Beyond

by M.A. Nowak

Beyond is a Socratic love story, a Platonic dialogue, a Bhagavad Gita of our a philosophical quest folded into an epic exploration of the world. Imagine an encounter with unconfused human existence. What does it mean to fall in love with God? Can the Good only adopt the role of a servant, or can it rise to provide a beacon of light ruling us? How often we are caught in the myopic perspective that the material world is all there is! And yet, mathematics and science themselves point to a greater, all-embracing, unchanging reality. This insight suffices to move past selfishness and advance humanity to the next level. Beyond dismantles the artificial borders that have for too long separated here, science confronts philosophy, mathematics engages religion, poetry brings nonfiction to life, time meets infinity. Beyond is sui generis.

402 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2024

About the author

Martin A. Nowak is Professor of Biology and Mathematics and Director of the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics at Harvard University.

(His writings are indexed under the name M.A. Nowak.)

Reviews

[Crispin Newmarch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very beautiful and moving book.

[Kie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beyond takes its readers on a wondrous journey of philosophy, science, mathematics, poetry, religion, art, and literature via a poetic-dialogue-turned-love-story. One of the things I loved about this book is how Nowak, a professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard, carefully and beautifully weaves in knowledge from disciplines that are scarcely allowed to interact in the modern day (as they are often deemed to be incompatible or at odds with each other), yet together create such a rich & contemplative examination of life. Beyond contains a treasure trove of insights on many of the deeper questions in life that I know I will keep coming back to.