The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
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- Create Date：2022-07-25 06:57:12
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Sean Carroll
- ISBN：1101984252
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Summary
The instant New York Times bestseller about humanity's place in the universe--and how we understand it。
"Vivid。。。impressive。。。。Splendidly informative。"--The New York Times
"Succeeds spectacularly。"--Science
"A tour de force。"--Salon
Already internationally acclaimed for his elegant， lucid writing on the most challenging notions in modern physics， Sean Carroll is emerging as one of the greatest humanist thinkers of his generation as he brings his extraordinary intellect to bear not only on Higgs bosons and extra dimensions but now also on our deepest personal questions: Where are we？ Who are we？ Are our emotions， our beliefs， and our hopes and dreams ultimately meaningless out there in the void？ Do human purpose and meaning fit into a scientific worldview？
In short chapters filled with intriguing historical anecdotes， personal asides， and rigorous exposition， readers learn the difference between how the world works at the quantum level， the cosmic level， and the human level--and then how each connects to the other。 Carroll's presentation of the principles that have guided the scientific revolution from Darwin and Einstein to the origins of life， consciousness， and the universe is dazzlingly unique。
Carroll shows how an avalanche of discoveries in the past few hundred years has changed our world and what really matters to us。 Our lives are dwarfed like never before by the immensity of space and time， but they are redeemed by our capacity to comprehend it and give it meaning。
The Big Picture is an unprecedented scientific worldview， a tour de force that will sit on shelves alongside the works of Stephen Hawking， Carl Sagan， Daniel Dennett， and E。 O。 Wilson for years to come。
"Vivid。。。impressive。。。。Splendidly informative。"--The New York Times
"Succeeds spectacularly。"--Science
"A tour de force。"--Salon
Already internationally acclaimed for his elegant， lucid writing on the most challenging notions in modern physics， Sean Carroll is emerging as one of the greatest humanist thinkers of his generation as he brings his extraordinary intellect to bear not only on Higgs bosons and extra dimensions but now also on our deepest personal questions: Where are we？ Who are we？ Are our emotions， our beliefs， and our hopes and dreams ultimately meaningless out there in the void？ Do human purpose and meaning fit into a scientific worldview？
In short chapters filled with intriguing historical anecdotes， personal asides， and rigorous exposition， readers learn the difference between how the world works at the quantum level， the cosmic level， and the human level--and then how each connects to the other。 Carroll's presentation of the principles that have guided the scientific revolution from Darwin and Einstein to the origins of life， consciousness， and the universe is dazzlingly unique。
Carroll shows how an avalanche of discoveries in the past few hundred years has changed our world and what really matters to us。 Our lives are dwarfed like never before by the immensity of space and time， but they are redeemed by our capacity to comprehend it and give it meaning。
The Big Picture is an unprecedented scientific worldview， a tour de force that will sit on shelves alongside the works of Stephen Hawking， Carl Sagan， Daniel Dennett， and E。 O。 Wilson for years to come。
Reviews
AJ
，
This book is fantastic。 It's a look a legitimate philosophical implications from our scientific discoveries， feynman-esque in that regard。 That last quarter is bogged down in him trying to disregard religion as a a method， which I could not care less about。 When he discussed ideas that I never thought about， explained things that were fuzzy for me and evangelised poetic naturalism it was a really exhilarating read for the mind。 I highly recommend it。 This book is fantastic。 It's a look a legitimate philosophical implications from our scientific discoveries， feynman-esque in that regard。 That last quarter is bogged down in him trying to disregard religion as a a method， which I could not care less about。 When he discussed ideas that I never thought about， explained things that were fuzzy for me and evangelised poetic naturalism it was a really exhilarating read for the mind。 I highly recommend it。 。。。more
Chiara Crispino
，
