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100
User voted Yes.
4 votes
Jun 1, 2015

Aw, man. I wish there were an "I'd rather not know" option. I'd so pick that one.

Anyways. As most of you have predicted, "purpose" is quite the human thing. So human, in fact, that we have troubles defining our personal search for meaning as a word. (Pssst! The current word is "Spirituality").

I firmly believe in science, and as a consequence, in Science Fiction. As such, i believe that in due time, things like Time Travel, Space Travel, Body Alteration and Limitless Energy will happen. In fact, some of those are already in the making! Maybe you and i will live enough to see one of those. Maybe you or i will be the ones to CREATE one of those. Whatever the point is, i'd like to share an anecdote i was thinking about earlier today, just by chance.

A few years ago i read "The End of Eternity" by Isaac Asimov. It's a cute story, deals with tons of time travel and is quite useful to define some concepts in science fiction. I'd even go as far as calling it a "deconstruction" of the time-traveling genre, dealing with not only key issues in time travel, but also in its dichotomy (in Asimov's oeuvre, mostly) with space travel. Point in case is (this is sort of a spoiler so i'll skip the why) it got me thinking about how most things deeply involved with time traveling end up being their own cause/purpose/raison d'etre. So why not apply this to the Universe?

Say eventually, in year 1400 AM (After Mortality, just a cute calendar i'm creating because i've just answered this question), someone figures out time travel. All's dandy, the world doesn't ends because of some teenage prank, and eventually the technology becomes... not quite widespread, but not a secret anymore. I'd bet money on eventually, humans would give the universe and/or life meaning, if only because they can.

How? No idea.

Why? Beats me.

The fact is, if humans can, they WILL.

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100
1 vote
Mar 29, 2015

First of all, what we understand as purpose is exclusively a human concept to which we cling on, if we truly want to understand universe as its "purpose" it must be defined. Is it purpose as if each living entity has a goal on its own? Is it purpose as in we all strive for a common progress? As we all know, the universe is infinite, and if it isn't, its pretty frigging big. In all that unfathomable infinity, the lines of what we consider "purpose" become irrelevant. The universe is undefinable in our lifetimes and it may not be properly grasped for the span of human civilization. To this I say, purpose will be the wrong question to ask if we don't understand at first the universe to which it may be misinterpreted by our limited human perspective. (i know my English grammar sucks, its not my first language)

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100
opinion
1 vote
Feb 5, 2016

I believe that the pure existence of anything creates a purpose for the universe.

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100
User voted Rather yes.
1 vote
Sep 15, 2016

I said I'd rather it be yes. The reason for this is because I have a rather romantic idea for the universe. its not grounded in any specific religion that I know of, though some of it is inspired by established beliefs.

To start off I'll have to set up:
Sentience is a burden, especially if you're omnipotent and omniscient. The only thing worse than dying is living forever. Becoming a God is literally a fate worse than immortality, and here is why. Imagine outliving everything, knowing every possible outcome of not only everyone else's actions and thoughts, but your own. Sure it sounds like fun, but that would get incredibly boring.

Knowing everything-- the future included-- would entail that you know your own future thoughts and actions before you do them. You would have nothing to live for since everything you could create and do has already been done.
I think if you became an omnipotent/omniscient god right now, you'd instantly obliterate yourself.

Anyways, in this idea there was a god. One essence that began the universe. It became tragically bored (probably instantly) and decided to end its sentience (omnipotence means you'd even be able to kill yourself, maybe even irrevocably) and instead make all that there is now. Matter, energy, the laws of the universe, etc. He knew exactly what would happen down to the minutest detail, but the thing is now he doesn't.

Now he is here. We are here. We (and everything else) are fragments of an omnipotent/omniscient being whose last gift to himself/us was the gift of an endless experience. We are the fragments of a god exploring its infinite self. No matter what we learn or what we discover there will always be something new. What he had before was omnipotence, but what he/we have now is so much better, and I find that beautiful. Perhaps one day, since we are the fragments of god and that sentience it had, could prove this and solve the puzzle. Perhaps one day the universe will collapse back in on itself and recreate the original being, but why would it? He's having way too much fun right now experiencing life.

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50
User voted Yes.
2 votes
Jan 1, 2016

I believe in intelligent design; therefore I think the Universe has a purpose. :)

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-2
2 votes
Mar 31, 2015

A vague question that truly doesn't make sense. Could you frame your question in a manner that isn't obscure and ethereal?

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0
User voted Rather yes.
0 votes
Mar 28, 2015

"Believe" matches better than "think" to this question in my case. I believe that the Universe has unknown reason(s) of existence, which would be the answer to other questions, like: "what it was before Big Bang like?" or "what is beyond its boundaries?" or "is it a part of more complexed world?"

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0
0 votes
Jan 27, 2016

i cannot answer with the current options as i do not believe it needs one

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opinion
0 votes
May 6, 2016
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