Why is there something rather than nothing? This has been described as perhaps the most sublime philosophical question of all. Today, on The Colin McEnroe Show, we answer it. But as we do, we realize that it's not just a philosophical quandary; it's a scientific, cultural, and theological one as well.
Indeed, to the extent that "nothing" is even understood, it is understood so differently across different domains that one man's nothing truly is another man's something. Confused? You're not alone. The concept has vexed, distressed and seduced all manner of folk, from Aristotle to Einstein, and remains no less mysterious to today's brightest minds. This hour, we speak with the world's foremost experts on nothing in an effort to make something out of, well, you know...
GUESTS:
- Jim Holt - Philosopher, essayist and regular contributor to the New York Times and the New Yorker; author of Why Does The World Exist: An Existential Detective Story
- Ronald Green - Writer, philosopher and expert on linguistics; author of Nothing Matters: A Book About Nothing
- James Owen Weatherall - Professor of Logic and Philosophy of Science at the University of California, Irvine; author of Void: The Strange Physics of Nothing
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Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.