Why? The Purpose of the Universe

De: Philip Goff

Narrado por: Philip Goff

Duración: 8 h y 32 m

Resumen del Editor

Why are we here? What's the point of existence? On the "big questions" of meaning and purpose, Western thought has been dominated by the dichotomy of traditional religion and secular atheism. In this pioneering work, Philip Goff argues that it is time to move on from both God and atheism. Through an exploration of contemporary cosmology and cutting-edge philosophical research on consciousness, Goff argues for cosmic purpose: the idea that the universe is directed towards certain goals, such as the emergence of life.

In contrast to religious thinkers, Goff argues that the traditional God is a bad explanation of cosmic purpose. Instead, he explores a range of alternative possibilities for accounting for cosmic purpose, from the speculation that we live in a computer simulation to the hypothesis that the universe itself is a conscious mind. Goff scrutinizes these options with analytical rigor, laying the foundations for a new paradigm of philosophical inquiry into the middle ground between God and atheism. Ultimately, Goff outlines a way of living in hope that cosmic purpose is still unfolding, involving political engagement and a non-literalist interpretation of traditional religion.

©2023 Philip Goff (P)2023 Tantor

Wrong. But not wrong-headed :-)

Late in the book, Goff states, "True ethics is not about helping your kin alone - the exclusive concern of the Mafia boss. True ethics is a concern to make reality better." Excellent. This is the ethical license we need to pursue metaphysics, which is the concern of Goff's book up to this point. Now, while I believe Goff's metaphysics (panagentialism via cosmopsychism) is wrong, his effort is both honest and thoughtful.

Referring to Goff's last popular work, Galileo's Error, he sticks to his guns. That is, he continues to conflate physics and math (throwing qualitative models out with the bathwater), and interestingly, he continues the "intrinsic natures" argument while here acknowledging energy as fundamental (as opposed to "particles" viz Galileo's Error). Yet we come away the better for having followed Goff's line of reasoning, having been made to think deeper about our own position.

Chasing Consciousness in book form

If you've heard his podcast, then you know what he's about and where he stands. It feels like this book just takes his podcast to another level. overall, I think he did a good job defending his positions and offering up proofs. I wholly agree with other reviews though in that he added a whole chapter on taxation that had 0 to add or do with the real topic at hand.