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Why? The Purpose of the Universe
- Narrated by: Philip Goff
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
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Why? The Purpose of the Universe
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Summary
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.
What listeners say about Why? The Purpose of the Universe
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DJB
- 16-01-24
What a book!
Absolutely loved this. Inspiring and covers many topics with solid arguments for and against. Each chapter has a more accessible opening followed by a "deep-dive". Kudos to Prof Goff for presenting these challenging ideas in such a passionate and compelling way (both content and narration).
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Elske76
- 29-04-24
confusing
I thought thus would be a scientific plee for panpsychism. It starts out that way but then ends in a philosophy of ownership and rights to material goods. I don't see the connection
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- richard bolton
- 15-03-24
brilliant, so close...
a brilliant re-examination of many entrenched concepts along with some fantastic reimaginings of possible reconstruction for the world
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Bookthrower
- 10-02-24
Not quite what it says on the tin, fortunately.
Phiip Goff argues convincingly that there is purpose in the universe, using philosophy and sometimes science to make his point.
He believes that "panagencism"(if I understand it correctly, this means there is conciousness and active intention in all of nature) explains how this can be so without the need to posit a traditional creator God. (A lot of his ideas seem to sync with the idealism of Bernardo Kastrup, who suggests that consciousness, not matter, gives rise to everything and constitutes eveything.). I found this book very helpful because, in spite of having had a Christian upbringing and education, I was somehow taught to believe that matter was what mattered. We all had physical bodies and brains and these were what gave rise to consciousness and ( for those who believed in its existence), the soul. -an add-on, somehow vaguely attached. This was really a materialist position, so the only way to reconcile it with Christian religious myths was to believe they happened quite literally as described in the Bible. This seemed to me impossible to do logically, so I became agnostic. Later Ii read the writings of Jung and M. Scott Peck, the American psychiatrist, which helped me realise that it is mind, or conscoiousness, that creates the physical world, and not the other way round, and that religious myths are meant to convey truth without necessarily being literally true. If I understand him correctly, Philip Goff is saying something similar. He emphasises the need to find purpose in the universe, to connect with the More in order to live a fuller life, to be better, and to make the world a better place. He says this cannot really be done without religion. It is true that he rejects the concept of God as all powerful, omniscient and all-loving as being in compatible with the evil in the world. However, he appears to suggest that the More, of which we are a part but which is greater than us and is benign in purpose does exist-we just aren't able to know everything about it. Well, it may just be a matter of semantics, but I think that some people might equate that with God- though not the anthropomorphised God, the old man sitting on a cloud waiting to zap sinners.Goff seems to be saying that there is something some people might call God, we just need to work more on understanding -or intuiting-what it is . That's why I say the book doesn't exactly do what it says on the tin: It doesn't move on from both atheism and God. This is a good thing in my opinion, because believing in the More, or whatever you want to call it gives us hope and a purpose in life. I just thought I'd mention this because when I read the blurb about moving on from God I thought the theme might be that we are alone in the universe - a counsel of despair, in my opinion- and it almost put me off buying the book. I didn't want others to be put of for a similar reason.
I didn't quite understand why the last few chapters on property ownership, tax etc were included because they seemed to be only very loosely connected with the general theme, but because the book was so good otherwise I still gave it five stars.
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