Michio Kaku - Does the Cosmos have a Reason?

michio here we are scientists human beings who seem to have our hands on the fundamental nature of reality quantum physics at the smallest area general relativity and all the remarkable discovers of cosmology seeking a final theory perhaps string theory we're getting very close on the smaller scale and on the largest scale to really understanding it can now we step back and ask the questions that our ancestors asked that are asked by religions that are asked by philosophers is there any meaning to all of this is there any reason can we ask the why question well I think it is legitimate to ask the why questions because in some sense our role in the universe where do we fit in this largest team of things that's the ultimate goal of science itself now remember that there's conflicts when Galileo for example turned his telescope to the heavens people immediately asked him where is heaven where is heaven what is the purpose of life the purpose of life is to live a good life to go to heaven that's why we are here that gives us meaning to praise God to go to heaven and they asked Galileo where is heaven and Galileo looked and he looked and we're still looking and we see no heaven out there and so science forces us to push back the boundaries of what we know where we are in the scheme of things and I think it's a good thing because I think we know where we stand with regards to the much larger universe now some people say well if you're so smart you physicists know so much is there a unified theory of happiness is there a unified theory of meaning to it all well I personally don't believe that there is an equation out there written in the sky which says this is it folks this is the meaning of the universe this is what you've been struggling for I don't see that however I do see the search for a theory of everything illuminating how we fit into the larger scheme of things our role in the universe but then people say but but that's not what I want to know I want to know what's in it for numero what's what's my meaning in life and I tell people the following it's too easy to have meaning just plop down from the heavens onto our lap it's too easy we have to work for it we have to create our own meaning and this is what I tell people I say that there's no equation out there that can give meaning to your life you have to find meaning for yourself it is a process of self-discovery that it's too easy for us to simply have an equation that says okay this is it folks this is the meaning of the universe it's a process of self-discovery now for me example I tend to think that all of us are born with certain talents certain abilities and we have to reach the maximum of our keep capabilities and potential why to make the world a better place to make sure that we leave the universe we leave the world a better place than we first entered now that doesn't mean that the trumpets are blaring when I make that statement but for me this is my purpose in life well certainly whatever your purpose is whatever your imagined meaning is if it's personal or it's derived from some religion it now must conform to the laws of physics that are being discovered at the micro level at the quantum level at the cosmological level anything that has any claim to veracity and truth must conform to that I mean that's a given beyond that is the question and is there some larger purpose or is the only purpose that which we derive and maybe some would say artificially maybe the the meaning that you're talking about is sort of trying to attack on artificially a meaning to where no meaning exists why don't you come clean and say as a scientist here are the laws you have to confer to it I don't see meaning in it and that's it well I think there's a spectrum of answers that you get when you interview cosmologists and theoretical physicists on one hand you have the people who say the university is pointless there is no point dummy you're trying to put human values on something that has no human values on the other hand you will get physicists mainly old-fashioned ones but they say that the purpose of life is to glorify God that's why they discover the laws of physics discovering the laws of physics to them is a way of glorifying God end of story that's the purpose of the universe well I don't think that this scale is the proper way in which to look at the full dimension of things I personally don't think that you're going to find meaning in a unified field theory an equation which explains electrons and neutrons and protons is not going to make you happy okay I say there is meaning in the universe there is such a thing as meaning in the universe but it's personally created you have to define your own meaning otherwise it's a cop-out otherwise you're simply saying that I'm going to give get some message from on heaven an email from outer space saying okay this is the meaning of life go live it I don't believe in that I say to people you search for meaning search inside yourself because that's where true meaning is going to be found because if I tell you that the meaning of life is this equation you're not going to believe me okay and it's not going to affect your life okay we're putting that off the table that there's not going to be some ultimate guidelines some ultimate equations some ultimately you don't heaven no email from heaven or part of a book or something is going to tell you the way it is but something that you infer that you create yourself but is that it's just that just sounds like a rationalization to me but it's trying to impose something that nothing is it maybe it'll make us feel better and move it and I'm all for that take care of the earth take care of our families that's fine but at the end of the day it is it is really kind of irrelevant I don't think so because it gives structure and meaning to life a Freud for example was asked what is the meaning of life right and he said well what gives a structure what gives us meaning a life of two things okay um to work and to love and if you think about it we as human beings need to work we need to love or else we go insane we go crazy we go off the deep end as they say we become we live a pointless life of a pointless existence unless we work to some productive goal and we love and I think that's a very foundational question that any theory of meaning has to embrace the very foundations of who we are that we have to work and we have to love now what does theoretical physics say about this well it may talk about creation may talk about the harmony of the universe the glories of equations and so on and so forth but it's not going to tell you how to be a better person it's not going to fulfill that yawning gap inside your soul that says why am I here to begin with and that's why I say the process of self-discovery is the way to do it to some people they say well as a cop-out I want that email from heaven hey it's not coming

Channel: Closer To Truth

Views: 185,176

Rating: 4.863903 out of 5

Keywords: Closer To Truth, Michio Kaku, Cosmos, Robert Lawrence Kuhn, deepest questions, fundamental questions about reality, life's big questions, online learning, pbs science show, stem education channel, ultimate reality of the universe, does the cosmos have a reason, multiple universes, beginning and end of our universe, michio kaku physics, are there multiple universes, cosmic origins, nature of physical laws, quantum mechanics questions, structure of the universe, what exists

Id: VUTE5x-ghd8

Length: 7min 44sec (464 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 07 2013

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Good stuff

[u/[deleted]]

Some time ago, I would have thought of this as BS but now I realise that there is meaning in what he is saying- many interpretations- pick what you like and what makes you happy

[u/DazedDoom]

Our meaning is not to work, fuck this! We aren't cut out to be a worker race as if we are in a bee hive.

Other mammals don't have to work to feel fulfilled. The only comparable thing to working for them is hunting. We are even refused the pleasure of bloodlust in modern society.