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Of course something can come into being from nothing, and it is possible for there to be an infinite regress of universes without the necessity for it to have a first cause. These theories have been well thought through and described by Victor Stenger, Quentin Smith, Graham Oppy and many more. The universe either just exists –a brute fact, or it caused itself to exist. It could have literally ‘popped into being’ by itself.
But ultimately why do we even question why the universe came to exist? We humans are here due to pure chance. Does it matter, for other reasons that pure curiosity that we evolved from the apes, which in turn evolved from a ball of slime millions of years ago? Our importance here on this planet is no more than an animal or plants’. We have no special place in the universe. There is no higher purpose to our existence than that what we give ourselves in order to stay busy / focussed / happy while we live.
We exist for a few years only (a blink in the life of the infinite universe); during which we ought to strive to be happy, leave some money behind for the kids (so that they don’t have to work as hard to be happy), then die with the final thought that we will live on in the thoughts of those we leave behind (for a couple of years).
Finally, there is no such thing as objective moral values. It is all relative. What is right or wrong for me can be totally different for someone else (with a different cultural or historic background). And because we have no special place in the universe, or there is no higher purpose to our existence, I can never force my moral frame of reference on anyone else. As long as we live in relative harmony (not straying from a busy / focussed / happy live).
(October 18, 2010 at 7:07 am)KvdM Wrote: Of course something can come into being from nothing, and it is possible for there to be an infinite regress of universes without the necessity for it to have a first cause. These theories have been well thought through and described by Victor Stenger, Quentin Smith, Graham Oppy and many more. The universe either just exists –a brute fact, or it caused itself to exist. It could have literally ‘popped into being’ by itself.
But ultimately why do we even question why the universe came to exist? We humans are here due to pure chance. Does it matter, for other reasons that pure curiosity that we evolved from the apes, which in turn evolved from a ball of slime millions of years ago? Our importance here on this planet is no more than an animal or plants’. We have no special place in the universe. There is no higher purpose to our existence than that what we give ourselves in order to stay busy / focussed / happy while we live.
We exist for a few years only (a blink in the life of the infinite universe); during which we ought to strive to be happy, leave some money behind for the kids (so that they don’t have to work as hard to be happy), then die with the final thought that we will live on in the thoughts of those we leave behind (for a couple of years).
Finally, there is no such thing as objective moral values. It is all relative. What is right or wrong for me can be totally different for someone else (with a different cultural or historic background). And because we have no special place in the universe, or there is no higher purpose to our existence, I can never force my moral frame of reference on anyone else. As long as we live in relative harmony (not straying from a busy / focussed / happy live).
You lot exist in order to maintain the necessary infrastructure for me to be able to ride high speed motorcycles.
Does that help?
If you're not supposed to ride faster than your guardian angel can fly then mine had better get a bloody SR-71.
October 18, 2010 at 8:45 am (This post was last modified: October 18, 2010 at 8:59 am by ib.me.ub.)
Quote:But ultimately why do we even question why the universe came to exist?
So why did you write this little piece then?
Let me guess, your ego and dilusions of grandure caused you to pop it out!
Quote:There is no higher purpose to our existence than that what we give ourselves in order to stay busy / focussed / happy while we live.
What about survival of the species and the Planet. Hang on, fuck the planet, we don't need it anyway. We will just get in a space ship and fly to the Moon.
Zen Badger Wrote:You lot exist in order to maintain the necessary infrastructure for me to be able to ride high speed motorcycles.
Yeah, I planted the tree on the side of the road. That big thick tree, right on the apex of the bend!
Quote:So why did you write this little piece then?
Let me guess, your ego and dilusions of grandure caused you to pop it out!
Hey Scotty,
I wrote this piece to start off a conversation, maybe something that will resonate with some of the readers. To get us thinking and arguing a bit.
I am surprised by your tone though - making statement about my 'ego' and 'dilusions of grandure' (sic) without knowing me.
Quote:What about survival of the species and the Planet. Hang on, fuck the planet, we don't need it anyway. We will just get in a space ship and fly to the Moon.
Apart from me not saying anything about "f..ck the planet" - what is your point?
Quote:Oh yes, and hello , welcome to the forum.
Are you the official welcome? If so, tough unfriendly bunch!
October 18, 2010 at 9:17 am (This post was last modified: October 18, 2010 at 9:19 am by orogenicman.)
Quote:We humans are here due to pure chance. Does it matter, for other reasons that pure curiosity that we evolved from the apes, which in turn evolved from a ball of slime millions of years ago?
First of all, natural selection isn't random, so our existence doesn't result from pure chance. Secondly, we not only evolved from apes, we are apes. And apes didn't evolve from a ball of slime.
'The difference between a Miracle and a Fact is exactly the difference between a mermaid and seal. It could not be expressed better.'
-- Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens
"I think that in the discussion of natural problems we ought to begin not with the scriptures, but with experiments, demonstrations, and observations".
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
"In short, Meyer has shown that his first disastrous book was not a fluke: he is capable of going into any field in which he has no training or research experience and botching it just as badly as he did molecular biology. As I've written before, if you are a complete amateur and don't understand a subject, don't demonstrate the Dunning-Kruger effect by writing a book about it and proving your ignorance to everyone else! "
Quote:First of all, natural selection isn't random, so our existence doesn't result from pure chance. Secondly, we not only evolved from apes, we are apes. And apes didn't evolve from a ball of slime.
Hi orogenicman,
Please explain the nonrandom nature of natural selection? Also, why you believe we are apes - i.e. Tribe Gorillini as opposed to Tribe Hominini?
Where did apes come from - or let's narrow it down a bit - where did the Order Primates originate from?
October 18, 2010 at 9:53 am (This post was last modified: October 18, 2010 at 9:55 am by ib.me.ub.)
Is the answer you are lookin g for Hominoidea superfamily of primates.
Quote:An ape is any member of the Hominoidea superfamily of primates, including humans. Due to its ambiguous nature, the term ape has been deemphasized in favor of Hominoidea as a means of describing taxonomic relationships.
Both the Tribe Gorillini and Tribe Hominini are part of this family.
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