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The Meaning of Life in the Universe
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The Meaning of Life in the Universe

A special issue of Philosophies (ISSN 2409-9287).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 20500

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Rainer E. Zimmermann

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. General Studies Department, UAS Munich, 80335 München, Germany
2. Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9AL, UK
Interests: metaphysics; philosophy of nature; theory of systems; theory of gravitation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For more than a century, the idea that the universe is lavishly filled with a multitude of living structures was a straightforward theoretical consequence of the Cosmological Principle within the framework of General Relativity. This principle (though primarily a mathematical condition for the global metric of space-time in order to assume isotropy and homogeneity) essentially states that the physics is the same everywhere in the universe. If so, then it is straightforward indeed to imply the existence of planets that carry life according to whether its star is sufficiently sun-like or not. However, it has not been until recently, beginning in the eighties and nineties of the last century, that a large number of (exo-) planets orbiting remote stars have actually been found, many of them looking earth-like. These observations have strongly amplified the activities of the new research field that is called astrobiology. However, beyond the various topics of generalized geophysics and biology, the not only physical but also philosophical question arises for the explicit function of life within a physical universe. The idea is to visualize life as a complex physical system among others supporting the cosmic tendency of maximizing complexity (Stuart Kauffman). The meaning of life, then, shows up as life’s function within the constituents of the universe which itself is being visualized as a maximal system. Research on these basic questions also has to ask for the philosophical foundations of physics and biology, taking care of the metaphysical discrepancy between the world as it is observed and the world as it really is. The concept of system itself, e.g., depends on epistemological aspects rather than on ontological aspects of the world. Hence, when we ask for the meaning of life in the universe, it is also necessary to reflect on the epistemological loop of self-reference, which is a consequence of the fact that human beings are a species that tries to illuminate what is producing it, including its epistemological instruments of cognitive perceptions in the first place.

Reference

Rainer E. Zimmermann (2020): A Conceptual View onto the Physical Foundations of Astrobiology. Provisional Outline of a Research Program. Leibniz online 39, 28 pp: https://leibnizsozietaet.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/06_Zimmerman_Astrobiology.pdf

Prof. Dr. Rainer E. Zimmermann
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • astrobiology
  • foundations of physics and biology
  • metaphysical foundations of the philosophy of nature

