The fluke of the universe existing as it does now isn't so unlikely when you've maybe got infinite universes to choose from - we'd only be able to ask this question in a universe that allowed us to be here to ask it (the anthropic principle).
Had a quick read over the
Anthropic Principle. I was particularly interested by the Strong Anthropic Principle, which suggests the universe is compelled, in a manner of speaking, to lead to conscious life.
That doesn't conflict with my thoughts... I don't think anyone had a hand in creating our Universe as such or the things that came to exist within it.
It's more the conundrum that everything is made up of something. So what or how did matter come into existence in the first place? This isn't something I want to think on too hard... my head would probably explode but it gives me a belief that something greater is going on.
Vurtual said:
The illusion of being a human is to think that time only happens one moment at a time, but really they all exist together forever (when viewed outside time).
+1
Very interesting. Certainly time is something that we observe, as conscious life. I don't think it would be right to say that time does not exist, rather that it doesn't necessarily exist as we perceive it.
I'm pretty sure I said that. This life is plenty. It's good, but it's plenty. I don't need an after-life as I'm happy enough with life. Plus there's the simple fact that I don't believe in it, unlike some I'm not going to kid myself on, pretend to believe in things just because they seem nice.
The after-life is another arrogant human thought. We are nothing but a little speck on this planet, insignificant as fuck, certainly not significant enough to warrant a whole other world for us to run about in when we die.
If there ever was an after-life it would probably have been reserved for god's one true creation - dinosaurs. It will be full after that plan went tits up and he had to settle for us.
Edit - I hate to bring the G man into this, but as an aside, why did he wait millions upon millions of years before creating something "In his image"? If I'm believing any part of that, then god's a dinosaur.
I'd just like to point out that although I talk of something greater, it is not necessarily the same as Raas's God. He has a specific belief. Let's not confuse the two...
Why is it plenty though? Is there something about this life that means you wouldn't want to live another one? I'm not saying that one life isn't enough. Certainly you do sound a bit nihilistic.
We might be
'insignificant' in the grand scheme of things in the Universe, but nonetheless we still have an impact, which is very significant from our own perspective. Humans most definitely have an impact on our own planet. Nothing is truly insignificant.
Our mere existence is significant if it is truly a fluke, no?