Purpose (Does Anything Matter?)

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When a prominent physicist was asked, does the universe have any purpose (?) he responded, I don’t think so.

That is a strict physicalist viewpoint, and even among many non-physicalists, it is the predominant opinion.

Among other people, for example, Creationists, the universe does have a purpose.  It is to provide a habitat for humanity (no reference to the house-building charity of the same name).  The habitat is not merely a house, but a complex environment which permits civilization, technology, art, and all the other meaningful activities of human beings.

The question of whether the universe has a purpose should not be lightly dismissed, not even by strict physicalists.  How we characterize reality has a direct bearing on how we perceive ourselves.  That, in turn, strongly influences how we treat others.

Does anything matter?  Life is exceedingly short.  It has been said that if humans were somehow to truly understand how ephemeral we are, how our lifespans are almost an unnoticeable flicker in the span of the universe—then we would either be in a panic, or else, frantically hastening to achieve something worthwhile while yet there is time.

If the universe has no purpose, if life has no empiric meaning, then all of reality is a moral wilderness.  If so, then there are no moral laws, no noble principles, except those which we arbitrarily contrive.  We contrive them for what purpose, if there is no purpose?  To comfort ourselves during our infinitesimal instant of a lifespan?  To justify our existence?  To excuse our deeds?

If there is no purpose, if we have no soul, if life is the “brief candle” mentioned in Macbeth after which there is nothing but “a tale told by an idiot,” then on what grounds do we pretend to be anything more than a molecule that soon dissolves?  Under that circumstance, all our pontifications about what is right and wrong, who is right or wrong—all that reduces us to the status of pompous asses, hypocrites making noises that are meaningless and futile.

On the other hand, if we do have souls, then there are indeed meaning and purpose in life, and we had better seek them and act accordingly.

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