THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES PLAYS IN MONO:

Quantum cosmology implies that the fundamental layer of reality is made neither of particles nor of tiny, vibrating, one-dimensional objects known as "strings," but the universe itself--understood not as the sum of things making it up but rather as an all-encompassing unity. As I will argue, this notion that "all is One" has the potential to save the soul of science: the conviction that there is a unique, comprehensible, and fundamental reality. Once this argument holds sway, it will turn our quest for a theory of everything upside down--to build up on quantum cosmology rather than on particle physics or string theory (currently the most popular candidate for a quantum theory of gravitation). Such a concept further implies the need to understand how it is possible that we experience the world as many things if everything is "One," after all. This is ensured by a process known as "decoherence," which is essential to virtually any branch of modern physics. Decoherence is the agent protecting our daily-life experience from too much quantum weirdness. And it realizes the rest of Heraclitus's tenet: "from One all things."

As a consequence, we will have to work out how such a notion changes our perspective on philosophy's deepest questions--"What is matter? " "What is space? " "What is time? " "How did the universe come into being?"--and even on what religious people call "God" (since for centuries, the concept of an all-encompassing unity was identified with God). We will also have to confront why monism is not more popular, if it follows so straightforwardly from quantum mechanics. Why does it sound so bizarre to us? Where does our intuitive, deprecative reflex come from? To really understand this bias, we have to venture into the history of monism.

The One is the story of both a serious crisis in physics and the half-forgotten concept that has the potential to resolve it. It explores the idea that "all is One," that matter, space, time, and mind are all just artifacts of our coarse-grained perspective onto the universe. Along the way it narrates how the concept evolved and shaped the course of history, from ancient times to modern physics. Not only did monism inspire the art of Botticelli, Mozart, and Goethe, but it also informed the science of Newton, Faraday, and Einstein. Even now, monism is becoming a tacit assumption underlying our most advanced theories about space and time. This is a story full of love and devotion, fear and violence--and cutting-edge science. In no small way, this is the story of how humanity became what it is.

Tweet   @brothersjudd