“Neither science nor reasoning offers a convincing explanation of the origin and form of the universe, and hence of the origin of the matter and energy of which we consist. I think it most likely that it is beyond their ability to do so. In Ellis’s view the ability of science to answer foundational questions is strictly limited. The evidence so far from this quest supports his “profound conclusion that certainty is unattainable at the foundations of understanding in all areas of life, including fundamental physics and cosmology as well as philosophy [and] even the apparently impregnable bastion of mathematics”. This is not a counsel of despair or pessimism. If we accept the limitations of science and reasoning, “we can attain satisfying and even profound understandings of the universe and the way it works, at all times regarded as provisional but nevertheless providing a satisfactory worldview and foundation for action”. Hopefully science will have greater explanatory power when I move on from the emergence of matter to its evolution.”