The physics of condensed matter, in contrast to quantum physics or cosmology, is not traditionally associated with deep philosophical questions. However, as science - largely thanks to more powerful computers - becomes capable of analysing and modelling ever more complex many-body systems, basic questions of philosophical relevance arise. Questions about the emergence of structure, the nature o…
Contrary to popular conceptions that ethical failures in leadership are correlated with economic downturns and other stressful market conditions, this book argues that such transgressions are an intrinsic element of leadership, as it is defined under the current prevailing paradigm. In recent years the crisis of failures in ethical leadership across organizations, particularly corporations, …
This book deals with the very real possibility of earthly immortality and the human and societal implications of such immortality, including whether it is desirable. It looks at what makes immortality appear so attractive and at the possibility that we would be better served with longer lives and the freedom to terminate our lives at the time when life has given us all the joy, inspiration a…
This book explores the challenges of an academic teaching career. The authors discuss the issues that may arise in the tenure process, scholarship activities, publishing, and providing service to their academic communities as well as how to keep teaching lessons relevant and fresh.
Most people go through life chasing illusions of success, fame, wealth, happiness, and few things are more painful than the reality-revealing loss of an illusion. But if illusions are negative, why is the opposite, being disillusioned, also negative? In this essay based on his inaugural writer-in-residence lecture at Athabasca University, internationally acclaimed writer Steven Heighton mathema…
The purpose of this book is to initiate a new discussion on liberty focusing on the infinite realms of space. The discussion of the nature of liberty and what it means for a human to be free has occupied the minds of thinkers since the Enlightenment. However, without exception, every one of these discussions has focused on the character of liberty on the Earth. The emergence of human space expl…
This book is an assault on the notion that it is empirically accurate and legally and philosophically satisfactory to see humans as atomistic entities. It contends that our welfare is inextricably entangled with that of others, and accordingly law and ethics, in determining our best interests, should recognise the central importance of relationality, the performance of obligations, and (even ap…
This book explicates some of the fundamental philosophical tenets underpinning key theoretical frameworks, and demonstrates how these tenets inform particular kinds of research practice in mathematics education research. We believe that a deep understanding of significant theories from the humanities and social sciences is crucial for doing high-quality research in education. For that reason, t…
In every sphere of life, division and intolerance have polarized communities and entire nations. The learned construction of the Other—an evil “enemy” against whom both physical and discursive violence is deemed acceptable—has fractured humanity, creating divisions that seemingly defy reconciliation. How do we restore the bonds of connection among human beings? How do we shift from pola…
In this candid and concise volume, Kyle Conway, author of The Art of Communication in a Polarized World, considers how we can open ourselves to others and to ideas that scare us by reading difficult texts. Conway argues that because we resist ideas we don’t understand, we must embrace confusion as a constitutive part of understanding and meaningful exchange, whether between a reader and a tex…