Is the Universe Alive? The Fascinating Theory of an Evolving Cosmos

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the provocative theory that the universe may be alive and evolving, akin to biological organisms. Prominent physicist Lee Smolin advocates for this perspective, suggesting that simpler universes preceded our complex cosmos, evolving over hundreds of millions of generations. Participants debate the implications of this theory, contrasting it with creationist views and the nature of existence. The conversation highlights the intersection of cosmology and philosophy, challenging traditional notions of life and consciousness in the universe.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of cosmological theories, particularly those related to universe evolution.
  • Familiarity with the works of Lee Smolin and his contributions to theoretical physics.
  • Knowledge of biological evolution and its principles as they relate to complex systems.
  • Awareness of philosophical debates surrounding existence and consciousness.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research "Lee Smolin's cosmological natural selection" to understand his theories in depth.
  • Explore "The Anthropic Principle" and its implications for the universe's design.
  • Study "Complex systems theory" to grasp how simple systems evolve into complex entities.
  • Investigate the intersection of science and philosophy, particularly in discussions of existence and consciousness.
USEFUL FOR

Cosmologists, physicists, philosophers, and anyone interested in the intersection of science and existential thought will benefit from this discussion.

RAD4921
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The following is part of an article from New Scienstist Magazine where a physicist contemplates whether the universe is alive.
I think it goes without saying that the universe is alive. YOU ARE MADE UP OF THE UNIVERSE AND YOU ARE ALIVE. To think otherwise would be to deny one's own existence.

Is the Universe alive?: The radical idea that our Universe may be evolving like a living creature is making cosmologists think like biologists
15 January 1994
JOHN GRIBBIN
Magazine issue 1908
Nobody would argue that human beings appeared out of nothing. We are complex creatures, and could not have arisen 'just by chance' out of a brew of chemicals, even in some warm little pond of the kind envisaged by Charles Darwin. Simpler kinds of living organisms came first, and it took hundreds of millions of years of evolution on Earth to progress from single-celled life forms to complex organisms like ourselves.

Could something similar have happened with the Universe? It is a large complex system which, some cosmologists argue, cannot have appeared by chance. Simpler universes came first, they say, and it may have taken hundreds of millions of universal generations to progress to a universe as complex as our own.

Lee Smolin, professor of physics at the Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry at the Pennsylvania State University, is a leading proponent of this idea, which also takes on ...

The complete article is 2264 words long.
To continue reading this article, subscribe to New Scientist. Get 4 issues of New Scientist magazine and instant access to all online content for only USD $4.95
 
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RAD4921 said:
I think it goes without saying that the universe is alive. YOU ARE MADE UP OF THE UNIVERSE AND YOU ARE ALIVE. To think otherwise would be to deny one's own existence.
The universe contains living organisms, but that does not make the universe itself alive. How does this "deny one's own existence"? This makes no sense.
 
RAD4921 said:
...Nobody would argue that human beings appeared out of nothing...
Well, sure they would, or at least almost nothing. In fact the vast majority of Americans believe in the human creation story in Genesis where the male human body was formed out of (1) dust of Earth (2) breath of god, about as close to nothing as one can get for the formation of a entity as complex as the human body.
 
The living universe

Evo said:
The universe contains living organisms, but that does not make the universe itself alive. How does this "deny one's own existence"? This makes no sense.

It is an observable fact that the universe is alive and thinking, at least in part. Some may call it a leap of faith but this is strongly suggestive, at least to me, that the universe is alive and thinking as a whole.

I am not a religious man but it appears to my middle-aged mind that there is some type of hierarchy of intelligence that is contructing the universe. How this coincides with the Judeo-Christian "God" is a different story.
 
The biblical fact

Rade said:
Well, sure they would, or at least almost nothing. In fact the vast majority of Americans believe in the human creation story in Genesis where the male human body was formed out of (1) dust of Earth (2) breath of god, about as close to nothing as one can get for the formation of a entity as complex as the human body.

This is one of those rare circumstances where I agree with the bible in that man was created from dust. The Earth is the ash (stardust) flung out from a super nova explosion.

Whether we or anything else for that matter was created from nothing can be debated since there appears to be energy hidden in the vacuum of space.
I could go on to argue if "nothing" even exist but that has already been discussed by myself and others in previous threads
 
Discussions based on biblical or similar ideas aren't something that can be rationally discussed, therefore aren't allowed within the guidelines.
 

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