Francis S. Collins - Must the Universe Spawn Life and Mind?

Why is our universe seemingly so conducive to life and mind? Some argue God. Some say a teleological principal drives the universe toward complexity and even consciousness. Some go further still and say consciousness itself underlies everything. That most cosmologists look to a multiverse highlights the depth of the problem.



Francis Sellers Collins is an American physician-geneticist noted for his discoveries of disease genes and his leadership of the Human Genome Project (HGP). He currently serves as Director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.


Closer to Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[saturdaysequalsyouth]

This whole discussion is more opinion than science

[jeffreyzimler]

Multiverse Theory would if anything highlight how masterful the intelligent designer is for life to exists as well in other universe.

[gitaarmanad]

The universe, the planets and everything you recognize as organized matter, is a product of consciousness.
But your intuition will be trying to persuade you that it's the other way around.

[stephenzhao]

Shalom Francis thanks be to God you're still having sincere faith in Him Lord Jesus Christ no matter how your theology is so limited. Amen,

[axion]

There is a conceit present in the framing of this question among so many philosophers, scientists, theologians and believers. I call it "The Arrogance of Mind". Simply put, such thinking assumes that the "explanation" for universe must necessarily be something that fits in the human mind. This of course, is exactly what we are trying to determine. When Mr. Collins refers to "God's intentions" he vacates the world of science and says clearly that his is nothing more than a belief.
More to the question posed in the title of the video; yes, consciousness must be an inherent possibility or we couldn't debate this or anything else. This video is not one of the ones in from this incredible channel that brings us Closer to the Truth.

[somethingyousaid]

So what value should you ascribe to the phenomenon that we call Life?
The value that you would ascribe to anything that was not needed before it was forced.
There's literally nothing that would have been any the worse for the nonexistence of human beings. (But then human beings don't want to believe that.)

[NXaiUL]

We don't even completely understand the universe, how big it is, where did it come from, etc.

So no way we can even argue if the universe "must" spawn life and intelligence.

Meanwhile, a better and more approachable question would be, "Must life once began always spawn intelligent life?"

[PhatLvis]

In speaking of the universe "choosing, " (and not using the term in way which does not seem metaphorical) Mr. Collins, and others, seem unaware that they are A) presupposing a "higher consciousness" belonging to "the Universe, " and B) that this Universe is something other than, or apart from, the human mind.

[JungleJargon]

Infinite universes requires a lot of power that can't make or direct itself. Appealing to infinite possibilities is the same thing as appealing to God.

[thomasridley]

No matter which theological direction you look. You don't find answers, just more questions.

[beaniegamer]

No doubt....without mind and conscious, there is no need for creation.

Stop wondering....just enjoy the journey.
The ultimate should never be known by man.

[TheUltimateSeeds]

Speculatively speaking, if it is possible that all of reality is “mental” in nature (as is suggested in Idealism), or if all of reality is imbued with life (as is suggested in Panpsychism), ...

...then the presumption is that all of the features of reality (suns, planets, water, sand, molecules, electrons, etc.) are literally “alive.”

_(Note: not conscious or self-aware, just imbued with the essence of life in the same way that your own dreams are imbued with your own personal life essence.)_

In which case, if life (the basis of mind) is already present within the fabric of reality, then it is simply a tiny little step in accepting how inanimate (yet living) matter could become animate matter (evolvable micro-organisms) in a process that biologists refer to as “abiogenesis.”

[mockupguy]

“We have no theory that says the fundamental constants had to have the values they have” and from that we are to understand that it is unlikely and the therefore there is purpose behind them. However, we also don’t have a theory that says the values could vary, that’s why they are called fundamental, they are (as far we know) not derived from anything else, they just are. So, at this time we are far from calculating any kind of probabilities.

[-by-_Publishing_LLC]

(1:11) *FC: **_"I find it easier to think about this by looking at the data..."_* ... Collins is correct! The universe is a subset of "Existence, " and Existence is _"the ongoing presence, generation, collection, evaluation, categorization, and assimilation of all possible information."_

From the onset of Existence, the most rudimentary sliver of logically possible information has amazingly evolved into sentient, self-aware lifeforms over the past 13.8 billion years because that's what information does. Information _evolves!_ This evolution will keep pushing forward until Existence discovers a *logically unsurpassable level of information* that compels it to stop.

*So, the ultimate question is:* _"Has Existence found this logically unsurpassable level of information?"_

[CrowMagnum]

Thinking we are able to imagine how complexity might emerge in a differently tuned universe seems absurd.

[quantumgravity]

who's here after watching Brian Greene interviewing Francis Collins ?

[vimalramachandran]

Collins is not right in thinking that the constants are the precise values that they are because God created them. We don't expect to find ourselves in a universe with unmatching constants, do we? Perhaps such a mismatch is what would have been evidence for God!

[teraygrayabe]

I think as a human its great getting old because one-day ill be at peace never to know anything again
And that if their is such a thing of gods or other beings in the universe they are simply going around in circles same old stuff just another day in then a night and up against the universes fury for ever so im happy living one live thats my
HEAVEN ⚖️💯⛏️

[zoranskibalatski]

If the universe exists, That IS LIFE.

[Kostly]

The only thing we know is that consciousness itself as it relates to humans seems to be infinitely creative. Second only to the universe in creativity as far as I can tell.