Wendy Freedman - 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.



Wendy Laurel Freedman is a Canadian-American astronomer, best known for her measurement of the Hubble Constant, and as director of the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, California, and Las Campanas, Chile.


Closer to Truth 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.

[etherdog]

We know we can't know everything about the universe, but we don't know what we can't know about it. We are only 120 years from Planck and 103 years from first flight. It is important to keep creating questions and funding the quest to answer them. It may take 500 years to make another breakthrough from the Standard Model, but let's hope we have a civil society that can endure long enough to do so.

[mickeybrumfield]

It seems to be difficult if not impossible for humans to stand back from their preconceptions.

[jimrockfish]

The universe is not obligated to have us understand it. We can’t help but try.

[iancrawford]

Very well expressed by Wendy. Really good!

[andrewthomas]

Life, Mind, Consciousness creates the Universe.

[davidjennings]

Just like 'If a tree falls in the forest ...' it is the same with the cosmos. Without life to perceive it, does it really exist? Perception is reality.

[HouseofRecordsTacoma]

There is no "Why", there's just "Is"... interesting concept.

[curtisklebba]

However the universe came to be, it has worked over 13 billion years to fine tune us to live here. I thought we'd gotten past believing we were the center of the universe. We haven't been here very long really, and may not be fine tuned enough to survive here very much longer. The universe is a rough neighborhood.

[achyuthcn]

Its quite opposie actually, mind gives rise to universe as in dream.

[Voivode.of.Hirsir]

The only use of the anthropic principle is defeating the teleological argument from fine tuning for theism. It does not explain why the universe has the constants and quantities it does. That question should be left open for enquiry.

[bruceylwang]

We love to conquer. Yet, we don't know the 'why' and 'is' of our Mind.

[rickwyant]

Do we really know that life and consciousness wouldn't be possible with different conditions?

[jamesruscheinski]

Something is spawning life and mind in the universe, that something is requiring the universe to bring about life and mind; the universe by itself does not have to bring about life and mind.

[rotorblade]

No, I think it just happened. It may be more ways life can appear. Also the Penrose cyclic unuverse (a series of expansions and no collapse) is a good hypothesis and it didn’t even try to explain fine tuning but it’s a solution for high entropy of matter right after big bang. It could be that each series of expansions gave rise to universes with different laws and after billions of billions of cycles it happened to form life
Imagine that the age of the universe since big bang is very high 13.8 billion years but before we were born we didn’t care for all these years.
Also way back in time I think it could’ve been a start but not from nothing but from an initial configuration and it could even run backwards in time. So if fore example started 14 bya you can go back hypothetically 28 bya and beyond that it’s no time so it doesn’t make sense a time before it. Anyway these are concepts that make sense but nobody can tell for sure what happened or how it works

[heavymeddle]

I still don't see why or how consciousness, mind or what you call it have to be so... Its just the brain calculating everything that its surroundings throw at it. And my brain knows that my brain is thinking so its like I know that I know that I know...

[kallianpublico]

The abilities of the mind to access nature, what is, is consciousness. These mental abilities may be dependent on evolution, a material theory; or they may be dependent on something "absent" from matter, a spiritual theory; or they may be dependent on both.
Depending on one's theory life and mind have different sources, the material universe or the spiritual universe or both or more. The question of must in these contexts seem paralyzed or stagnant if the answer is yes. Why should the contexts be constrained? Are intentions constrained?
It seems to me the logicalness of logic has trapped us. The solution is trapped by the equation? Is 3 only calculated by adding 2 and 1 together? Isn't a multitude of equations the integral of 3: 7-4, 8 + (-5), etcetera. If 3 must be what of 0 or 1 or....

[dougg]

You can’t sell me that before answering the question she didn’t think about the ramifications of her answer.

[marcellovignoli]

I have to repeat my suggestion to you Robert and i think also to Wendy to have a look to onlyspacetime.com of John Macken,
even if seems somewhat heretic don't let your precoception to overlook his work, by the way he is a phd with a deep knowledge on light
physics and his hypothesis fit wery well Occam razor approach . In my opinion his work may suggest that we are generating the
conscience of a generic creator that my coincide with the quantum spacetime itself. Thanks for your very interesting work and
good luck

[anthonystars]

..there is a book by Tony Tymstra …here is a chapter you might find interesting ...the book is on amazon the link is below.
THE THEORY OF ONE
Life in the Universe is unique
The Theory of One suggests that everything in the Universe is
an essential substructure used to create and support life here on
this planet. Every single thing in the Universe is connected, and
everything in it is needed or was needed to produce this unique
place of life we called Earth. All the stars, all the galaxies, all the
planets, everything in the Universe helped produced this single
outcome. Life in the Universe only exists here and that Earth and the Universe are one place.
The Theory of One examines three principal elements for life
in the Universe to be unique.
1. Requirements.
2. Essential Conditions.
3. Necessary Connections and Cosmic Relationships.
A simple example of a Requirement for life is the need for
"sunlight." The Sun, which is a star, produces a broad spectrum
of energy in the form of charged particles and electromagnetic
radiation. Sunlight is only a small part of that spectrum. Plants
use sunlight directly by turning carbon dioxide into sugars in a
process called photosynthesis.

