Cosmologic philosophy: This summarizes my view (Introduction)

by dhw, Sunday, November 27, 2016, 12:23 (2706 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: An article from the Washington Post, a very liberal outpost provides this:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/humanity-is-cosmically-special-heres-how-we-kno...

QUOTE: “We are probably rare — and it seems likely we will be alone for eons. This is the second piece of new evidence that we are not ordinary.
"Some of my colleagues strongly reject this notion. They would echo Hawking: “I can’t believe the whole universe exists for our benefit.” Yes, we all have beliefs — but beliefs are not proof. Hawking’s belief presumes that we are nothing but ordinary, a “chemical scum.” All the observations so far, however, are consistent with the idea that humanity is not mediocre at all and that we won’t know otherwise for a long time. It seems we might even serve some cosmic role. So this season let us be grateful for the amazing gifts of life and awareness, and acknowledge the compelling evidence to date that humanity and our home planet, Earth, are rare and cosmically precious. And may we act accordingly."

David’s comment: Amen. Rare Earth is a superb book. It should be read.

Many thanks for this. It is indeed a fine summary of your views, and in terms of the facts, there is precious little that I would disagree with. But the judgements need to be separated from the facts. “We all have beliefs – but beliefs are not proof.” Exactly. Judgements are subjective. Perhaps we can all agree that the universe is vast and contains billions of solar systems, and we do not know of any other planet on which there is life such as ours. What is our attitude towards these basic premises? One says we are insignificant or “chemical scum”, another says we are special and must be part of a cosmic plan. There is no known objective system of values here. What is valid for us is valid for us, and that is as far as we can go.

However, I will add my own subjective pennyworth. I regard life and consciousness as mysteries that are a personal source of wonderment and delight. The possibility that we are part of an impersonal universe, in which all things (including myself) pass and are gone forever does not in any way reduce my wonderment or delight. If there were a million Earths with a million forms of life, or there were no other Earths and no other forms of life, Earth and earthly life would still seem special to me, although in cosmic terms they may be insignificant. Might we serve “some cosmic role” (which I take to mean is there some sort of God with a purpose)? How can anyone possibly know?