The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World [Paperback]

The New York Times bestseller

A provocative, imaginative exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge

In this groundbreaking book, award-winning physicist David Deutsch argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe—and that improving them is the basic regulating principle of all successful human endeavor. Taking us on a journey through every fundamental field of science, as well as the history of civilization, art, moral values, and the theory of political institutions, Deutsch tracks how we form new explanations and drop bad ones, explaining the conditions under which progress—which he argues is potentially boundless—can and cannot happen.

Hugely ambitious and highly original, The Beginning of Infinity explores and establishes deep connections between the laws of nature, the human condition, knowledge, and the possibility for progress. Brilliant and exhilarating . . . Deutsch is so smart, and so strange, and so creative, and so inexhaustibly curious, and so vividly intellectually alive, that it is a distinct privilege to spend time in his head.  --The New York Times Book Review 

[Deutsch] makes the case for infinite progress and such passion, imagination, and quirky brilliance that I couldn't help enjoying his argument. . . . [He] mounts a compelling challenge to scientific reductionism.  --The Wall Street Journal

“A deep theory of why humanity is destined to make progress may be found in David Deutsch’s dazzling The Beginning of Infinity.  Deutsch presents science as a force for betterment, since it impels us to explain the world while forcing us to acknowledge our fallibility.” &ndaslCQ