The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Change the World. 5th Edition

British physicist David Deutsch is not only one of the founders of quantum computing theory but also a philosopher striving to understand humanity's «eternal questions» in the context set by the development of science. The core question of this book... is: Is there a limit to human progress? The answer is expressed in the title: we stand at the beginning of an infinite path, which will lead us, through conjectures and critiques, our universal reason. We embarked on this path during the Enlightenment, but it is easy to stray from it under the influence of erroneous philosophical ideas, which the author attributes to many schools of thought—from positivism to postmodernism, not to mention religion. An example of a deviation from the path of reason in science is the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. Deutsch sees a reasonable alternative to it in Everett's interpretation, from which the picture of the world as a multiverse emerges. However, the author's interests are not limited to science. Drawing on the ideas of Karl Popper and the concept of reasonable explanation, Deutsch formulates a theory of knowledge, from which he derives the existence of objective truth in ethics and aesthetics, as well as political principles that promote unlimited progress. .