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SCIENCE 7/10/2016@9:58AM 39,322views

Cosmology,GodAndWhy'TheBig
Picture'NeedsToBeBigger
Illapologizeinadvanceforalongreview.And
itsalongreviewbecauseSeanCarrollsTheBig
Pictureisanimportantbookthatneedstobe
readbyamuchwideraudiencethanpopular
scienceaficionados.Butletmestartwithashort
historicalprologue:

Backinthe12thcentury,atrickleofmonks
flowedfromEuropeintotheIberianPeninsula,
atthetimestillheavilydominatedbyMuslim
rule,thoughChristianprinceswerebeginningto
retaketheterritoriescitybycity.Thepilgrims
neededaccesstobetterlunarandplanetary
charts.Theyhadheardfromtravelers,thatArab
starwatchershadawealthofsuperiordata.

CalTechphysicistandauthorSeanCarroll(imagecourtresyofNew
Scientist).

So,theheadsofthenewcathedralschoolsonthe
continentsenttheseclericsdowntoSpaintoget
translations:First,andforemost,ofthe
astronomicaltables,sothatthepopescould
makemoreaccurateassessmentsofwhenEaster
shouldbedeterminedintheGregoriancalendar.

Theycouldnotimaginewhattheyweregetting
themselvesinto.InToledotheygainedaccessto
Latintranslationsoffarmorethanastronomical
tables.Medicalbooks.Philosophy.Zoology.
WhatbecameknownasTheTranslation
Movement,overthenexttwocenturies,opened
toEuropeaccesstoallthebestsourcesof
AncientScienceandPhilosophythatexistedand
hadbeenlosttotheWestsincethefallofthe
RomanEmpire,fromAristotleandtheGreeks
onwardtothegreatestphysiciansand
philosophersofIslam.Theknowledgethat
flowedbackintoEuropetransformedits
fledglingeducationalsystem,helpingturn
cloisteredcathedralschoolsintogreat
universities,anditwasahugefactorinwhat
eventuallyledtotheScientificRevolution.

So,whatisthepointofthisaside?Itsmerelyto
giveasnapshotattheoutset,ofacrucialelement
IthinkismissingfromSeanCarrollsabsolutely
marvelousbook,whosefulltitleisTheBig
Picture:OntheOriginsofLife,Meaning,and
theUniverseItself.

Allmendesiretoknow,asAristotlesaid.But
throughouthistorythishumandesiretoknow
hasbeentiedinextricablytothetranscendent.
(Needwesay,God?Notnecessarily,butthats
somethingthatwouldrequireitsownbook.)

Howhumanshaveevolvedtheirowninstitutions
ofculture,oflearning,oflaws,andofmarkets,
theirreligiousinstitutions,overthepastfew
thousandyears,isasmuchanobjectofscientific
studyasthatofthenaturalorderthattakesup
thebulkofCarrollsbook.Butitstheonething
thatdoesntgettheattentionitdeservesin
Carrollsgrandsurvey.

Partofthereason,tobesure,isCarrollsdesire
toofferacomprehensivelynaturalistviewofthe
world,onethatdoesnotrequireoracceptthe
beliefsandaspirationsoftheworldsreligious
traditions.InCarrollsview,whathecallsPoetic
Naturalism,offersamoresatisfyingaccountof
whatitsallabout.

Bypoeticnaturalism,Carrollmeansadoptingthe
bestandmostinspiringwayoftalkingaboutthe
observable,measurableworld,whichintheend,
heargues,isallthereis.

WASHINGTONFEBRUARY10:Thisimageshowsthefirstallsky
microwaveimageoftheuniversesoonaftertheBigBang.(Photoby
NASA/MAPsTeam/GettyImages)
Now,Carrollisnostridentadvocateofreligion
bashing.Unlikemanyofthemoreprovocative
materialistspublishedinrecentyears,suchas
DanielC.Dennett,SamHarris,RichardDawkins,
thelateChristopherHitchens,etal,Carroll
appreciatesthecongenialEpiscopaltraditionin
whichhewasraised,eventhoughhehadletitgo
bythetimehewasanundergrad.Andhe
understandswhymostpeoplearereligious.

Buttosummarizethisasabooklargely
preoccupiedwiththequestionofGodfromthe
scientificperspectivewouldbegrosslyunfair.
Thegreaterpartofthebookisreallyasuperb
summaryofwhatTimothyFerrisoncecalledThe
WholeShebang.

Wehavetwogoalsinfrontofus,Carrollwrites
inhisprologue.Oneistoexplainthestoryof
ouruniverse,andwhywethinkitstrue,thebig
pictureasweunderstandit.

Theother,however,istoofferwhathecallsabit
ofexistentialtherapy.Iwanttoarguethat,
thoughwearepartofauniversethatruns
accordingtoimpersonalunderlyinglaws,we
neverthelessmatter.

