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  • MediaDB / «The Beginning of Infinity" by David Deutsch: download fb2, read online

    About the book: 2014 / British physicist David Deutsch is not only one of the founders of the theory of quantum computing, but also a philosopher seeking to understand the “eternal questions” of humanity in the context given 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 endless path along which our universal mind will lead us, putting forward guesses and subjecting them to criticism. We set out on this path in the Age of Enlightenment, but it is easy to stray from it under the influence of erroneous philosophical ideas, to which the author includes many currents of thought - from positivism to postmodernism, not to mention religion. An example of a deviation from the path of reason in science appears in his Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. Deutsch sees a reasonable alternative to it in Everett’s interpretation, from which follows a picture of the world as a multiverse. But the author’s sphere of interests is not limited to science. Based on the ideas of Karl Popper and the concept of rational explanation, Deutsch formulates a theory of knowledge, from which he deduces the existence of objective truth in ethics and aesthetics, as well as political principles promoting unlimited progress.