Within Reason #140 Sean Carroll - The Limits of Scientific Explanation
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Jan 26, 2026 
Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist and philosopher of science, explains where scientific explanation stops and why some facts may be brute. He explores the multiverse and fine-tuning, the nature of physical laws, emergence and what counts as real higher-level objects. He also discusses consciousness on a physicalist view and what evidence could make him change his mind.
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Science As Model Building
- Science seeks models that describe the universe's past, present, and future, not only predictions.
- Physics excels by reducing complexity to a few core elements that yield precise predictions.
Brute Facts Are Inevitable
- Some scientific explanations bottom out in brute facts that lack further justification.
- Carroll accepts brute facts and says we don't have the right to demand explanations from the universe for everything.
Laws As Descriptions, Not Governors
- Laws of physics are best seen as descriptive patterns in the Humean mosaic, not governing forces.
- They compactly summarize what happens rather than bring events into existence.
