As the search for alien life continues, and billions are rightly thrown into quantum physics, astronomy, space travel, and simulation of living conditions on other planets, a new brand of philosophical, anthropological, and spiritual stance is formed. One that considers the creation of our planet a chance event, our lives and the lives of our predecessors insignificant, our future the result of cosmic dice, and our existence aleatoric without meaning.
Where do they base such a claim? On the basis that now, with all the current technology and past ingenious work of brilliant minds, we can detect traces of the universe’s genesis and have a clearer scientific view of how life was formed on this third rock from the sun, called Earth. And it seems random…
I am respectfully borrowing this expression (3rd rock from the Sun) from the writings of Greek astrophysicist D. Nanopoulos, who ranks fourth in Doctoral citations worldwide and remains a personal hero. Nevertheless, I cannot ignore that he also fell victim to the nihilistic view shared by his other celebrated colleague, the late S. Hawking, who concluded that God does not exist.
Summarizing in an oversimplified manner, they seem to claim that since the creation of Earth was a culmination of so many ‘random’ (unexplained) symptoms, it must, therefore, be both pointless (without a purpose) and lucky (since it was improbable so many chance events would coincide).
Really?
So, despite our costly efforts by top experts, we still cannot find Anything near a living organism anywhere else, although we keep discovering not only new planets almost monthly but even universes. And we still cannot establish how the universe was created, let alone why. There was a big bang, they say. How is that different from the ‘Let there be Light!’….?
Astonished (feared?) by our uniqueness (resembling that of a God, perhaps?) and fooled by technological advancements, some of humanity’s brightest minds tend to conclude that we are nothing, made for nothing. And, as those minds age, a certain cynicism and bitterness become more apparent, leading to fatalistic conclusions.
Individuals with valid aspirations to succeed and help others must thoroughly understand their place in the cosmos. It may sound far-fetched to many, but more and more super-successful and happy global contributors feel that way. And it makes sense.
Why should the human race hold a diminished view of itself because its uniqueness in the universe remains undisputed? Any logical creature should have reached the opposite conclusion: If one is unique beyond scientific doubt, its proportions are not zero (‘we are not visible by the naked eye in the universe’) but gigantic (we occupy a privileged rock after trillion-chance coincidences- there must be a reason for it!).
Such blindness occurs only when science attempts to contradict divinity instead of embracing it. In such a dynamic, both spirituality and the rational mind lose.
I know monks with an iPhone and scientists with a Bible beside them. Winners embrace opposing forces to victory instead of contradicting them when the real fight lies elsewhere.
Science may indeed be the only reliable tool for further understanding. But the idea that a greater being exists, and we are a product of that, for a reason, will be the key to unlocking the future. Otherwise, innovative tools will lead to greater confusion as we question the obvious and ignore the riddles we urgently need to solve.