the universe, which could have arisen from nothing, has no purpose (Lawrence Krauss)

source: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/01/opinion/la-oe-krauss-cosmology-design-universe-2012040


Lawrence Krauss explains that the universe (which could have arisen from 'nothing'), like evolution, has no purpose.

"Science has taught us to think the unthinkable. Because when nature is the guide -- rather than a priori prejudices, hopes, fears or desires -- we are forced out of our comfort zone. "

"Most of the energy in the observable universe can be found not within galaxies but outside them, in otherwise empty space, which, for reasons we still cannot fathom, "weighs" something. But the use of the word "weight" is perhaps misleading because the energy of empty space is gravitationally repulsive. It pushes distant galaxies away from us at an ever-faster rate. Eventually they will recede faster than light and will be unobservable."

 .... "combining the ideas of general relativity and quantum mechanics, it is possible that the entire universe, matter, radiation and even space itself could arise spontaneously out of nothing, without explicit divine intervention. Quantum mechanics' Heisenberg uncertainty principle expands what can possibly occur undetected in otherwise empty space. If gravity too is governed by quantum mechanics, then even whole new universes can spontaneously appear and disappear, which means our own universe may not be unique but instead part of a multiverse."

... ""Why is there something rather than nothing?" Even the laws of physics may be a cosmic accident, with different laws in different universes. Asking why we live in a universe of something rather than nothing may be no more meaningful than asking why some flowers are red and others blue."

.... " if we ask what properties a universe created from nothing would have, it appears that these properties resemble precisely the universe we live in."

... "Does all of this prove that our universe and the laws that govern it arose spontaneously without divine guidance or purpose? No, but it means it is possible!"

... "And that possibility need not imply that our own lives are devoid of meaning. Instead of divine purpose, the meaning in our lives can arise from what we make of ourselves, from our relationships and our institutions, from the achievements of the human mind.

... "Imagining living in a universe without purpose may prepare us to better face reality head on. I cannot see that this is such a bad thing. Living in a strange and remarkable universe that is the way it is, independent of our desires and hopes, is far more satisfying for me than living in a fairy-tale universe invented to justify our existence."