Joel R. Primack & Nancy Ellen Abrams

At Home in the Cosmos: Exploring Who We Are and Why We Are Here

 

Will the most recent scientific discoveries about our physical universe completely reshape the spirituality and culture of the future? Physicist Joel Primack and his wife, philosopher Nancy Abrams, think so—and they say they’ve got a radical new theory that proves it.

In section one of this interview with WIE’s Elizabeth Debold and Andrew Cohen, Primack and Abrams lay out the scientific foundations of their theory, which suggests that although we are not located at the geographical center of the universe, the rarity of carbon-based life and the uniqueness of the human capacity for consciousness make us central to the cosmos in ways that were not conceivable to our ancestors. In section two, Abrams, Primack, Debold, and Cohen discuss the exciting implications of this perspective they call “the view from the center of the universe” and how it may force us to reevaluate our deepest notions of God, morality, and the meaning of our presence here in an evolving cosmos. As Abrams says in the interview:

“We can experience the entire universe spiritually if we realize that what spiritual means is to experience our connection to the cosmos. . . . The universe itself is so much grander than anyone imagined. Even attempting to feel that we’re a part of it is a spiritual action.”

Inspiring and at times controversial, this interview is a pioneering journey to the very edge of the evolving relationship between science and spirituality.

more about:

Joel R. Primack
bio & resources
 
Nancy Ellen Abrams
bio & resources
 

Interviewed by:

 

Recorded on: 4/28/2008

Topics:

Cosmology
Physics
Science and Spirituality

 

At Home in the Cosmos: Exploring Who We Are and Why We Are Here

FREE Sample Clip  (2 min)
 
 
 
Section 1 (56 min)

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Section 2 (42 min)

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