Random Chance Or Design

    Is our existence, as intelligent life in the universe by design, or has it come to be out of random chance?

    This is one of the great questions in our modern world, and at times I have flip flopped from one extreme to the other. Modernity and our successes in technology have created a naive hubris in us, that often stifles us from the bigger picture. As the pendulum swings back and forth from religion to materialism (that only the physical, currently testable, world exists), we tend to fully buy into either extreme, depending on the swing.

    So without falling into either camp, I'd like to attempt some relative objectivity on the question (all you existentialists can calm down. You're not going to make me newly aware of much regarding the impossibility of true objectivity.That's another argument to be had at another time. BTW, when you are unable to see the weak points of your point of view you become incredibly predictable and easily countered.)

    So without any dog in the fight, either religiously or scientifically I've tried to step back and look at the biggest, broadest, picture. And in doing so I've come to see that indeed there does seem to be some design or purpose to the Universe, though I don't claim to know what that is. (This design doesn't imply some great spiritual philosophy as would normally be assumed in such a stance.)

    This is what dawned on me:

    The simple reality, that it is possible that we exist, shows that at some level it is more than just random chance. Even if the coming together of independently random factors is the mechanism that gets us to our existence, in the bigger picture, the primordial cause seems to be aimed in a direction: Intelligent life.

    Now what you choose to extrapolate from this is open to interpretation (though I have my opinions), but it seems to be, that the purpose of the universe is to move towards intelligent life. The fact that it may be incredibly rare doesn't negate this, in fact it bolsters it. 

    (I hate that I have to address these limited and all too frequent rebuttals that I've read and heard too often by the doggedly materialistic minded. Such as: The universe is expanding and will eventually lead to a lifeless void, so how can complex life be the purpose? Holy shit this is such a simple minded, small picture, argument that doesn't take into account what materialism doesn't know. Like if the expansion of the universe is cyclical and not eternal. Or their assumption that the design would be to create eternal intelligent life. OK I will digress.)

    So, if you look at the properties of the universe, it is set up to guarantee that intelligent life will evolve, somewhere, at some point. It might seem obvious to point to the fact that we, as intelligent life, exist as an example of this direction, but step back, far back, and you should be able to see it.

    The size of the observable universe, not to mention if multi-verses exist (which would make this an infinite space), ensures that the space, time, and conditions will somewhere, at some point, and at some time, will eventually come together to produce intelligent life.

The rules of physics, the building blocks of matter, and the interactions of chemistry, given enough space, time, and interaction, are all set up to produce intelligent life.

The fact that these 'rules' of physics exist at all, is clearly aimed in a direction. Why do electrons orbit a nucleus? Why is there something rather than nothing? Why does gravity exist to warp space time and hold planets together around stars..etc?

Because the rules dictate it.

And you might say, 'yes, but the existence of the laws of physics is a far cry from intelligent life,' but it's a step down the exact same road. I'm not claiming to know exactly what the purpose of the Universe is, but there clearly is a purpose even if it's as simple as life itself.

At it's broadest stroke, the conditions being right for existence, is an arrow pointing in a broad direction. And the more detailed signs are found in looking at the types of creation that we find, especially In the complex organisms that have evolved in the oasis of reversed entropy that is Earth. The same entropy that the dogmatically scientific community likes to claim as the nature of the universe, to support a strictly materialistic explanation for the universe, that we have somehow overcome. (look up entropy)

And yes I believe in evolution. You have to get your head out of the simplistic: scientific evolution vs. religious creationism mind state. If that's how simple you think this question is, then this isn't for you. So leave your antiquated arguments and simplistic mind state with either Dawkins or CS Lewis. I've got no time for the elementary and uninspired two dimensional constructs of these limited ways of thinking.

Actually evolution, If you step back far enough, is a great look at the directed engine that is the Universe. All this, lines up to create, what ever 'this is'. And 'what ever this is', clearly moves towards something, and evolution is the actual movement towards a direction.

But to get back to my original point on the issue of design or random chance being responsible for the existence of the Universe manifesting intelligent life. I'd say it in the simplest way possible: The fact that the conditions were made possible, and the chances made ample enough, and the space made large enough to ensure that this would happen, as is shown by our existence, would answer: Yes, there seems to be some sort of purpose for the existence of the Universe. 

And though I cant tell you what it is, I can point you in a direction.