The big picture : on the origins of life, meaning, and the universe itself / Sean Carroll.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The fundamental nature of reality
Poetic naturalism
The world moves by itself
What determines what will happen?
Reasons why
Our universe
Time's arrow
Memories and causes
Learning about the world
Updating our knowledge
Is it okay to doubt everything?
Reality emerges
What exists, and what is illusion?
Planets of belief
Accepting uncertainty
What can we know about the world without actually looking at it?
Who am I?
Abducting God
How much we know
The quantum realm
Interpreting quantum mechanics
The core theory
The stuff of which we are made
The effective theory of the everyday world
Why does the universe exist?
Body and soul
Death is the end
The universe in a cup of coffee
Light and life
Funneling energy
Spontaneous organization
The origin and purpose of life
Evolution's bootstraps
Searching through the landscape
Emergent purpose
Are we the point?
Crawling into consciousness
The babbling brain
What thinks?
The hard problem
Zombies and stories
Are photons conscious?
What acts on what?
Freedom to choose
Three billion heartbeats
What is and what ought to be
Rules and consequences
Constructing goodness
Listening to the world
Existential therapy

In The Big Picture, physicist Sean Carroll presents a sweeping explanation of how the universe works and what that means for human life, purpose, and understanding. The book bridges science and philosophy, offering a worldview grounded in what Carroll calls “poetic naturalism.”