#9 The Big Four
Every now and then, we’re going to remind ourselves about the main purpose of our journey so that we don’t lose sight of our bigger goal as we dig down into the details of our quest. The key motive of our exploration is to find answers to the big questions of life in a coherent and logical manner: Where did we come from? What are we here for? Where are we going?
We spent the last few blogs commencing the first part of our journey from a purely scientific perspective. We started off with collecting unbiased and incontrovertible data from the world around us – from the inherent characteristics of our universe to our observations of the natural world we live in. We needed this information to kick off discussion around the first segment of our quest: Where did we come from?
Having collected our observations of the world in which we live, we are now in a position to begin exploring the mysteries we seek to unravel.
The Big Four
Science is the latest mega-branch of knowledge that has developed tremendously over the last couple of centuries. Thanks to science, we know much more now than before about how things around us work. Scientists explain how the world and the universe work, and everyone takes their word for it. No one disputes the scientists’ claims about how gravity or other forces and entities in the universe interact with each other. Science is believable.
Everything is not set in stone with the scientists’ worldview though. There are many areas of scientific knowledge that are still unknown and haven’t been discovered yet. Scientists openly acknowledge them and work hard to do their research in pursuit of new discoveries. There are still certain unknown areas of science that most scientists take a firm position on, even though they are not unequivocally proven by science. These are primarily the origin problems.
The origin problems are different from the established scientific assertions that describe how things work. If a company produces a product – say, a car – the science behind it will explain how the car works. It will detail the scientific and technological principles on which the car runs. The science behind the car, however, does not divulge how the car was actually put together and assembled. This manufacturing process of the car is addressed by its origin problem: How did the car come into being?
In a similar manner, while science explains how things work, figuring out how they came into existence is a whole different beast. To be clear, science can very well describe the origin of many things. It can explain how galaxies, stars, and planets formed. It can elucidate how clouds, tornadoes, and hurricanes shape up. But what we’re talking here is about the real source of origin – the absolute source of all things. Matter, energy, space, time, laws, biological life. How does science explain their origin?
At its core, there are four fundamental origin problems that are central to our understanding of the meaning of life. I call them “The Big Four”. All of them are deeply connected to the big questions of life. Satisfying answers to these origin problems provide strong clues to unlocking the mysteries of everything.
What does science say about the Big Four? Does it provide clear, logical, and incontrovertible evidence to resolve the Big Four origin problems or is there room for discussion and debate about them? We will examine them in detail in the next many blogs. But first, let’s see what the Big Four really are.
1) The Origin of Everything
As we’ve seen, we live in a world with incredible characteristics. Our universe is filled with remarkable qualities. How did it get to this point? Was it always like this or did it have a beginning? If it had a beginning, what was it? How did everything start? What was the first impetus that triggered the beginning of everything that exists today? How did we go from nothing to this grand universe with all its wonderful attributes? These are the opening set of questions we will explore in the first origin problem.
We all know that science is almost unanimous about the beginning of our universe. According to current scientific consensus, our universe began with an explosive event – the Big Bang. But the Big Bang does not solve the origin problem we seek. It explains the beginning of our universe but not the origin of everything. What caused the Big Bang? Where did the primordial matter of the Big Bang come from? What caused the explosive event to trigger? What was there before the Big Bang?
Scientific answers to these questions dictate the kind of world we live in. It will give strong clues to whether we live in a godless world run by pure chance, or we are part of a bigger realm created with intent and purpose. We will explore all such possibilities in detail.
2) The Origin of Life
Life is one of the most astonishing wonders of the world of which we are a part. To the best of our limited knowledge, we have not seen any signs of life existing outside our planet, though we may find it at some point in the future. It is uniquely distinct from the rest of the inorganic matter spread out all over the universe. It has the capacity to grow, reproduce, adapt, and strive to protect itself against extinction. Its chemistry and composition is complex, exclusive, and unparalleled.
The second of the Big Four is the problem of the origin of life. Life is pervasive on our planet and flourishes everywhere. But while life may seem wonderful and beautiful on the outside, it is extremely complex and intricate from the inside. How did the complicated chemistry of life arise? Was it a propitious conglomeration of events that jump started life, or is there something more to it?
A lot of scientific research is being done to understand the origins of life. We will look into the latest and most credible results and see how they stack up in explaining the enigmatic mystery of how life began on Earth.
3) The Origin of Biodiversity
Not only is life prevalent on Earth, it is also diverse. Extremely diverse. The number of distinct biological species on our planet is estimated to be in the millions. Our planet is filled with species of all kinds – from bacteria, viruses, algae, fungi, and plants to corals, mollusks, arachnids, crustaceans, insects, fishes, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and mammals. The diversity of biological life on Earth is staggering.
How did Earth become so diverse in the range of its biological species? What is the source of such great biodiversity on our planet? Science attributes the diversity of life to evolutionary changes ensuing within life itself. If that is the case, what drives such an evolutionary mechanism? Is it driven by pure random behavior – as most biologists opine – or are there other mechanisms that drive it? Such questions will be explored in this origin problem.
Some people may question the motivation for exploring the origin of biodiversity in our quest for the meaning of life. But while you may not see a direct connection between the two at this time, this problem is a big part of the final picture to unravel the mysteries of life.
4) The Origin of Humans
Human beings are supposed to be the most advanced, intelligent, and dominant species on Earth. They sit at the top of the food chain having conquered all other species handily. They develop societies, communicate with articulation, govern with rules, manufacture goods, conduct trade, erect buildings, produce fine arts, develop state-of-the-art technologies, and exhibit multitudinous skills. They are the masters of the planet.
How did only one species out of the millions surpass everyone else to such an exceptional degree? What makes human beings so capable than the rest of biological life? What is the secret behind their success? What caused them to become so advanced and sophisticated? Did they evolve from the ape family or is there more to it than we know?
We will explore the mystery behind the origins of humans in the last part of the Big Four origin problems. Unsurprisingly, this section is closely tied to the overarching inquiry into our journey – the meaning of human life.
There is strong debate among scientists, religionists, philosophers, and intellectuals about all the four fundamental origin problems. Everyone seems to have a strong view about them. Each one of the opinions leads us to very divergent paths. It is, therefore, all the more necessary for us to untangle the web of theories surrounding them and make sense of it with a rational examination.
The next many blogs will deal with the Big Four origin problems from a purely scientific perspective. We will examine each one of them sequentially. Evidence and clues that lend credence to a rational and logical explanation will be collected along the way. Such data will be used throughout our journey and will help us tie all the loose ends toward the end of our journey.