely different from all other species. Searching for meaning in what Nietzsche once called "the rainbow colors" around the outer edges of knowledge and imagination, Wilson takes his readers on a journey, in the process bridging science and philosophy to create a twenty-first-century treatise on human existence—from our earliest inception to a provocative look at what the future of mankind portends. Continuing his groundbreaking examination of our "Anthropocene Epoch," which he began with The Social Conquest of Earth, described by the New York Times as "a sweeping account of the human rise to domination of the biosphere," here Wilson posits that we, as a species, now know enough about the universe and ourselves that we can begin to approach questions about our place in the cosmos and the meaning of intelligent life in a systematic, indeed, in a testable way. Once criticized for a purely mechanistic view of human life and an overreliance on genetic predetermination, Wilson presents in The Meaning of Human Existence his most expansive and advanced theories on the sovereignty of human life, recognizing that, even though the human and the spider evolved similarly, the poet's sonnet is wholly different from the spider's web. Whether attempting to explicate "The Riddle of the Human Species," "Free Will," or "Religion"; warning of "The Collapse of Biodiversity"; or even creating a plausible "Portrait of E.T.," Wilson does indeed believe that humanity holds a special position in the known universe. The human epoch that began in biological evolution and passed into pre-, then recorded, history is now more than ever before in our hands. Yet alarmed that we are about to abandon natural selection by redesigning biology and human nature as we wish them, Wilson soberly concludes that advances in science and technology bring us our greatest moral dilemma since God stayed the hand of Abraham.

This classic textbook has been used successfully by instructors and students for nearly three decades. This timely new edition offers minimal yet notable changes while retaining all the elements, presentation, and accessible exposition of previous editions. A list of updates is found in the Preface to this edition. This text is based on the author’s experience in teaching graduate courses and the minimal requirements for successful graduate study. The text is understandable to the typical student enrolled in the course, taking into consideration the variations in abilities, background, and motivation. Chapters one through six have been written to be accessible to the average student, w hile at the same time challenging the more talented student through the exercises. Chapters seven through ten assume the students have achieved some level of expertise in the subject. In these chapters, the theorems, examples, and exercises require greater sophistication and mathematical maturity for full understanding. In addition to the standard topics the text includes topics that are not always included in comparable texts. Chapter 6 contains a section on the Riemann-Stieltjes integral and a proof of Lebesgue’s t heorem providing necessary and sufficient conditions for Riemann integrability. Chapter 7 also includes a section on square summable sequences and a brief introduction to normed linear spaces. C hapter 8 contains a proof of the Weierstrass approximation theorem using the method of aapproximate identities. The inclusion of Fourier series in the text allows the student to gain some exposure to this important subject. The final chapter includes a detailed treatment of Lebesgue measure and the Lebesgue integral, using inner and outer measure. The exercises at the end of each section reinforce the concepts. Notes provide historical comments or discuss additional topics.

​Analysis at Large is dedicated to Jean Bourgain whose research has deeply influenced the mathematics discipline, particularly in analysis and its interconnections with other fields. In this volume, the contributions made by renowned experts present both research and surveys on a wide spectrum of subjects, each of which pay tribute to a true mathematical pioneer. Examples of topics discussed in this book include Bourgain’s discretized sum-product theorem, his work in nonlinear dispersive equations, the slicing problem by Bourgain, harmonious sets, the joint spectral radius, equidistribution of affine random walks, Cartan covers and doubling Bernstein type inequalities, a weighted Prékopa-Leindler inequality and sumsets with quasicubes, the fractal uncertainty principle for the Walsh-Fourier transform, the continuous formulation of shallow neural networks as Wasserstein-type gradient flows, logarithmic quantum dynamical bounds for arithmetically defined ergodic Schrödinger operators, polynomial equations in subgroups, trace sets of restricted continued fraction semigroups, exponential sums, twisted multiplicativity and moments, the ternary Goldbach problem, as well as the multiplicative group generated by two primes in Z/QZ. It is hoped that this volume will inspire further research in the areas of analysis treated in this book and also provide direction and guidance for upcoming developments in this essential subject of mathematics.

Developed over years of classroom use, this textbook provides a clear and accessible approach to real analysis. This modern interpretation is based on the author’s lecture notes and has been meticulously tailored to motivate students and inspire readers to explore the material, and to continue exploring even after they have finished the book. The definitions, theorems, and proofs contained within are presented with mathematical rigor, but conveyed in an accessible manner and with language and motivation meant for students who have not taken a previous course on this subject. The text covers all of the topics essential for an introductory course, including Lebesgue measure, measurable functions, Lebesgue integrals, differentiation, absolute continuity, Banach and Hilbert spaces, and more. Throughout each chapter, challenging exercises are presented, and the end of each section includes additional problems. Such an inclusive approach creates an abundance of opportunities for readers to develop their understanding, and aids instructors as they plan their coursework. Additional resources are available online, including expanded chapters, enrichment exercises, a detailed course outline, and much more. Introduction to Real Analysis is intended for first-year graduate students taking a first course in real analysis, as well as for instructors seeking detailed lecture material with structure and accessibility in mind. Additionally, its content is appropriate for Ph.D. students in any scientific or engineering discipline who have taken a standard upper-level undergraduate real analysis course.

What are humans? What makes us who we are? Many think that we are just complicated machines, or animals that are different from machines only by being conscious. In Are We Bodies or Souls? Richard Swinburne comes to the defence of the soul and presents new philosophical arguments that are supported by modern neuroscience. When scientific advances enable neuroscientists to transplant a part of brain into a new body, he reasons, no matter how much we can find out about their brain activity or conscious experiences we will never know whether the resulting person is the same as before or somebody entirely new. Swinburne thus argues that we are immaterial souls sustained in existence by our brains. Sensations, thoughts, and intentions are conscious events in our souls that cause events in our brains. While scientists might discover some of the laws of nature that determine conscious events and brain events, each person's soul is an individual thing and this is what ultimately makes us who we are.