On Existence
On Existence
The purpose of this essay is to explain how our existence came into being and how we fit into the big picture which we call the universe. Once we understand this then we have a cosmology to work with to explain our interrelationships with ourselves and the rest of the universe. The universe is an entity that is eternal and consists of matter and energy that are constantly being converted back into one and another according to Einstein's famous equation E=MC². It is impossible to know when it came into existence.
The current "Big Bang" theory uses Doppler techniques that measure the distance and rates of travel of the furthest detectable stars and extrapolate backwards to when all of the stars were clustered into one mass which is estimated to be about 14 billion or so years ago. Mass has two opposing properties: one is gravity, which attracts matter which causes the universe to contract, and the other is entropy which is the potential for that matter to be converted into energy which causes the universe to expand. Over the past 14 billion years, the universe has been expanding. It's possible that the universe has been expanding and contracting for all eternity. The average human life span is infinitesimal when compared to the age of the universe, which doesn't give us much time to figure much out.
As the universe converts energy into matter, it forms stars and planets. Some of these planets are capable of sustaining life-forms, which have the properties of growth, reproduction and response to stimulation. Life-forms are also microcosmically made up of matter and energy being converted into one another, but are not eternal. We call the matter the body, and we call the energy the soul. Some of these life-forms become scientient (self-aware).
Once beings become scientient, they tend to evolve and eventually begin to ask the following philosophical questions:
1. Who am I?
2. What is my purpose?
3. Is the universe controlled by random events, or is there intelligent design in the form of a divine deity?
4. What happens to the soul once the body ceases to exist?
I don't pretend to have the answers to these questions. It is the way that people approach these questions that causes human beings to cluster into philosophical or religious groups.
The purpose of this essay is to explain how our existence came into being and how we fit into the big picture which we call the universe. Once we understand this then we have a cosmology to work with to explain our interrelationships with ourselves and the rest of the universe. The universe is an entity that is eternal and consists of matter and energy that are constantly being converted back into one and another according to Einstein's famous equation E=MC². It is impossible to know when it came into existence.
The current "Big Bang" theory uses Doppler techniques that measure the distance and rates of travel of the furthest detectable stars and extrapolate backwards to when all of the stars were clustered into one mass which is estimated to be about 14 billion or so years ago. Mass has two opposing properties: one is gravity, which attracts matter which causes the universe to contract, and the other is entropy which is the potential for that matter to be converted into energy which causes the universe to expand. Over the past 14 billion years, the universe has been expanding. It's possible that the universe has been expanding and contracting for all eternity. The average human life span is infinitesimal when compared to the age of the universe, which doesn't give us much time to figure much out.
As the universe converts energy into matter, it forms stars and planets. Some of these planets are capable of sustaining life-forms, which have the properties of growth, reproduction and response to stimulation. Life-forms are also microcosmically made up of matter and energy being converted into one another, but are not eternal. We call the matter the body, and we call the energy the soul. Some of these life-forms become scientient (self-aware).
Once beings become scientient, they tend to evolve and eventually begin to ask the following philosophical questions:
1. Who am I?
2. What is my purpose?
3. Is the universe controlled by random events, or is there intelligent design in the form of a divine deity?
4. What happens to the soul once the body ceases to exist?
I don't pretend to have the answers to these questions. It is the way that people approach these questions that causes human beings to cluster into philosophical or religious groups.
posted by The Adventurer at 4:34 PM
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