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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22 pages, 7304 KiB  
Article
On the Explicit Function of Life within a Physical Universe
by Annette Grathoff
Philosophies 2021, 6(3), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies6030059 - 17 Jul 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2350
Abstract
To describe the meaning of functionality in a universe before life evolved, existing etiological and systemic accounts of function are evaluated. Since the theory of function is only applicable in context with living beings and artifacts used by living beings and therefore cannot [...] Read more.
To describe the meaning of functionality in a universe before life evolved, existing etiological and systemic accounts of function are evaluated. Since the theory of function is only applicable in context with living beings and artifacts used by living beings and therefore cannot predict how a prebiotic form of functionality could evolve, a maintenance account for functionality is proposed. This account ascribes functionality to a structurally disposed property that increases the probability of maintenance or recurrence of the property in the surrounding selective environment. With the help of the maintenance account and a concept of physical information comprising kinetic and structural types of information, possible evolutionary processes preceding the evolution of life are explored. As important mechanisms in abiotic and prebiotic evolution, linear and non-linear mixing processes, as well as dynamics of solitary waves, are identified. Before the question of the meaning of life in prebiotic environments is renewed and an educated guess based on the elaborated arguments is made on the progress of evolution under the influencing impression of the living state, the evolution of functionality in different selective contexts is analyzed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Meaning of Life in the Universe)
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18 pages, 353 KiB  
Article
Philosophical Aspects of Astrobiology Revisited
by Rainer E. Zimmermann
Philosophies 2021, 6(3), 55; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies6030055 - 2 Jul 2021
Viewed by 2652
Abstract
Given the idea that Life as we know it is nothing but a special form of a generically underlying dynamical structure within the physical Universe, we try to introduce a concept of Life that is not only derived from first principles of fundamental [...] Read more.
Given the idea that Life as we know it is nothing but a special form of a generically underlying dynamical structure within the physical Universe, we try to introduce a concept of Life that is not only derived from first principles of fundamental physics, but also metaphysically based on philosophical assumptions about the foundations of the world. After clarifying the terminology somewhat, especially with a view to differentiating reality from modality, we give an example for a mathematical representation of what the substance of reality (in the traditional sense of metaphysics) could actually mean today, discussing twistor theory as an example. We then concentrate on the points of structural emergence by discussing the emergence of dynamical systems and of Life as we know it, respectively. Some further consequences as they relate to meaning are discussed in the end. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Meaning of Life in the Universe)
7 pages, 228 KiB  
Article
Drake-like Calculations for the Frequency of Life in the Universe
by Karl-Florian Platt
Philosophies 2021, 6(2), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies6020049 - 14 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3978
Abstract
This article is intended to provide a review of some modifications to the Drake equation, a 1961 concept presented by Frank Drake to determine the number of extra-terrestrial civilizations able to communicate. A reduced version of the Drake equation will then be presented. [...] Read more.
This article is intended to provide a review of some modifications to the Drake equation, a 1961 concept presented by Frank Drake to determine the number of extra-terrestrial civilizations able to communicate. A reduced version of the Drake equation will then be presented. This can be used to estimate an important question for astrobiology, the frequency with which planets are habitable. Finally, a concept is presented that can also integrate the habitability of moons into the reduced Drake equation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Meaning of Life in the Universe)
10 pages, 207 KiB  
Article
Doctrine of the Ciphers Intercursions among Zeropoint-Utopia-Core
by Doris Zeilinger
Philosophies 2021, 6(2), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies6020044 - 25 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2008
Abstract
The Blochian concept of cipher is discussed in some detail with a view to possible developments in the modern philosophy of nature. Parallels and differences are listed as to the Idealistic tradition in Germany preceding Bloch’s approach. It is found that within the [...] Read more.
The Blochian concept of cipher is discussed in some detail with a view to possible developments in the modern philosophy of nature. Parallels and differences are listed as to the Idealistic tradition in Germany preceding Bloch’s approach. It is found that within the framework of a strict process philosophy of the Blochian type, life forms and human (reflexive) life in particular show up as systemic parts of a nature that is projecting itself towards what has not yet become, hence a strong similarity to Schelling’s approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Meaning of Life in the Universe)
14 pages, 249 KiB  
Article
On the Evolution of the Biological Framework for Insight
by Claudio Neidhöfer
Philosophies 2021, 6(2), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies6020043 - 21 May 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2941
Abstract
The details of abiogenesis, to date, remain a matter of debate and constitute a key mystery in science and philosophy. The prevailing scientific hypothesis implies an evolutionary process of increasing complexity on Earth starting from (self-) replicating polymers. Defining the cut-off point where [...] Read more.
The details of abiogenesis, to date, remain a matter of debate and constitute a key mystery in science and philosophy. The prevailing scientific hypothesis implies an evolutionary process of increasing complexity on Earth starting from (self-) replicating polymers. Defining the cut-off point where life begins is another moot point beyond the scope of this article. We will instead walk through the known evolutionary steps that led from these first exceptional polymers to the vast network of living biomatter that spans our world today, focusing in particular on perception, from simple biological feedback mechanisms to the complexity that allows for abstract thought. We will then project from the well-known to the unknown to gain a glimpse into what the universe aims to accomplish with living matter, just to find that if the universe had ever planned to be comprehended, evolution still has a long way to go. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Meaning of Life in the Universe)
19 pages, 358 KiB  
Article
To What Inanimate Matter Are We Most Closely Related and Does the Origin of Life Harbor Meaning?
by William F. Martin, Falk S. P. Nagies and Andrey do Nascimento Vieira
Philosophies 2021, 6(2), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/philosophies6020033 - 15 Apr 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4622
Abstract
The question concerning the meaning of life is important, but it immediately confronts the present authors with insurmountable obstacles from a philosophical standpoint, as it would require us to define not only what we hold to be life, but what we hold to [...] Read more.
The question concerning the meaning of life is important, but it immediately confronts the present authors with insurmountable obstacles from a philosophical standpoint, as it would require us to define not only what we hold to be life, but what we hold to be meaning in addition, requiring us to do both in a properly researched context. We unconditionally surrender to that challenge. Instead, we offer a vernacular, armchair approach to life’s origin and meaning, with some layman’s thoughts on the meaning of origins as viewed from the biologist’s standpoint. One can observe that biologists generally approach the concept of biological meaning in the context of evolution. This is the basis for the broad resonance behind Dobzhansky’s appraisal that “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”. Biologists try to understand living things in the historical context of how they arose, without giving much thought to the definition of what life or living things are, which for a biologist is usually not an interesting question in the practical context of daily dealings with organisms. Do humans generally understand life’s meaning in the context of history? If we consider the problem of life’s origin, the question of what constitutes a living thing becomes somewhat more acute for the biologist, though not more answerable, because it is inescapable that there was a time when there were no organisms on Earth, followed by a time when there were, the latter time having persisted in continuity to the present. This raises the question of where, in that transition, chemicals on Earth became alive, requiring, in turn, a set of premises for how life arose in order to conceptualize the problem in relation to organisms we know today, including ourselves, which brings us to the point of this paper: In the same way that cultural narratives for origins always start with a setting, scientific narratives for origins also always start with a setting, a place on Earth or elsewhere where we can imagine what happened for the sake of structuring both the problem and the narrative for its solution. This raises the question of whether scientific origins settings convey meaning to humans in that they suggest to us from what kind of place and what kinds of chemicals we are descended, that is, to which inanimate things we are most closely related. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Meaning of Life in the Universe)
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