THE WHOLE TRUTH

A Nobel Prize–winning physicist tries his hand at philosophy.

Peebles, emeritus professor of physics at Princeton, has spent a career studying the universe in the first seconds after the Big Bang. Now in his mid-80s, he looks back at the triumphs of physical science, which began with Newton in the 17th century but vastly accelerated with Einstein in the 20th, and asks a question that will appeal mostly to philosophers and sociologists: Is there an objective reality, and can science describe it? Peebles has no doubt, but there is no shortage of opposition. Perhaps the most stubborn is the postmodern view that scientific discoveries are social constructs that reveal less about reality than culture, class, gender, and politics. In research facilities such as particle accelerators, sociologists have observed for long periods and concluded that the scientists involved were not the traditional seekers of truth but rather ambitious strivers dedicated to their own advancement and heavily invested in theories that owed more to the proclamations of brilliant figures in their field than to actual evidence. Peebles agrees that scientists have their foibles, but he emphasizes the importance of the scientific method, which focuses on evidence and rules that make accurate predictions possible. To illustrate his arguments, he devotes lengthy, highly technical chapters to discoveries in his field, many of which began as social constructs. The author points out that Einstein developed general relativity in 1917 from pure thought and little evidence. Physicists loved it nonetheless, and 50 years passed before evidence for the theory became overwhelming. Peebles never claims that he is writing for a popular audience, and readers unfamiliar with college physics and calculus will struggle. They will also encounter an avalanche of footnotes and quotes from journals and books, often several per page. This book may appeal to scholars, but David Deutsch’s The Beginning of Infinity offers a far more accessible analysis of how scientists arrive at the truth.

Deep thoughts but heavy going.