Itsnotascientificquestion,hemakesclear.Itsa
philosophicalone.Andthisiswhatdistinguishes
hisbooksosharplyfrommoremuddledattempts
inthegenre(StephenHawking,beingoneofthe
mosthaplessexamples).

Carrollcoverswelltrodscientificgroundinthe
firstfivesectionsofhisbook,fromlucid
explanationsofgeneralrelativityandquantum
physics,tothelatestontheBigBang,theoriesof
grandunification,darkmatterandthe
multiverse.Buthealsocovershowweknow
whatweknow.Thisincludesabeautifulaccount
ofBayesianreasoninganditsimportanceto
scienceandphilosophy.(Tomymind,hemight
haveallocatedsomespacetowhyBayesian
reasoningisnotnecessarilyofsuchgreatuseto
differentbranchesofscience,forexample,
evolutionarybiology.)

Thenthereisthechallengeofourselves.Dowe
reallyhavesouls?Carrollconcludeswedonot.Is
deaththeendforus?Carrollarguesthatitis.
Thissectionincludesasuperbdemolitionof
substancedualism,theoffspringofRene
Descartes,andittiesinwithCarrollsarguments
aboutwhysciencesimplycannotsupportnotions
ofparanormalactivities,whetheritstelekinesis,
astrologyortelepathy.Thissectionshouldbecut
out,laminated,andmailedtoeveryhighschool
scienceteacherinthecountry.
Thisinturnleadstothetopicofconsciousness,
neuroscienceandthequestionofhow
consciousnesscouldarisefromtheworkingsof
thebrain.Wedontknowbutintheenditseems
themindmustultimatelybeexplainableasthe
productofsomekindofemergencefromthe
underlyingmeasurablepatternsofneurological
activity.

ThisisjustasmatteringofCarrollssurvey,I
admit,anddoesntdojusticetothefullrangeof
hiscrispstyle,whichalwaysmanagestobeclear
andalsocheerful,withouteverdevolvinginto
chatty.

Ofcourse,inanyaccountoftheBigPicture,you
dohavetotalkabouttheGodquestion,especially
ifyouregoingtoargueheshouldbeleftoutofit.
Butevertheevenhandedhost,Carrollnever
slightsunconvincingargumentsfortheism.

Itsimportanttobefairtobothsides,hewrites,
inadiscussionabouttheAnthropicPrincipleand
itsrelevancetotheexistenceofadeity.Givena
conventionalunderstandingofwhatismeantby
God,thefactthattheuniverseexhibits
regularitiesatall,andinparticularthatit
exhibitsregularitiesthatallowfortheexistence
ofhumanbeings,hasahigherlikelihoodunder
theismthannaturalism.

Thisistrue.Butitsnotreallythestrongest
argumentfortheism.Orrather,itonlyglancesat
it.Deeperthantheacknowledgmentof
regularitiesintheuniverseisitsoverall
intelligibilitytohumaninquiry.Anditsalittle
puzzlingwhyCarrolldoesntrecognizethe
reasoningbehindEinsteinsowntheism.Itwas
allaboutintelligibility.WhileEinsteinsupposed
DerHerrGottashecalledhim,didnotnurture
anypersonalinterestincomicalhumans,hedid
believetherewasanultimateintelligencebehind
thebigpicture,andEinsteinalwayssawhisown
workasrisingtothechallengeofdetermining
howitallmadesense.DidGodhaveanychoice,
heoncefamouslyasked,inhowhecouldarrange
thelawsoftheuniverse?

AlbertEinsteinaboutthetimehedevelopedhisGeneralTheoryof
Relativity.(ImagecourtesyofPBS.org.)
EinsteinneverhadtodefendhisideaofaGodas
thesourceoftheuniversesintelligibility.For
him,thefactthatthereisanintelligenceofsome
kindbehindthebigpictureseemedtofollow
easilyifyouspentyourlifeteasingoutthesecrets
oftheworldsfundamentalworkings.

Butpoeticnaturalism,asCarrollprefers,Ithink,
alsomissesanotherimportantcomponent.Isaid
earlierthathenicelydemolishedsubstance
dualism.Butheseemstothinkthatthisisthe
onlybasisforhumanspirituality.Heoverlooks
howeveralongtradition(EastandWest)whose
understandingoftranscendencedoesnotdepend
ontheexistenceofanyspiritualsubstance
runninginparalleltothephysical.Terrence
Deacon,forexample,hasquitealottosayabout
howmodernresearchleavesroomforascientific
understandingofconsciousnessthatcanaccepta
degreeofimmaterialitytotheworkingsofthe
mindwithoutresortingtosubstancedualism.

