Spiritual Universe: One Physicist's Vision of Spirit, Soul, Matter, and Self - Softcover

Why do we believe in the soul? Does it actually exist? If so, what is it? Does it differ from the self? Is it part of the material world? Does it survive the body after death? In The Spiritual Universe, Fred Alan Wolf brings the most modern perspective of quantum physics to the most ancient questions of religion and philosophy. Taking the reader on a fascinating tour of both Western and Eastern thought, Wolf explains the differing view of the soul in the works of Plato, Aristotle, and St. Thomas; the ancient Egyptian's believe in the nine forms of the soul; the Qabalistic idea of the soul acting in secret to bring spiritual order to a chaotic universe of matter and energy; and the Buddhist vision of a "nonsoul." And, Wolf mounts a defense of the soul against its modern critics who see it as nothing more than the physical body.

Fred Alan Wolf earned his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from UCLA and has taught at San Diego State University as well as the University of London, the University of Paris, the HahnMeitner Institute for Nuclear Physics in Berlin, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In addition to being featured in What the Bleep, Fred Alan Wolf is a frequent radio guest and has appeared on television programs such as the Discovery Channel's The Know Zone (as the resident physicist) and PBS's Closer to Truth. He is also a member of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Collegium of Scholars, winner of the National Book Award, and the author of nine books including Mind into Matter, Matter into Feeling, and The Spiritual Universe.