I was really excited to read this book， and very passionate about quantum mechanics and universe: having reached 35% of it， I had to give up。 It’s the first time I feel I don’t have energy to finish a book， but the fact is that this is a philosophy book， and not a simple and divulgative one。 Full of complex philosophy theories and personal beliefs， I felt disappointed — definitely not the kind of reading I was expecting。
Joe Hoggard
，
Sean Carroll has taken some of the biggest scientific questions of our time and clearly explained what we know from science to be true。 "Everybody dies。 Life is not a substance like water or rock。 It is a process like fire or a wave crashing into the shore。"The Big Picture tells the story of our universe， why we think it is true， and also seeks to explain that to understand ourselves， we must understand the stuff out of which we are made。 This means digging into subatomic particles， forces and q Sean Carroll has taken some of the biggest scientific questions of our time and clearly explained what we know from science to be true。 "Everybody dies。 Life is not a substance like water or rock。 It is a process like fire or a wave crashing into the shore。"The Big Picture tells the story of our universe， why we think it is true， and also seeks to explain that to understand ourselves， we must understand the stuff out of which we are made。 This means digging into subatomic particles， forces and quantum phenomena。 Carroll calls his approach "poetic naturalism。" Over the course of this book， he carefully makes the case for the simple explanation that our everyday world is explained by the elements of the periodic table， electrons surrounding each atom and the forces acting between all things: gravity and electromagnetism。 There are natural explanations and the fundamental laws of nature are well described by the Core Theory and Quantum Field Theory。 He even touches on the different levels describing our world， ontologies， that make it convenient to talk about ourselves with different levels of specificity: as atoms， living cells and humans。 His book is broken up into 6 major parts: cosmos， understanding， essence， complexity， thinking and caring。 Section 2， Thinking， helps introduce bayesian reasoning and our planets of beliefs。 We must update our expectations as we accumulate more data。 Section 5 explained that thoughts have physical correlates and that the inner experience is a way of talking about what goes on in our brains。 There is a lot to explore， more than I can cover here， but ultimately it is an optimistic view。 Humans create meaning and value where none are intrinsic to the universe。 Our lives are brief on cosmic scales， but we should nevertheless see this opportunity to celebrate the wonder of life and seek to understand it。 If you have ever wanted a modern scientific breakdown of our current understanding of life， meaning and the universe， I highly recommend giving this a read。 。。。more
Chanelle Duley
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A masterful quilt of lessons from mathematics， history， philosophy， ethics and science on everything you could want to know about life， learning and knowing。
Tanmay Agrawal
，
An incredibly well written book！ It’s pretty accessible with just the right amount of philosophical rigor needed to get the point across。 My only critique would be that the author’s optimistic takes about the scientific method explaining conspicuousness come off as slightly arrogant at times。
رامي الرفوع
，
Too philosophical and it was hard to follow especially that I am listening to an audiobook。
Noah Madziva
，
An interesting book A blend of physics and philosophy。It stimulates your mind。However at times it is very technical。May be difficult to understand if you are not scientifically minded。
Thomas Fackler
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A synopsis of scientific pursuit through 2015 with Bayesian confidences expressed。 An introduction to metaphysics in the field of poetic naturalism。 Well worth a read。
Mary Stewart
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Listed in 9 Books from Elon Musk:
Brian
，
