Why? The Purpose of the Universe

By: Philip Goff

Narrated by: Philip Goff

Why are we here? What's the point of existence? On the "big questions" of meaning and purpose, Western thought has been dominated by the dichotomy of traditional religion and secular atheism. In this pioneering work, Philip Goff argues that it is time to move on from both God and atheism. Through an exploration of contemporary cosmology and cutting-edge philosophical research on consciousness, Goff argues for cosmic purpose: the idea that the universe is directed towards certain goals, such as the emergence of life.

In contrast to religious thinkers, Goff argues that the traditional God is a bad explanation of cosmic purpose. Instead, he explores a range of alternative possibilities for accounting for cosmic purpose, from the speculation that we live in a computer simulation to the hypothesis that the universe itself is a conscious mind. Goff scrutinizes these options with analytical rigor, laying the foundations for a new paradigm of philosophical inquiry into the middle ground between God and atheism. Ultimately, Goff outlines a way of living in hope that cosmic purpose is still unfolding, involving political engagement and a non-literalist interpretation of traditional religion.

©2023 Philip Goff (P)2023 Tantor

Good.

I appreciate Goff putting this out in the world, and the book is (perhaps uniquely for academic philosophy) quite suited to audio.

Unfortunately, it lacked clarity in some parts — I still have absolutely no idea how pansychism is supposed to work — and the narration is irritatingly upbeat. lol. Sorry dude, your incessant cheer rankled my ornery predispositions.

Chasing Consciousness in book form

If you've heard his podcast, then you know what he's about and where he stands. It feels like this book just takes his podcast to another level. overall, I think he did a good job defending his positions and offering up proofs. I wholly agree with other reviews though in that he added a whole chapter on taxation that had 0 to add or do with the real topic at hand.

Great beginning and middle. Disappointing conclusion.

Really enjoyed the chapters on cosmology, theogony, theology, fine-tuning, logical fallacies, panagentialism, panpsychism, which constitute Geoff’s area of expertise. Also enjoyed the ride in later chapters regarding psychedelics and his return to religion as similar conversations occur in our home. His last portion on economics and property rights however were a huge disappointment. This discussion was absurdly reductive and simplistic and neglected critical alternative positions. In fact the reasoning here was so bad that it cast doubt on the soundness of the rest of the book.

Wrong. But not wrong-headed :-)

Late in the book, Goff states, "True ethics is not about helping your kin alone - the exclusive concern of the Mafia boss. True ethics is a concern to make reality better." Excellent. This is the ethical license we need to pursue metaphysics, which is the concern of Goff's book up to this point. Now, while I believe Goff's metaphysics (panagentialism via cosmopsychism) is wrong, his effort is both honest and thoughtful.

Referring to Goff's last popular work, Galileo's Error, he sticks to his guns. That is, he continues to conflate physics and math (throwing qualitative models out with the bathwater), and interestingly, he continues the "intrinsic natures" argument while here acknowledging energy as fundamental (as opposed to "particles" viz Galileo's Error). Yet we come away the better for having followed Goff's line of reasoning, having been made to think deeper about our own position.

Great Food for Thought

Excellent argumentation of reality as we know or believe it to be. Was a bit surprised at the seemingly political bent at the end - I suppose it's a sign of the times that everything must necessarily boil down to where one is on the social and political strata. I think the discussion would have been equally enjoyable without it; but I also don't dislike that it does trigger further introspection. As an animist, the latter chapters do cause me to consider how one reconciles spiritual belief/practice with "ownership" of that which surrounds us in the physical plane. Though I loathe politics, it's part of the scenario we find ourselves in; thus is fair game. Overall, I really enjoyed this work.