| Why Does the World Exist? | |
| Border: | yes |
| Author: | Jim Holt |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | Philosophy and cosmology |
| Genre: | Non-fiction |
| Publisher: | W. W. Norton & Company |
| Pub Date: | 16 July 2012 |
| Media Type: | Print, e-book |
| Pages: | 300+ |
| Awards: | New York Times bestsellers, National Book Critics Award finalist |
| Isbn: | 978-0871404091 |
| Oclc: | 793973660 |
| Dewey: | 113 |
| Congress: | BD511 .H65 2012 and QB980-991 |
| Preceded By: | Stop Me If You've Heard This |
| Followed By: | When Einstein Walked With Gödel |
Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story is a nonfiction work authored by Jim Holt. He and the book were on the LA Times bestseller list during the last quarter of 2012, and the first quarter of 2013. The book was also a 2012 National Book Critics Award finalist for nonfiction.[1] [2] [3] [4]
A central question of the book is 'Why is there something rather than nothing?', which lies in the domain between philosophy and scientific cosmology. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was the first to publish the question in 1714. In this book, the author records a quest to answer the question through a series of interviews and discussions. Some of the people interviewed are John Updike, David Deutsch, Adolf Grünbaum, John Leslie, Derek Parfit, Roger Penrose, Richard Swinburne, Steven Weinberg, and Andrei Linde. Along the way, Jim Holt also introduces the reader to the philosophy of mathematics, theology, physics, ontology, epistemology, and other subjects.[1] [2] [5]
—The New York Times[6]