The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself is a non-fiction book by American theoretical physicist Sean M. Carroll.

[1] In his fourth book, Carroll defends the argument that the universe can be completely interpreted by science, introducing "poetic naturalism" as a philosophy that explains the world.

Writing for The Guardian, Tim Radford commented, "Carroll builds up his narrative in brief, very readable chapters, a precept, an axiom or a physical law at a time.

"[2] Robert P. Crease in his review for Nature praised The Big Picture for its ambition and directness while finding Carroll's treatment of philosophical topics unsatisfyingly shallow: A reviewer of Publishers Weekly wrote, "Much of the material here will be new to many readers, but regardless of familiarity, Carroll presents a means through which people can better understand themselves, their universe, and their conceptions of a meaningful life.

Science is a rigorous method of finding what is true or false, while poetic naturalism encourages extending the conversation to include contemplation into what is right and wrong.