Is Life Inevitable?

 

Planet Earth is teeming with life.  From its coldest climates to its hottest thermal springs, from its highest altitudes to its deepest depths, and from the most obvious places to the least, life seems to be everywhere we look—on Earth.

 

But such seems not to be the case on places other than Earth.  The moon is almost certainly sterile, and Mars, despite its earthlike geo-history, shows no convincingly strong evidence that living creatures have ever existed there.  The moons of Jupiter and Saturn are considered to be places where life might possibly exist, but further investigation is necessary.

 

This further investigation is ongoing, and if life is ever found that did not arise on Earth, it will be a profound discovery, one that will define the universe.  Is it an inherent property of physical nature that life inevitably arises from inert atoms?

 

There is another side to this.  If we search for centuries into the future, scouring the galaxy for any evidence of life, and find none, that also will define the universe.

 

This is the great question of physics, and its answer will be more significant than the exotic questions of dark matter, black holes, and even cosmic inflation.  The question has been phrased, are we alone?  What it really asks is, are we special?  Are we just another phenomenon of physics, or are we in fact the very purpose of physical reality?

 

All sorts of scenarios come to mind, even to the minds of sober-thinking, highly educated professional scientists.  These scientists scan the sky with radio-telescopes, seeking for distant transmissions from extraterrestrial civilizations. So far, except for noise, there is only silence.  Spectroscopes are employed to look for water on exoplanets, the theory being that where there is water, there is the possibility of life having arisen.  Even unusual phenomena such as that observed on “Tabby’s Star,” invite reasonable speculation about exo-civilization engineering on a stellar scale.

 

It remains plausible that, even if life is found to be ubiquitous in the universe, advanced technological civilizations could be exceedingly rare, perhaps unique (meaning ours).  Even if that is found to be the case, or at least the conclusion, the discovery of even the most primeval form of life of extraterrestrial origin, would be of profound significance, because it is assumed by many that our own life originated from such humble origins, and gradually evolved into what we are today.  If we find life, however primitive, anywhere else, there is the implication that other than for chance, we are nothing special.

 

This question of whether we are special is central.  We either are, or not, with very little room if any in the middle.  The secular, physicalist view that we are not special, permits all sorts of sociopathic implications.  That view presents us with the image of a cold, uncaring reality that produced us only by happenstance, and will eradicate us later if not sooner.  If we are not intrinsically worthy of more respect than that, then by what principle should we regard each other as having any objective rights or responsibilities?  In the end, nothing will be of any account.  Final oblivion will render moot any questions of truth, justice, or morality.

 

Finding ourselves unique in the universe may not answer any of that, but it will force us to ask whether we exist by accident or intent.  Intent will be a very plausible consideration.

 

On the other hand, suppose that we somehow do conclude that there are highly advanced, technological civilizations spanning the cosmos.  That opens infinite possible paradigms.  Are the exoplanets our future, or our doom?  Are their inhabitants, if any there are, like us, or entirely inscrutable?  Do they believe in our humanitarian values, or are they exclusively utilitarian?  Do they believe in God, or are they atheists?

 

Before we veer off on these tangents, we have more immediate and pragmatic concerns.  We know that life exists here on earth, but science defines (or describes) life as a sort of chemical chain reaction arising without plan or purpose from nonliving matter.  Plan and purpose require consciousness, and in fact, we do observe ourselves as conscious creatures, capable of both.  As for questions of intent, we perceive ourselves as sovereign individuals endowed with free will, and therefore, acting with intent, as well as purpose.

 

Physicalism defines reality as being composed of space-time and energy-mass, governed by natural law and mathematical constants.  It recognizes neither plan nor purpose, mis-defines life, cannot identify precisely what consciousness is, and denies that free will can exist.

 

The God paradigm recognizes that life is more than the chemicals which exhibit it, regards consciousness as evidence that we are beings with a spiritual dimension, and holds that free will makes us participants in our lives, accountable for our deeds.

While there are variations within each of these two paradigms, neutrality seems an untenable option.