Why Does the World Exist?

a low-voltage journalist who splits his time between New York and Paris. I write mainly about philosophical and scientific subjects, occasionally also producing what could charitably be described as "humor." I contribute fairly regularly to The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine, Slate, The New York Review of Books, The American Scholar, etc. For about ten years I did a weekly radio spot on BBC Wales called "Living in America, with Jim Holt." I used to appear on TV now and then--William Buckley's "Firing Line," NBC News with Brokaw, CNN--but I write about such esoteric subjects that I am rarely asked anymore. For one year (1997) I was the editor of a venerable and pinkoid political magazine called The New Leader. And I have a book forthcoming on the history of the idea of the infinitesimal, "Worlds Within Worlds." I knew Andy Warhol fairly well. I have a girlfriend in Paris and a miniature dachshund named Renzo. That is undoubtedly more than you wished to know.

出版者:Liveright

作者:Jim Holt

页数:320

出版时间:2012-7-16

价格:USD 27.95

装帧:Hardcover

isbn号码:9780871404091

图书标签:哲学科普美国世界观Philosophy形而上学现象学侦探小说

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In this astonishing and profound work, an irreverent sleuth traces the riddle of existence from the ancient world to modern times.

Whether framed philosophically as “Why is there a world rather than nothing at all?” or more colloquially as “But, Mommy, who made God?” the metaphysical mystery about how we came into existence remains the most fractious and fascinating question of all time. Following in the footsteps of Christopher Hitchens, Roger Penrose, and even Stephen Hawking, Jim Holt emerges with an engrossing narrative that traces our latest efforts to grasp the origins of the universe. As he takes on the role of cosmological detective, the brilliant yet slyly humorous Holt contends that we might have been too narrow in limiting our suspects to God vs. the Big Bang. Whether interviewing a cranky Oxford philosopher, a Physics Nobel Laureate, or a French Buddhist monk, Holt pursues unexplored and often bizarre angles to this cosmic puzzle. The result is a brilliant synthesis of cosmology, mathematics, and physics—one that propels his own work to the level of philosophy itself.

读后感

综合了神学、哲学、逻辑学、数学、物理生物等自然科学各个领域古今各路学者对这个世界终极命题的探索和讨论。或许这世上每个人，不论去不去思考，最后的结局都会得到答案。结局无非有与无，二选一。但这个过程是我们用尽所知所识去对未知的探索求证，可能没有结果，但不会没有...  

如果世界一无所有，也就没有任何规律，因为规律是属于“有”的范畴。如果没有任何规律，那么一切皆有可能。如果一切皆有可能，那么“一无所有”是不可能的结论，因此，世界“一无所有”是不可能的结论，因此世界“一无所有”是自相矛盾的。 所谓解释，归根到底是使得解释的对...  

《世界为何存在》这是个很大的题目，也是一个久远的命题。当然，估计还得在久远的将来看看能不能有答案。不记得当时为什么买这本书了，反正是大咖推荐特别多，也可能是《三体》读完了，突然又对这种宇宙科学感兴趣了，管他呢。反正对完这本书真是不容易，350多页，但是里面涉及...  

关于这个问题我之前倒是没有怎么想过，不过既然读了这本书就还是要好好的思索一番。首先说宇宙是从哪里来的？有人说是大爆炸，先是一个奇点，然后一爆炸就有了我们这个宇宙。也有人说是上帝造出来的，上帝说：“要有光”于是这个世界就诞生了，而在中国的神话传说中是盘古这个...  

看了《世界为何存在》，感觉里面最精华的部分是作者自己的证明。他得出的结论是我们的世界不是虚无，也不是无限可能，而是介于这两者之间的平凡实在。我希望用自己的观点重新得出这个结论。 关于虚无：如果我们的世界是虚无，那么这个世界就是完全对称的，完全对称意味着这个世...  

用户评价

try to answer the question "why there is something rather than nothing"?

奔着解决终极困惑的目的去读的，结果读完困惑更多了。向所有形而上学狂热分子，执着于宇宙起源学说物理半吊子，热爱灵修的苦行僧，智商不够研究物理又不甘心在饭局上被理聪群嘲的文科傻小子，各类活的不耐烦的有闲分子和文艺青年强烈推荐(前提是要有一定哲学基础。且此书为标准New Yorker式写作风格，用词生僻复杂但精准优雅，虽然与主题无关的废话巨多)

try to answer the question "why there is something rather than nothing"?

抛砖引玉之作，作者的探索涵盖了形而上学，神学，大爆炸理论，量子力学，无神论，数学，心理学。作者所引用的书单才是无价之宝。

今年读到的最好的英文书。我最击赏的是作者“严肃的业余爱好者”的态度。因为严肃所以能尽思辨的乐趣；因为是业余爱好，所以洒脱，不必“捍卫”任何一家之言。这和张中行先生的《禅外说禅》是相似的。作者在书中采百家之言，却不是为了取长补短，而纯粹是要欣赏一道思辨的风景，赞叹在世界起源这样一个简洁有力的问题上，人类的思考可以如此得多姿多彩。