Forthisreason,afailuretoconsiderthisiswhatI
thinkmakesthelastsectionofCarrollsbook,
Caring,theweakestpart.Howishumanityto
governitselfintheabsenceofanagreedupon
codeofhumanbehaviornottiedtoanyreligious
foundation?

Poeticnaturalismdoesnttellushowtobehave,
hewrites,butitwarnsusofffromthefalse
complacencyassociatedwiththeconvictionthat
ourmoralsareobjectivelythebest.Ourlivesare
changinginunpredictablewaysweneedtobe
abletomakejudgmentswithcleareyesandan
accuratepictureofhowtheworldoperates.We
dontneedanimmovableplacetostandweneed
tomakeourpeacewithauniversethatdoesnt
carewhatwedo,andtakeprideinthefactthat
wecareanyway.

Butthisiscertainlygoingtobeahardsellina
worldascomplicatedasours.Andanaccurate
pictureofhowtheworldoperatesmustinclude
anaccurateassessmentofhumannature,
somethingIthinkanthropologyandhistorycan
assureusisconstant,aboutasfixedaparameter
asyoucanfindinapopulationoftalkingand
killingapesthathasspreadoutovertheglobe
overthelast60,000years.

Carrolloffersasetoftenconsiderationsinplace
ofthetencommandmentsasaguidetobehavior.
Idonthavespaceoflistthem,butsufficeitto
saytheyarentsomuchcallstoacodeof
universalbehaviorastheyaremorepromptstoa
kindofmindfulnessthatwouldhopefully
promotegoodbehavior.
Thissoundsappealinginthefreesocietywetake
forgranted,governedbyruleoflawandafree
market,whichweenjoy.Butwehavethebenefit
ofcomingaftergenerationsofwarfareand
bloodshedthathelpedcarveoutand
institutionalizetheseparticularfreedomsinour
DeclarationofIndependenceandConstitution.
Theydidntcomewithoutafight.Andmoreto
thepoint,theycannotbepreservedand
sustainedwithoutthewillingnesstofight.And
itshardtoimaginehowanyearlycivilizationin
historycouldhavebeenfoundedonsuchaslate
ofsuggestionsratherthancommandments.
Theresnorecordofanycivilization,inother
words,thatdidnotrecognizethetranscendentas
amajororganizingprinciplearoundwhichthe
societyscodewasgrounded.

AndthisbringsmebacktothemajorfactorthatI
thinkisleftunaddressedinTheBigPicture:the
scienceofhumanity,whichmustincludean
explanationofallourfundamental
characteristics,includingwhatdrovethose
monkstoSpainbackinthe12thcentury,inspired
byafundamentalsenseofthetranscendent.This
willcomeasnosurprisetoanyonewhosdevoted
theircareerstophilosophy,literature,law,
anthropology,ethicsoranyoftheotherbranches
weassigntothehumanities.Humanshave
alwaystakenanintenseinterestineachother.

Mostofusonthisrotatingrockfindotherhuman
beingsmuchmoreworthyofourlifelong
attentionthanthenaturalworldweliveon.This
maybesad(indeedtragic)inonesense,as
Carrollmakesclear(andIagreewithhim),
becausewelosesomethingintheultimate
understandingofournaturewhenwecloseour
eyestotheworkingofthephysicalworld.Ifwe
havelearnednothingelsefromthehistoryof
science,itspreciselythattruth.(Thankyou,
Galileo.)

Butwhilesciencehasopenedupamuchmore
expansiveviewoftheuniverse,andcertainly
helpedusrealizethatmanycloselyrelated
speciesshareaspectsofourintelligenceand
socialcharacteristics,weshouldntfaulthumans
forrecognizingsomethingthathasbeenglaringly
obvioustothemsincethebeginning,however
ignoranttheywereonsomanyotherlevels:that
indeedwearespecial,andourspecialnessistied
toasenseofthetranscendent,oursense
howeverdifficultithasbeentoarticulatethat
thereisandhasalwaysbeensomethingmoreto
realitythanthepurelyphysical.

ThisisonereasonwhyIthinkCarrollspleafor
PoeticNaturalismisnotconvincing.Inhisview,
weshouldtakeforgrantedthefundamental
existenceofthecosmosandmainlypreoccupy
ourselveswithdelvingdeeperintoitsmysteries
whilewecontentourselveswithalifethatinthe
endisdevoidofultimatemeaning:thefleeting
fewscoreyearswehaveinanotherwise
indifferentcosmos.

Allofwhichistosuggest,thatTheBigPicture,
needstobealittlebitbigger.

Itsreallyasuperbbook,andanyoneinterested
inscienceandphilosophyneedstoaddthisbook
totheirshelves.Carrollhasalotmoretodiscuss
infuturebooks,Illbebound,andImalready
lookingforwardtohisnext.

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