I guess I will have to wait twenty or more years before I could get on the list of "leading scientists and scholars" according to the Templeton Foundation, but I would like to chime in on the "Big Questions". This week's question is: "Does the universe have a purpose?"
The answer is simple, really. The universe does not have a purpose. The universe's only concern is to minimize the potential energy across the entire space time continuum. This is the only concern of the universe, and it is from the mechanics of this minimization which arises localized packets of "energy beings" or "energy peaks" such as ourselves. Our thoughts, feelings, friendships, and knowledge are all due to a localized peak in a vastly minimized energy spectrum.
So, there is no ultimate purpose. We could create a purpose for our packet of energy, but this purpose does not transcend ourselves beyond the scope of our humanity and level of sentient thought. We could create meanings from our biological consequences, but they are no more beyond us than our muscles or epidermis are beyond us. No need to invoke immaterial spirits or sprites and forces unable to be studied under scrutiny when the reality faces us squarely in the face.
The universe could obliterate us in a second without a care. The universe existed before we evolved from Cro-Magnon ancestors, and it will exist after we die, and it will continue to exist even if humanity becomes extinct. It seems rather chauvinistic to think the universe cares about us, and it is really disturbing to see people act like it does.
Just some personal reflections on the "big question". Go design your own purpose in life. It is just as correct as the next guy's purpose.
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