Is the universe examining itself?

[quantumcarl]

This is exactly what I mean as well. If we say we are the universe we are equivocating ourselves with something that is greater than ourselves.

Each of us has his/her own subjective experiences within our lives. The prefix "Uni" signifies oneness, a certain unity throughout the universe. If each of us has our own subjective experiences, and we are the universe, then there is no more oneness within the universe, thus contradicting the notion of "uni."

When you look a little closer at fractal geometry and you begin to see how the one or the "uni" is present at every scale and in every curcumstance of the overall universe (not that any of us has seen the whole thing!).

Because all things in the universe are logically composed of and by the universe as well as governed by the universal law(s) then we begin to see that all things carry with them the very essence that makes a universe a universe. This is fairly evident in fractal geometry as well as Einstein's E=Mc™ where one finds emense energies stored at terrifically tiny scales... ie: atomic levels.

One contributor to this thread has already offered an opinion similar to my own that suggests the universe has "evolved", through its creation of biological events, a consciousness that is able to observe itself. Asking why this has happened would be like asking why we can taste, feel, hear and see. Its just the way it is.

However, its a bit spooky because, if each individual is a fractal of the entire universe, then that would suggest the universe can also see, hear, smell and taste regardless of biological evolution...however...

This poses the question:

did biological activity evolve a consciousness simultaneously with the rest of universe or did life (biological activity) mimic what already existed for the universe ie: non-biological consciousness?

 

[arrow]

If we are not present at the inception of the universe we cannot KNOW. And if we cannot observe every scale and circumstance in the universe we cannot KNOW- uniformity is not guaranteed (is not the speed of light slowing?) But we can choose what we believe. If I believe in a first cause, a Creator of infinite dimensions, that is in and beyond His creation, my belief renders invalid your supposition that all things in the universe are composed of and by the universe. God may be in the universe but the universe and its laws are not in God (according to my belief.) IF I believe these things then I have answered the question of why I am here AND whether a universe evolves. It's about His glory...something much bigger than a universe to wrap your mind around... in my humble opinion. (see "Increasing Joy" by Jonathon Edwards, www.desiringGod.org)

 

[Critical_Pedagogy]

If we examine the universe and we are made up of the universe then the universe is examining itself. It is no doubt "looking" at itself. Do you agree?

words you use like "examining" or "looking" or "thinking" are all summed up by "interacting".

The universe interacts with itself.

Nothing exciting here.

 

[BlindBeauty]

Of course the universe is examining itself. The universe is quantum phenomena that make quantum measurements. When the quantum measurement is made,collapsed wave functions provide decoherence, the very essence of "existence," which is derived from interactions between these fundamental particles.

 

[1+1=only1]

did biological activity evolve a consciousness simultaneously with the rest of universe or did life (biological activity) mimic what already existed for the universe ie: non-biological consciousness?

Beautiful question.
Here's how I've come to think of it:
If a mind were able to know all, what would it be like?
I say it would be the universe ITSELF.
To know everything in the universe as it exists is to be the entire universe.
If a mind were something separate from the universe there would always be something in that universe it did not know.
I believe the entire universe is in a conscious state, else it would not be.
We biological consciousnesses running around inside this universe are but a result of a universe gone schizophrenic... all these id's running around think they are "it", when in fact they are all made of the same stuff, the same consciousness, the same universe. We are all one and the same.

 

[quantumcarl]

Beautiful question.
Here's how I've come to think of it:
If a mind were able to know all, what would it be like?
I say it would be the universe ITSELF.
To know everything in the universe as it exists is to be the entire universe.
If a mind were something separate from the universe there would always be something in that universe it did not know.
I believe the entire universe is in a conscious state, else it would not be.
We biological consciousnesses running around inside this universe are but a result of a universe gone schizophrenic... all these id's running around think they are "it", when in fact they are all made of the same stuff, the same consciousness, the same universe. We are all one and the same.

Answering your question "If a mind were able to know all what would..."
I'd say that it would be exactly like it is right now because the mind is able to and does know "all".

However, the mammalian approach to life and survival is very out-dated and becoming inefficient. The brain (along with most living structures) is accepting information from its sphere of events. That sphere of events is the projected influence of the rest of the universe's event horizon. The brain has shut out about 98 percent of the information I just mentioned because that's the way it has learned to keep its body alive... as in survive what it perceives to be the way life "is".

The mammal's brain can't be accessing the all-encompassing nature of its comprehensive abilities very much because that would screw-up its survival and the survival of the rest of its body over time. Or so the story goes. The story about the nature of the physical.

 

[-Job-]

If a glass falls and breaks it's just a glass falling and breaking, because it couldn't fall any other way and it couldn't help breaking. But when a human falls to the floor and breaks a leg all of the sudden it's the universe trying to understand itself.