The twenty-one readings collected by Leslie address four main questions: Was there a Big Bang? Is our universe "fine-tuned" to life's needs such that the most minute changes would have made life-forms impossible? Are there multiple universes? Is there life elsewhere in the cosmos? A brief survey of a sampling of the readings will convey the scope of this volume.

As Lucas explains in the preface, his book is based on the lectures he gave to first-year students reading Physics and Philosophy or Mathematics and Philosophy at Oxford. It emerges as a self-contained, well-argued, and lucid introduction to the philosophy of science. Lucas leads the reader on a path that avoids the dangers of both extreme rationalism and radical empiricism. For him the principles of natural philosophy are more complex and less coherent than either the deductive rationalism of Plato or (...) the radical empiricism of modern times suggests. (shrink)

Throughout the twelve chapters of this book, Hollis uses ideas from economics, sociology, political theory, and philosophy to reach his central goal: decoding the meaning of rational human action. Hollis begins the development of his argument by reviewing the standard microeconomic analysis of rational choice by a single individual such as Adam. Since action is the result of desire plus belief, rational action involves ordered desires, true beliefs, correct deliberation, and the maximization of net utility. Hollis questions the assumption that (...) desire, rather than belief, is the primary motivator of action. He challenges whether a theory of merely efficient choice which disregards ends can be considered a theory of rational choice. (shrink)