The Big Picture is exactly what it's title proclaims, a book the tackles the big questions about human existence. Why does the universe exist? Is there evidence for the existence of God? How did life on Earth begin? Is humanity special somehow? Do we continue to exist after we die? Does our life have purpose? These are just some of the queries that Sean Carroll tackles in this impressive book. But this is no religious or purely philosophical treatise; rather it is a work examining the critical questions of existence through the lens of theoretical physics.

The book is divided into six parts: Cosmos, Understanding, Essence, Complexity, Thinking, and Caring. In each part, the author discusses a major facet of existence. In each, he argues that our current understanding of physics and biology is sufficient to explain how and why life is the way it is. Carroll makes a compelling...

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