Probably Truth

jtotheizzoe:

Does the Universe Have a Purpose?

Last week we watched MinutePhysics animate Neil deGrasse Tyson’s answer to this question, posed by the Templeton Foundation to twelve scholars in various disciplines.

Read their full answers here.

This is a silly question. What is the purpose of a rock? Is it to trip me if I’m not careful? Is it to provide me with a projectile if foolishly decide I want to knock a beehive from a tree? What about the purpose of a book? Is it to have something to read? What if I use it as a door stop instead? Does it still have that same purpose or have I given it a new one?

I say that purpose is not inherent in anything. It is endowed. So the real question is: What purpose have we (or others) given to the universe? And to that I say: a fair bit. It has inspired and continues to invoke both creativity and curiosity in us. It fills us with wonder and humbles us. Perhaps someday it will even provide us with space to spread out. More than it already has.

(via thescienceofreality)