But deep in the ocean, there are some autotrophs, a type of
bacteria that do not need direct sunlight. They use the energy
from the Earth's hot core. These bacteria use chemicals like
methane and hydrogen sulfide emitted from hydrothermal
vents on the ocean's floor to make their food. They need the
Sun's energy indirectly; without this sunlight, the Earth would
not have enough of its own heat to sustain them.
The second principle element is the Essential Conditions, and
as such, this "required sunlight" needs a unique sun. This sun
will need to be the ideal candidate. We do not want a sun that
produces intense bursts of deadly gamma rays or x-rays for
example.
The third element is the Necessary Connections and Cosmic
Relationships that exist among all objects, both directly and
indirectly. Continuing to follow through with this sunlight
example, it would mean that this ideal sun and its delicate
attributes have established a unique relationship with this
planet. The Earth's magnetic field interacts with this "sunlight, "
providing a protective shield. This magnetic field is dependent
on the structure of the planet's molten core. And as such, the
Sun has a complicated relationship with Earth. It generates our
weather patterns, produces the albedo effect, and even helps to
develop vitamin D in the human body. The Sun's
electromagnetic radiation plays a role in a countless number of
other natural events here on Earth.

The emerging consequences from examining these three key
elements suggest that the "Requirements" for life are extremely
precise and that the "Conditions" are seemingly endless. More
importantly, these "Connections and Relationships" are
extraordinarily demanding and far-reaching. The Theory of One
goes on to say that these three principles produce an expanding
relationship and profound connective dependence, which
ultimately includes everything in the Universe. The Earth and
the Universe are indeed one place.
What are some of the logistical requirements for life to emerge
on Earth? Here on this planet, we have acquired the proper
blend of chemical elements needed to develop life. This correct
chemical balance was only possible because of this planet's
remarkable location in the Milky Way Galaxy. This planet's
position is critical because if the Earth formed closer to the
center of the Milky Way, then we would have acquired too
many of the lighter elements, and the existence of life would
have become highly unlikely. If, on the other hand, this planet
was formed farther out in the galaxy, we would then have too
many of the heavier elements and the possibility of life evolving
and flourishing would also be highly unlikely. We can continue
to expand on these aspects and requirements. For example, we
also need the Moon, but not just any moon. We need this Moon
and its exact properties.

The Moon stabilizes the Earth's motion producing a needed
steady and reliable weather system. The Moon also affects
Earth's plate tectonics, which in turn plays a role in our carbon
cycle. The Moon also produces the tides, which ultimately
helped develop life. Our Sun is 93, 000, 000 miles away (150
million kilometers), for life to exist on this planet we depend on
this Sun. It is an exceptional Sun; it is one which is not too hot
and not too cold. This Sun needed to be in a stable state and in
the proper stage of development long enough for life to develop
on Earth. Not only do we need this Sun to be the right type and
size of star, but we also need it to be in the correct position and
distance. Now, if the Sun were just a fraction of a distance
closer, then Earth's water would have eventually evaporated
into space. And yet, on the other hand, if it were a fraction of
the distance further away we would have become a cold dead
planet of ice.
This Sun has its' own vast complex requirements and "far off"
external influences. Those cosmic interactions ultimately
complement and support our existence. And those "far off"
external influences and interactions demand their own
requirements. Furthermore, we need a solar system with
massive planets like Jupiter and Saturn. These planets protect
us. They shield this planet from incoming asteroid disasters and
comet impacts—these giant planets "sweep clean" our solar
system.

We needed and still need their size and gravitational strength
to prevail, even though these planets are millions upon millions
of miles away. But it doesn't end there. Just these two planets
alone have many of their own cosmic prerequisites. They have a
vast number of critical conditions and precise requirements,
which are also complicated and far-reaching. All these
conditions and requirements are time-sensitive; they all need to
be created within a similar time period. That requirement alone
is an incredible plight.
We can continue to expand the idea behind the Theory of One.
The Milky Way Galaxy, which we are located in, has its own
vast complex requirements and correspondence. As such, it
interacts with other galaxies, which in turn have their own
interactions and conditions. These direct and indirect
relationships support our existence and extend the connection
to everything in the Universe. It is truly remarkable. This
network does not stop or fade away with distance.
In conclusion, The Theory of One suggests that everything in
the Universe is connected and is required to support life here on
this planet. Is it possible for life to exist elsewhere in the
Universe? I can imagine it, but the necessary conditions to reoccur somewhere else would be astronomically rare, with an
outrageously small probability. We are probably unique in this Universe.

[stallions]

A.i has run space since eternity. And I know I'm suppose to have all the technology options possible.