I tuned in and out， and most of it was like enjoyable。 Some of it was even enlightening （I particularly liked the bit about memory/imaginative thought relating to the same part of the brain）。Definitely lots of conundrums and wonders discussed， and the scientific backing really whet my appetite for more。 But some of it was over my head。 I was gonna give it four stars and then the author got all like weird and spiritual defensive at the end。 I thought his hunky dory perspective on universality was I tuned in and out， and most of it was like enjoyable。 Some of it was even enlightening （I particularly liked the bit about memory/imaginative thought relating to the same part of the brain）。Definitely lots of conundrums and wonders discussed， and the scientific backing really whet my appetite for more。 But some of it was over my head。 I was gonna give it four stars and then the author got all like weird and spiritual defensive at the end。 I thought his hunky dory perspective on universality was weak and made many of his arguments feel pointless。 Would’ve been cooler and ballsier if he just said Christians/theists have prevented us from advancing。 How can someone so smart retreat to such a basic conclusion that encourages no progressive action？ 。。。more
Jordan
，
Did not keep my interest so much as it was repeating the same ideas （life is a process）， without giving much clarity on the conclusions made apart from some bluntly put statements here and there。 Maybe a bit too science-oriented， not in a bad way， but you would expect a bit more philosophy / psychology in it since the author is referring a lot to consciousness。 Enjoyed mostly the last chapters， but overall not that engaging。
Keith Boynton
，
Honestly， this might be TOO big a picture。 Carroll is an engaging writer and a lucid thinker， and there's enough sly humor here to keep things lively， but it often feels like the book is skimming the surface， instead of delving deeply enough to give us penetrating new insights。 On the other hand， there are moments of real profundity when Carroll gets onto existential subjects。 This is a worthwhile book， but sometimes a frustrating one。 Honestly， this might be TOO big a picture。 Carroll is an engaging writer and a lucid thinker， and there's enough sly humor here to keep things lively， but it often feels like the book is skimming the surface， instead of delving deeply enough to give us penetrating new insights。 On the other hand， there are moments of real profundity when Carroll gets onto existential subjects。 This is a worthwhile book， but sometimes a frustrating one。 。。。more
SeaShore
，
Author born 1968。 Book released in 2016。A surprising read， he provides opinions and discussions on Science， Mathematics， Faith and God， ESP， telekinesis， transcendence， essentialism， species dysphoria， good and evil， the reasons not to believe in psychic phenomena， Free Will。"Life is characterised by motion and change and these characteristics manifest themselves in human beings as forms of desire。""Right now we have a certain theory of particles and forces， the Core Theory， that seems indisput Author born 1968。 Book released in 2016。A surprising read， he provides opinions and discussions on Science， Mathematics， Faith and God， ESP， telekinesis， transcendence， essentialism， species dysphoria， good and evil， the reasons not to believe in psychic phenomena， Free Will。"Life is characterised by motion and change and these characteristics manifest themselves in human beings as forms of desire。""Right now we have a certain theory of particles and forces， the Core Theory， that seems indisputably accurate within a very wide domain of applicability。"The Universe doesn't care about us。 We care about the Universe。Part of this book is about the author's life as a child -grew up going to church and attended Catholic schools。 His interest was astronomy drove him to more intense studies， Harvard and then Cal-Tech He tells how he started doubting and then decided he was atheist。What is the meaning of life to Sean Carroll: "When a candle is burning， there’s a flame that carries energy。 When the candle is snuffed out， the energy doesn’t “go” anywhere。 It would be foolish to say the flame now exists in some “state” of nothingness。 Instead， what has happened is that the process of combustion has ceased。"His Research Interests:"Theoretical Cosmology， Field Theory， and GravitationMy research involves theoretical physics and astrophysics， especially cosmology， field theory， and gravitation。 I have worked on questions involving dark matter and dark energy， modified gravity， violations of Lorentz invariance， extra dimensions， topological defects， cosmic microwave background anisotropies， causality violation， black holes， and the cosmological constant problem。 Most of my current attention is focused on the origin of the universe and the arrow of time， including the roles of inflation， baby universes， and quantum gravity。Carroll also says that he loves working with grad students and postdocs。 