On the Equality of All Things by Carlo Rovelli review – a physicist's philosophical vision of unity

Carlo Rovelli's latest book, On the Equality of All Things, ranges across an unusually wide array of subjects, according to a new review, with its index reportedly including entries as varied as Francis Bacon, bats, behaviourism, Henri Bergson and the big bang, reflecting the sweeping ambition of what is described as Rovelli's most overtly philosophical work to date.

Rovelli, who directs a quantum gravity research group in Marseille, has built a reputation as one of the most widely read physicists writing for a general audience, having authored several popular science books including the international bestseller Seven Brief Lessons on Physics. His new work attempts something more ambitious: integrating principles and theories from physics into a broader worldview centred on the idea that all things are fundamentally connected.

At the heart of the book is the argument that the universe is defined by relationships rather than by isolated, independently existing objects. Rovelli is quoted as writing that electrons and minds, stones and laws, judgments and galaxies do not essentially differ in nature from one another, and that such notions instead illuminate each other, an expression of the relational and perspectival view of reality that runs throughout his work in quantum gravity.

The review characterises the book as a kind of near-mystical meditation from a scientist who believes humanity may be on the brink of a significant shift in how it understands itself and its place in the universe. This blending of rigorous physics with broader philosophical and even spiritual reflection has become something of a hallmark of Rovelli's popular writing, distinguishing his books from more conventional science communication.

Whether readers come to the book for its physics or its philosophy, On the Equality of All Things appears to continue Rovelli's project of making abstract scientific ideas feel personally and existentially resonant, inviting readers to reconsider fundamental assumptions about the separateness of things in the world around them.