Why Does the World Exist?

An Existential Detective Story

De: Jim Holt

Narrado por: Steven Menasche

"I can imagine few more enjoyable ways of thinking than to read this book."
—Sarah Bakewell, New York Times Book Review, front-page review

Tackling the "darkest question in all of philosophy" with "raffish erudition" (Dwight Garner, The New York Times), author Jim Holt explores the greatest metaphysical mystery of all: why is there something rather than nothing? This runaway best seller, which has captured the imagination of critics and the public alike, traces our latest efforts to grasp the origins of the universe. Holt adopts the role of cosmological detective, traveling the globe to interview a host of celebrated scientists, philosophers, and writers, "testing the contentions of one against the theories of the other" (Jeremy Bernstein, Wall Street Journal). As he interrogates his list of ontological culprits, the brilliant yet slyly humorous Holt contends that we might have been too narrow in limiting our suspects to God versus the Big Bang. This "deft and consuming" (David Ulin, Los Angeles Times) narrative humanizes the profound questions of meaning and existence it confronts.

©2012 Jim Holt (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Brilliant, beautifully written and well read.

Would you consider the audio edition of Why Does the World Exist? to be better than the print version?

I read and heard the book. I enjoyed both formats. The warmth and personal traits of the author show through the reader.

What other book might you compare Why Does the World Exist? to and why?

No idea. I believe every book is unique and comparisons are not helpful.

What does Steven Menasche bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Better. His voice translates the mood of the author and his humanity.

If you could give Why Does the World Exist? a new subtitle, what would it be?

A personal search for meaning. Is there any purpose for the existence of the world, and its sentient beings.

Any additional comments?

I would encourage the author to write another interesting book.

Great book marred by poor narration.

Steven Menasche is considered a capable narrator, but this time it doesn't seem to work for him.
He sounds very “robotic” with almost complete lack of timing and “presence”. It sounds like he doesn't understand what he is reading, or perhaps more likely; he doesn't care about the book at all.
The book itself is very good though.

Torn between 2 and 4 stars

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, if for no other reason than it is thought-provoking and offers a variety of points of view on an impossible question.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I am lukewarm on the narration. It was easy to understand, but the tone often seemed too flippant. Also (and this is less about the narration than the book itself), there is too much untranslated French.

Any additional comments?

I sit back and contemplate this book and feel equally sure that I could have given it 2 stars or 4 stars. It is a book of philosophy and asks an unanswerable question. Holt winds his way around the world, meeting with and disucssing why does the world exist (why is there something rather than nothing) with philosophers and scientists, with theists and atheists. The debates and vignettes and theories and metaphors that follow run the gamut, some positing god as the reason and others positing quantum tunnelling and others simply admitting that they do not know. The discussions are at times fascinating or frustrating, mathematical or mystical, considered or circular. For those with a background in or a prediliction for philosophy will likely find this book closer to the 4 star range; for those that have trouble taking seriously ideas without a quantifiable basis, the book will prove more challenging. I do not feel my time was wasted, but I leave with a lot of food for thought and torn between eye-rolling and deep contemplation.

Maybe read this one

This is a charming book, which is kind of the problem. In my experience, there are two kinds of audiobook: the kind you concentrate on, and the kind you don't. It's not that don't pay attention to the latter, it's just that you don't really need to "hear" every word. You can space out for a few minutes and not lose your place. They're good for the background while you clean your kitchen or play a game or ignore your family.

The problem here is that this book is REALLY not that kind of audiobook, it's the other kind... the kind you need to really screw your brain up and concentrate on. Good for sitting in your garden with a cup of tea or walking aimlessly around the park or sitting around ignoring your family. But the author is one of those "fun scientist" types who reasons that a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, and so he sugars up the gaps with amusing anecdotes about his journey of discovery to interview interesting people about interesting things. The meals he ate, the rooms he was in, the foibles of eccentric brilliant people aaaaand now for a refutation of Saint Anselm's proof of the existence of God. And you're like, what? Saint Anselm? Weren't you just contemplating the weather in Oxford? Weren't you just escaping death at the hands of elderly driver? Weren't you just jealously oogling an attractive student on a professor's sofa? Am I supposed to be paying attention now?

It's a pity, because this is good stuff in here, this is stuff I want. It's just unnecessarily hard to get at. It took me two times to slog my way through this and I don't feel I got half of it. It makes me long for a nice series of lectures from the Teaching Company.

If I had the book I could've just flipped the pages ahead to the good bits. My recommendation is that you do that instead, if at all possible.

WHY DOES THE WORLD EXIST?

With a smile and a pair of tennis shoes, Jim Holt tries to sell the idea that there is an answer to the question, “Why Does the World Exist?” Like Willy Loman, in “Death of a Salesman”, Holt has a gift for gab but neither he nor anyone else is able to close the sale.

It is certainly not that Holt is not a good salesman but he tries to sell a thing impossible to define. No known person has enough theoretical or experimental proof to convince one there is an answer to “Why Does the World Exist?” All that remains is faith, either in science, religion, or philosophy. Holt’s “…Existential Detective Story” is a terrific synthesis of physics, religion, and philosophy but the mystery remains, “Why Does the World Exist?”

Like Don Quixote, Holt puts a pan back on his head, grabs his lance, swings his leg over Rocinante, and tilts at Descartes’ “cogito ergo sum” to answer the question of why the world exists. It is simply a matter of what you think. Of course, Holt does not believe this is an answer either. He is a very smart guy, a good writer, and an interesting philosopher.