Their basic background requirements should include a working knowledge of general relativity and simple field theory with expertise in cosmology， statistical mechanics， or quantum information a plus。 However there is much to learn so they are expected to be learning while researching。Points:There are two types of Quantum fields: Fermions （made up of electrons and quarks） and Bosons （gravity， electromagnetism， strong nuclear forces and weak nuclear forces and the Higgs boson）。 Fermions are particles of matter and Bosons are the force-carrying particles。The Higgs boson was proposed in the 1960s and finally discovered at the large Haldon Collider in 2012。It's not a book to skim; it's for the reader to study and do some follow up。 With ongoing research at CERN， HIGGS， and enthusiastic up-and-coming Physicists and Scientists generally speaking， what lies ahead is not easy to discern。 Be a follower of SpaceX。 Encourage young aspiring astronomers and cosmologists。 Inspiration 4 lead by Jared Isaacson in 2021 was exciting and encouraging。 We know enough about the Core Theory to describe all that can affect us （humans）。There is only one world， the natural world， but many universes， I suppose。 The future is different from the past in the 'arrow of time'。 。。。more
Kamil Khan
，
Absolutely loved the description of naturalism， but I felt that the last few chapters dealing with meaning and morality were not up to the standard achieved before that。 That's understandable since the leap from what is to what （generally） ought to be is a hard one， as explained very well by the author。 Absolutely loved the description of naturalism， but I felt that the last few chapters dealing with meaning and morality were not up to the standard achieved before that。 That's understandable since the leap from what is to what （generally） ought to be is a hard one， as explained very well by the author。 。。。more
Trish Gross
，
This book is dense （and long） but ties together philosophy， science and religion in a way that makes you look at the world in a different way。 I didn’t get everything but I appreciate what the author was trying to do。
Diane
，
This non-fiction book of science and philisophy was an audiobook read by author。 I really enjoyed parts 1，2， 5， and most of 6。 These sections focused on his thesis （Poetic naturalism as the worldview most supported by science- as opposed to， for example- religious worldviews） whereas the middle sections had a tendency to go into more scientific detail than I wanted to follow。 I understand why those chapters exist- it's important for people to understand how the science works in the construction This non-fiction book of science and philisophy was an audiobook read by author。 I really enjoyed parts 1，2， 5， and most of 6。 These sections focused on his thesis （Poetic naturalism as the worldview most supported by science- as opposed to， for example- religious worldviews） whereas the middle sections had a tendency to go into more scientific detail than I wanted to follow。 I understand why those chapters exist- it's important for people to understand how the science works in the construction of the philosophical argument- however， I had difficulty staying on task。 There was another section that focused on syllogisms， which was dry and went on awhile， and I kept fogging out and having to replay it。 Curses on ADD。 I went into this book thinking of myself as an athiest。 There is a part where Carroll quotes Ann Druyan on Atheism and her husband （Carl Sagan）'s death: "Carl faced his death with unflagging courage and never sought refuge in illusions。。。" I had read this before， and it was in my mind throughout most of this book。 I don't think I have this courage to be completely atheistic。 I don't believe in the Abrahamic version of God， however， even as an atheist， I do cling to some version of an afterlife- some version of spiritual truth- because the poetic naturalist version of the alternative- that the physical world is all there is- leaves me cold and kind of depressed。 I found myself mentally arguing with the author when he asserted his scientific worldview， even though， intellectually， I mostly agree with him。 My reaction to this book caught me by surprise and left me with a lot to think about。 Well written， well narrated， （mostly） very interesting。 "B" 。。。more
Ozan
，
Did I learn a lot ？ YesHowever it felt like too many topics brought together one after another and it gets confusing at times。 The author can’t help himself to hear himself talking about hard to answer questions。 The 10 “commandments “ at the end are very basic stuff after all that info download。
