The God Problem

November 15, 2015
Scholar Bloom (The Genius of the Beast, 2009) addresses the question whether a god or supernatural power is required in order to explain the vastness, complexity, and creativity of the cosmos. He seeks a naturalistic explanation for the workings of the cosmos in lieu of relying on bearded deities, divine designers, and holy minds in the sky. Indeed, Bloom believes that some of Western science's laws and unquestioned assumptions ineluctably require a divine explanation. This is the god problem of the book's title. So, he proceeds to take his readers through a history of Western science, mathematics, and philosophy, suggesting when and how we got it wrong. While that is no easy task, Bloom engages heady material with enthusiasm, even when his unrelentingly folksy style wears a bit thin. Scientific experts will have to debate the merits of Bloom's views on, say, entropy and sociality and the conclusions he draws. Even assuming he is correct on all counts, a bearded and bathrobed god only becomes unnecessary, not impossible.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

September 15, 2012

Readers may conclude that their foundational beliefs are wrongheaded. In this provocative and erudite work, Bloom (The Genius of the Beast) deconstructs "heresies" (e.g., A does not equal A; one plus one does not equal two; entropy is wrong) and shatters scientific laws. He, furthermore, poses the question, "How does a godless cosmos create?" Bloom's tone is much less acerbic and much more civil than the New Atheists' vitriol, and to pursue an answer to Bloom's query, readers will traverse a cerebral landscape: a masterful integration of anthropology, history, science, and philosophy. The author exposes readers to his model of cosmology, which he calls the Big Bagel theory. He presumes a multiverse, or "ensemble of universes"; it pays homage to the oscillating or cyclical universe, which expands and contracts ad infinitum. This view, according to Bloom, would unseat the dominant Big Bang model. VERDICT Bloom, an iconoclastic and seminal thinker, has been mentioned in the same breath as Stephen Hawking, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin; this contribution is paradigm-shifting and brings to mind Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. In short, this intellectual tour de force and heady expedition will challenge readers' education, assumptions, and perceptions.--Brian Smith McCallum, Arlington Heights Memorial Lib., IL

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