and even appear and disappear
at random without warning. There is no independent material reality. Matter
is an illusion, a transient effect resulting from a fragile, tenuous coordination
of constantly transforming, vibrating energy bundles. What’s more, space
and time have no independent existence either; their flow depends on the perceptions
and precise location of an observer. So ephemerality is the third and latest
conceptual phase transition shaping our modern world view, a transition still
in its early formative stages.
To recap then, after nearly 3000 years of organised attempts at science, we
have painfully gathered four valuable clues:
UNIFYING PRINCIPLE -
Natural phenomena may be grouped into a number of universality classes spanning
all times and scales, from sub- nuclear to cosmological, from the Big Bang to
today.
NATURAL LAWS -
1. Nature follows logically systematic rules or laws.
2. Nature is constantly evolving.
3. Nature does not have a hard, fixed reality but is made up of constantly transforming,
fluid energy.
So have we learned anything on which to confidently base some kind of opinion
concerning the nature and behaviour of our universe? Do we at least have a better
idea of the questions we might ask? Can we decide whether we are mystics or
logicians? Difficult to say really because although all this may be very interesting,
it seems to contain as much mystery as it does logic, particularly the concept
of ephemerality. Based on the exposition so far, we certainly can not decide
whether to be mystics or logicians but we are at least able to formulate some
relevant questions. I would list the main ones as follows:
A. What is the force and the mechanism driving universal evolution?
B. Does evolution proceed in a totally random fashion or is it directed along
a fixed path? In the latter case, what is the controlling mechanism?
C. Where does life, more specifically human life, fit into the picture? In other
words - What is the meaning of life?
We shall now try to answer these questions.
A UNIVERSAL CREATIVE FORCE
What makes the universe tick? For anything to happen energy is required, so
where does all the energy come from? The answer provided by 20th century physics
is the Big Bang. Although the details cannot by any means be described as proven,
enough is known that the principle may be accepted, and the resulting cosmological
expansion has now been firmly established. Nevertheless, even as we accept this,
the question stubbornly remains - Where do the structure and the detail in the
universe come from? Why is it not just a big expanding puff of energy, smooth
and featureless?
To cover our ignorance, let’s say the creative force is some kind of G.O.D.
Now the problem with the notion of G.O.D. is that it means different things
to different people. One can nevertheless distinguish three main types:
!. The Grand Overall Design.
2. The Goal Oriented Drive.
3. The Generating Outward Drive.
The Grand Overall Design
This is the most popular G.O.D. concept, mainly because it gives man an important,
usually the most prominent, part to play in the scheme of things. It implies
a preset process moving forward, progressing toward a predermined goal. It furthermore
implies a pre-existing external designing entity which is not only responsible
for creating the entire design, but also supervises its progress to make certain
that the ultimate aim is achieved. The problem with this concept is that, since
the designer-operator is external to our universe, by definition we have no
way of perceiving it. We have to accept it on faith, because we simply want
to, which is the usual basis on which this concept is selected, and which is
the reason why no further comment is possible or necessary.
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