Dillan Taylor
，
A fun 101 on the basic laws of physics and the scientific method。The book tails back and forth between the incredible questions science has answered…and the unknown wonders we may never fully understand。
Bogdan Nacu
，
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Rodrigo Quintanar
，
Brilliant！ I’ve always wanted to find a book that would combine physics with philosophy， this is the one！
هالة جانم
，
مع أنني لا افهم الكتب العلمية بشكل واضح ألا أنني اقرءها وأصل ألى فكرة حتى لو كانت عن جهود العلماء في تطوير مجال عملهم
Cenk Undey
，
Very nice account and summary of where we are coming from， how we think and a lot of physics！
Monica
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Loved it！ Bravo Mr Carroll！ rtf shortly。。。4。5 StarsListened to the audiobook narrated by the author。 It was very well done！
Romeo
，
Absurdity after absurdity。 One of the biggest one is the following。 The author say that if theoretically we put an object in a place where nothing can cause friction or movement， the object would still be in motion。 And this is the biggest nosense I hve met in the book together with other points。What is time？ Matters that move into space， and we measure it cyclically with clocks。 If you put AN OBJECT where there is nothing that can cause frictions， you are actually putting AN OBJECT in a place w Absurdity after absurdity。 One of the biggest one is the following。 The author say that if theoretically we put an object in a place where nothing can cause friction or movement， the object would still be in motion。 And this is the biggest nosense I hve met in the book together with other points。What is time？ Matters that move into space， and we measure it cyclically with clocks。 If you put AN OBJECT where there is nothing that can cause frictions， you are actually putting AN OBJECT in a place where there is nothing。 So there is no matters that can move， therefore no space and no time。 Beside the fact that you cannot physically test this， how the author knew the object would still be in motion？ If you want a real boon read Steven Hawking。 This is just a book to read at the beach as if was a Star Trek book。 。。。more
Andrii Borovyi
，
Підназва "Осягнути всесвіт"дала мені купу сподівань про те， що нарешті， я почну краще розбиратися в зорях， планетах， астероїдах， чорних дірах та інших космічнмх тілах і процесах， і моє розуміння всесвіту вийде за межі програми Sky Walk 2， і я нарешті почну розуміти купу космічних речей。 Зрештою， про що ж іще може писати активний фізик-теоретик， якщо книжка в руках демонструє його "безпрецедентний світогляд， прояв думки висого лету， що зберігатиметься на полицях поряд з роботами Стівена Гокінга， Підназва "Осягнути всесвіт"дала мені купу сподівань про те， що нарешті， я почну краще розбиратися в зорях， планетах， астероїдах， чорних дірах та інших космічнмх тілах і процесах， і моє розуміння всесвіту вийде за межі програми Sky Walk 2， і я нарешті почну розуміти купу космічних речей。 Зрештою， про що ж іще може писати активний фізик-теоретик， якщо книжка в руках демонструє його "безпрецедентний світогляд， прояв думки висого лету， що зберігатиметься на полицях поряд з роботами Стівена Гокінга， Карла Сагтана， Даніела Деннета протягом багатьох років"。 （Цитата взята з анотації; книжки першого бачив， про другого чув， а хто такий третій - не знаю， але мав би бути досить відомою людиною）。Книжка складається з шести частин: "Космос"， "Розуміння"， "Сутність"， "Складність"， "Мислення"， "Турбота"。 Ееее。。。。 Га？？？ Життя мене до такого не готувало。 Ну， гаразд， "Космос"， про те， які речі відбуваються в космосі， чому вони відбуваються， як всесвіт організовано。 Зрештою останнє - розсипано тонким мереживом через усю книжку。 І от， читаючи її， в мене складалося відчуття， що основна ціль автора була досить розмита і неокреслена。 Звісно， окрім твердження "Бога нема， бо ми не знайшли закономірностей， чому він мав би бути"。 До честі автора， він каже що наразі не знайшли і питання є нез'ясованим。 Однак， наше поточне розуміння каже， що Бога таки нема。 Але， для чого це повторювати настільки часто， що у мене склалося враження， що книжка цілком мала б слугувати посібником з наукового атеїзму？Однак， "не все так погано"。 Цікаво було ознайомитися з ідеєю того， що зародження світу пов'язують з другим законом термодинаміки， правда я так і не дуже зрозумів чому Бог не міг створити всесвіт， але другий закон термодинаміки - зміг。 Але давайте це запишемо на мій брак знань і в коментарях можете додати книжки， які проллють світло на цю тему。 