The Speed of Light: Constancy + Cosmos

Light--our experience of light, our measurement of light, and the notion that light speed is constant--can be understood to mark our interface with the cosmos. David A. Grandy's book moves from the scientific to the existential, from Einstein to Merleau-Ponty, from light as a phenomenon to light as that which is constitutive of reality. To measure the speed of light is to measure something about the way we are measured or blended into the cosmos, and that universal blending predetermines our measurement of light speed in favor of a universal or constant value. It's quite a trip, one aimed at scientists who have pondered light speed constancy, philosophers inclined to question the idea that mind and world are distinct, and scientifically or philosophically inclined persons who enjoy stretching themselves in new ways.

"A brilliant and distinguished book... Grandy introduces a trans-scientific understanding of light as a deep ordering principle within the universe." --Thaddeus J. Trenn, University of Toronto Indiana University Press Indiana University Press Indiana University Press

The puzzle at the heart of this book-light speed constancy-is a bit hard to wrap your mind around, but that is part of the fun. Light-our experience of light, our measurement of light, and the notion that light speed is constant-can be understood to mark the very interface of us with the cosmos. David Grandy's book moves from the scientific to the existential, from Einstein to Merleau-Ponty and Heidegger, from light as a phenomenon to light as that which is constitutive of reality. To measure the speed of light is to measure something about the way we are measured or blended into the cosmos, and that universal blending pre-decides our measurement of light speed in favor of a universal or constant value. It's quite a trip, one aimed at scientists who have pondered light speed constancy, philosophers inclined to question the idea that mind and world are distinct, and for scientifically or philosophically inclined persons who enjoy stretching themselves in new ways.

A mind-expanding exploration of light and how we experience the universe

David A. Grandy is Professor of Philosophy at Brigham Young University and author (with Dan Burton) of Magic, Mystery, and Science (IUP, 2004) and Leo Szilard: Science as a Mode of Being. He lives in Orem, Utah.

Introduction

1. Space, Time, and Light Speed Constancy

2. Special Relativity

3. Horizonal Light

4. Experiential Light

5. Relational Light

6. Internal Relations

7. Light in a Vacuum

8. Ambient Light

9. Pre-reflective Experience

10. Body, World, and Light

11. Existential Light

Notes

Bibliography

Index