Readers might have trouble hearing that a number of scientists consider the universe to have a purposeful way. The universe, or the cosmos, refers to all of nature, both that which is visible and not. So, let’s explore this idea of a purposeful universe.
It’s not only scientists but many people from other areas of life that hold this view as well. It’s an attractive idea since so many people want something other than themselves involved in their lives and in nature too. We often hear religious people describe the purpose brought to them from something greater. We hear spiritual people do the same.
So, what does purpose mean? Purpose implies an intention to do something, say something, or act in some particular way. Purpose also implies some level of consciousness (awareness) in order to express the purposeful intention with a gesture, words, or as a natural phenomenon. As we investigate the idea of purpose, it is almost impossible to describe it without introducing a human consciousness or something outside the realm of human nature that is conscious too.
From the perspective of psychology, we’re describing what’s known as projection. I’ve written about projection in the past. It occurs when an unconscious (hidden psychology) characteristic influences a person’s conscious perception, and the person only sees through the projection. In our case, the unconscious characteristic that the cosmos or universe can have consciousness or purpose is projected outward toward an understanding of the universe and is understood from that projected characteristic. We do this all the time when we make a judgement or statement about someone or something we really don’t know anything about.
There’s another way, however, to understand purpose in the universe that doesn’t require intention or consciousness. It does require a deeper view of the idea of purpose. When we think of an animal or insect instinctively functioning to survive, we can say this is a survival instinct with purpose. The instinct does not have consciousness nor intention but seems to be purposeful. The term used to refer to such a survival instinct is teleology. It’s not a projection but a movement in the life for the insect or animal with a meaning for survival. Think of a flowing river. When it hits a rock, it continues to flow around the rock. This is like an instinctual movement that doesn’t have intention or consciousness. This is likely the type of purpose scientists describe.
Psychologically, each of us is living this type of movement, or purpose, without even realizing it.
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