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Books

The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch

Alistair MacFarlane finds himself in the foothills of infinity.

Everyone who is interested in the relationships between science and philosophy should read this book. Its central claim is that all progress, theoretical and practical, scientific, philosophical and cultural, results from a single human activity: a quest for good explanations.

In making such a comprehensive claim, the book necessarily covers a huge range of topics. There are three main threads. First is a coherent and comprehensive exposition of Karl Popper’s philosophy, that knowledge (ie, successful explanation) arises only from a process of conjecture and refutation.

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