RE: Explaining the fact that we exist
October 25, 2016 at 8:22 pm
(This post was last modified: October 25, 2016 at 8:23 pm by TheMonster.
Edit Reason: grammer
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(October 24, 2016 at 6:42 am)OttoVonKerpen Wrote: This is a question that I wrestled with superficially when I first became an atheist. I was content with my answer to this question for a while, but after a recent discussion with a Christian friend of mine, the entire topic just became confusing to me. And, like I said in my introduction (http://atheistforums.org/thread-45867.html), I need some help when walking through difficult questions.
The question is this: "There were many transitional points in our universe's history that led to us existing. If one of them failed to produce the results that it did, we wouldn't be here, existing. Isn't it too much of a coincidence? Each transition point was against huge odds, and each of them was an extraordinary coincidence. How is it possible that we are existing against such overwhelming odds?"
I had a basic response to this like, "just because it's extremely unlikely, doesn't mean it can't happen", but I am not satisfied with the answer. Can anybody lead me through the basic thought process behind why we can exist against such overwhelming odds? I have my own thoughts, but I am willing, and needing to restart my thought process.
Thanks!
But it happened. People win lotteries. Triplets are born. Natural disasters strike in the most unlikely places.
You have to look at it retrospectively and understand that natural laws were at work and still are. If you understand this, you understand the basis of science and how everything came to be.
I for one think it is amazing that the universe essentially organized itself and in that process created sentient beings that are pondering the very existence of the universe that created them. Sort of like the universe studying and understanding itself. And all this thanks to the laws of physics!
As Richard Dawkins says (I paraphrase), the proper understanding of the universe is indeed more fulfilling and awe inspiring than the fictional stories of any religion.
"Can we not appreciate the beauty of a garden without believing that fairies live under it too?"