А ще， теоретизування про душу， якої нема （я точно не на лекції з наукового атеїзму？）。 І про те， що так сталося （о всемогутній другий закон термодинаміки）， що життя зародилося на Землі випадково。 І про те， що у фотонів нема свідомості， але може бути протосвідомість， і взагалі， наша доля наче як визначена наперед （я вже згадував про другий закон термодинаміки）， але ми маємо вільну волю все змінити。 А ще， у автора була бабуся， і він ходив до церкви， поки бабуся була жива， тому автор - не звичайний атеїст， який став атеїстом через надмірні релігійні потрясіння， а тому що це сталося "само собою"Що варто винести з цієї книжки: наше життя складає приблизно три мільярди ударів сердець， ми можемо створюватися правила самі і їм слідувати， або не слідувати。 Ну， і загалом ознайомитися з деякими досягненнями науки， щоб поставити собі цікаві запитання。 І не забувайте про другий закон термодинАААААААААААААА！！！！！！！！！！！！！ 。。。more
Raveen Kulenthran
，
I feel indebted to the author of this book， for if there was one book that helped me merge the vocabulary and principles of modern currents of thought with my felt spiritual insights， this book was it。 Every chapter is packed with information that helps any truth seeker remain curious about life itself。
Benjy
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Physics for poets！ A broad history of science delivered via a series of existentialist philosophy essays。 The challenge set up by the author is for readers to accept a cold deterministic universe at the physical level without letting it push them into nothing-matters nihilism at the human level。 The universe may be governed by a brute set of rules， but our lived experience of it can’t be so easily categorized and concepts like consciousness， the self， and free will are still useful frames even i Physics for poets！ A broad history of science delivered via a series of existentialist philosophy essays。 The challenge set up by the author is for readers to accept a cold deterministic universe at the physical level without letting it push them into nothing-matters nihilism at the human level。 The universe may be governed by a brute set of rules， but our lived experience of it can’t be so easily categorized and concepts like consciousness， the self， and free will are still useful frames even if they don’t “exist” in a material sense。 。。。more
Gabriel Sims-Fewer
，
Sean Carrol knows a lot of fairly interesting science stuff， doesn't believe in god， and has lived a cushy middle class white American life that's lead him to have a typically simplistic worldview and the baffling arrogance to consider his undergraduate understanding of Eurocentric philosophy as profound。 He seems like a perfectly nice middle class white liberal， and the science stuff is fascinating， if you can survive it's bland presentation， but the book is ultimately a painful read and it's h Sean Carrol knows a lot of fairly interesting science stuff， doesn't believe in god， and has lived a cushy middle class white American life that's lead him to have a typically simplistic worldview and the baffling arrogance to consider his undergraduate understanding of Eurocentric philosophy as profound。 He seems like a perfectly nice middle class white liberal， and the science stuff is fascinating， if you can survive it's bland presentation， but the book is ultimately a painful read and it's hard to imagine anything with less philosophical， ideological， social， or political value。 。。。more
Alberto
，
Libro muy interesante a caballo entre la ciencia y la filosofía， que trata de arrojar luz sobre el universo， la creación y desarrollo de la vida， la consciencia， la existencia del alma， la existencia de Dios， etc。 El autor se declara abiertamente ateo y explica todos estos temas bajo un prisma， a veces， excesivamente técnico。 No obstante el libro es apasionante tanto por los temas que trata， como por la luz que arroja sobre el estado de los mismos y su base científica。 Muy recomendable para toda Libro muy interesante a caballo entre la ciencia y la filosofía， que trata de arrojar luz sobre el universo， la creación y desarrollo de la vida， la consciencia， la existencia del alma， la existencia de Dios， etc。 El autor se declara abiertamente ateo y explica todos estos temas bajo un prisma， a veces， excesivamente técnico。 No obstante el libro es apasionante tanto por los temas que trata， como por la luz que arroja sobre el estado de los mismos y su base científica。 Muy recomendable para toda persona que tenga inquietudes sobre estos temas 。。。more
John Pollard
，