Physics Fixes All the Facts

Complex systems seem to magically emerge from the interactions of their parts.  A whirlpool emerges from water molecules.  A living cell from organic molecules. You emerge from the cells of your body. Not since chaos has a concept from physics spread like wildfire to other disciplines. At the heart of emergence is the alluring idea that there’s more to the world than physics, a holistic component to nature, an edge of mystery. 

“Physics Fixes All the Facts” untangles emergence. This reveals something surprising: the term is redundant. In its weak form it is so weak that it applies to everything. In its strong form it is so restrictive that it is like the belief that there are pixies in your garden, impossible to exclude but not worth spending your time on. Graham then presents a framework called Austere Physicalism and uses it to reinterpret so-called emergent phenomena. In this radically materialist view, we are nothing but physical systems among others. The book ends with an exploration of what this means for free will and consciousness.

Scientists and philosophers alike will find unexpected and exciting ideas in these pages. But the target audience is much broader including students who want to add context to their studies and the intellectually curious with some scientific background.

“My envy of Graham’s erudition is only surpassed by my admiration of his achievement. This is the definitive guide to why the physical facts fix all the facts! It’s also the definitive diagnosis of all the specious arguments against this simple truth.”, Alex Rosenberg, R. Taylor Cole Professor of Philosophy, Duke University.