The Weirdness of the World - by Eric Schwitzgebel

Book Synopsis

How all philosophical explanations of human consciousness and the fundamental structure of the cosmos are bizarre--and why that's a good thing

Do we live inside a simulated reality or a pocket universe embedded in a larger structure about which we know virtually nothing? Is consciousness a purely physical matter, or might it require something extra, something nonphysical? According to the philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel, it's hard to say. In The Weirdness of the World, Schwitzgebel argues that the answers to these and other fundamental questions about the world and our existence lie beyond our powers of comprehension. We can be certain only that the truth--whatever it is--is weird. Philosophy, he proposes, can aim to open--to reveal possibilities we had not previously appreciated--or to close, to narrow down to the one correct theory of the phenomenon in question. Schwitzgebel argues for a philosophy that opens.

According to Schwitzgebel's "Universal Bizarreness" thesis, every possible theory of the relation of mind and cosmos defies common sense. According to his complementary "Universal Dubiety" thesis, no general theory of the relationship between mind and cosmos compels rational belief. Might the United States be a conscious organism--a conscious group mind with approximately the intelligence of a rabbit? Might virtually every action we perform cause virtually every possible type of future event, echoing down through the infinite future of an infinite universe? What, if anything, is it like to be a garden snail? Schwitzgebel makes a persuasive case for the thrill of considering the most bizarre philosophical possibilities.

Review Quotes

"[Schwitzgebel] leads readers down a fascinating rabbit hole of metaphysics, ontology, theories of causation, and the science of cognition. . . . It's an exuberant look at some of life's biggest questions."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"Delightful and beautifully written. . . . If you have read and enjoyed the work of Nick Bostrom or Phillip Goff, then this book is definitely for you. It is brilliant, thought-provoking, and very enjoyable."---Edouard Machery, Science

"Entertaining."---Andrew Robinson, Nature

"For Schwitzgebel, something is weird if it runs contrary to the conventional; something is dubious if one is not compelled to believe it from an epistemological point of view; something is bizarre if common sense cannot explain it; and an idea is wild if it is both dubious and bizarre. . . . Schwitzgebel takes a playful approach to these complexities, abetted by the book's delightful illustrations."-- "Choice"

"Schwitzgebel is an entertaining writer; this book is no exception."---Jo Edwards, Journal of Consciousness Studies

"Schwitzgebel's combination of sharp intelligence and wonderment generates refreshingly humbling conclusions."---Julian Baggini, Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Eric Schwitzgebel is professor of philosophy at the University of California, Riverside. He is the author of A Theory of Jerks and Other Philosophical Misadventures, Perplexities of Consciousness, and Describing Inner Experience? (with Russell T. Hurlburt).