Why Does the World Exist? discussion

The book I am currently delved into is called “Why Does the World Exist? An Existential Detective Story” and it’s by Jim Holt. Holt dares to ask the question that is often referred to as the darkest question is philosophy: “Why is there a world of something rather than nothing at all?” His quest to find out the answer takes him around the world, getting expertize opinions from some of the most intellectually advanced people in the world. He also details his early childhood and the developmental stages of his reasoning, citing that he was brought up in a family in which the stock answer to everything unknown was god. In his teenage years he began to question his theories and find out further what the truth really is. Holt recognizes that the genre of philosophy is tremendously mind-numbing and regularly including humor and the reasoning of children to delude the often demanding read. Fans of existentialism and physicists will enjoy this book. I would characterize the book as a review of the history of the question posed by the title itself, “why does the world exist?” It's a good read but it’s not always easygoing despite the light hearted style of the writing. Holt does an excellent job reviewing all the contending theories as to why there is something instead of nothing (and why there is this something). Much of the start of the book ponders the realms of nothingness and how that nothingness, turned to something. The simple analysis is extremely confusing, but when you grasp a basic understanding of it, the book begins to make more sense. He personalizes the book by writing about some of his encounters with the authors of the theories, but the focus of the book is very much on the theories themselves as opposed to being a set of biographies of the people putting forth the theories. The philosophical bias, in which the text is organized, reveals that Holt suggests his own naturalist theory that doesn’t include a god factor within the creation, pretty much ties together all the separate discussions together and discloses a common theme he tries to mask as his final analysis. In normal terms, Holt doesn’t provide a clear-cut reason, or theory as to why the world exists, rather he simply writes a book about the interviews he conducted and lets the reader decide who they want to believe.

A fascinating read.

I loved it, as did one other person in our book club. Two others couldn't finish, and the rest didn't show up. I anticipated a really interesting discussion, and it fell flat on its face. Most awkward meeting ever.