What is "the universe"?

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Felix
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Re: What is "the universe"?

Post by Felix »

Is "the universe" some kind of new, religiously neutral, politically correct substitute for "God"? Or is it something else entirely?
Just a metaphor for Life I think, a more elegant form of "s_ _ t happens."
"We do not see things as they are; we see things as we are." - Anaïs Nin
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Ozymandias
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Favorite Philosopher: Loren Eiseley

Re: What is "the universe"?

Post by Ozymandias »

When we speak of the universe as "The universe was speaking to me" or "The universe was teaching me a lesson", I think we are simply misusing the term "universe". The universe, as explained by the people posting before me, might be a great many things, cosmically and theistically, but when we speak of it in terms of our interaction with it, or its interaction with us, we aren't talking about celestial bodies, or god, the big bang. We're simply talking about our immediate, perceived surroundings.

"The universe is speaking to me" = "I feel connected to the world around me, and I am drawing meaning from the patterns of events around me". Or "The universe was teaching me a lesson" = "I have learned something about myself or the world from what I've seen occur around me".

And according to certain forms of philosophy, that's really all the universe may be. When I'm feeling particularly solipsistic, the universe is nothing more than a bunch of stuff that I see, some of which happens to be very clear to me, some of which happens to be distant. The universe could be something constantly rendering around me, only existing as far as I can see. Under that school of thought, the universe is nothing more than the very observation one "sees" it with. I think that is the type of thinking people use, in a subconscious way, when they personify the universe.
Pelegrin_1
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Re: What is "the universe"?

Post by Pelegrin_1 »

To the question of the title... Since a human is asking the question, the most pertinent answer would be that the universe is the place where we exist, where our planet and solar system exists. It's everything that we are part of and all that surrounds us. It's the immensity and the totality from which we evolved in one of the universe's infinite corners of space, and that presented the conditions, in our special part of the universe, for the human species, among all other lifeforms on this planet, to come into existence.

The universe is infinitely special, and I love our planet (its position in the universe) which is the most direct reason for the existence of all life that exists here.
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Ranvier
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Re: What is "the universe"?

Post by Ranvier »

I'm not sure, perhaps it's my vivid imagination but while sitting on the beach and watching the ocean waves movie further away with tide, I can almost feel the Moon's Gravity. When a cloud moves on the sky, I can instantly feel the warmth of the Sun on my cheek. When I look at the night sky, I know that I'm so small and yet I'm here to think about being a part of that awesome vastness of our Universe.
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Rr6
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Re: What is "the universe"?

Post by Rr6 »

1] "U"niverse/"G"od--The Cosmic Hierarchy

...1a} metaphysical-1, mind/intellect/concepts ex concept of Universe, God, Mind, Space, Dogs Cats etc....

----------line-of-demarcations----------------------------------

....1b} macro-infinite non-occupied space, embraces the following,

....1c} finite, occupied space Universe{ God } aka Uni-V-erse.

........1c2} physical/energy{ spirit-2 } fermions, bosons and collection thereof---time/reality/frequency expressed as sine-wave topology ^v/\/\/]v^

.........1c3} gravity{ metaphysical-3/spirit-3 }---positive shaped geodesic arc of space, or so I speculate

..........1c4} dark energy { metaphysical-4 /spirit-4 } ----negative shaped geodesic arc of space, or so I speculate

None have ever offered any rational, logical, common sense to add to the above or invalidate the above. None ever will. imho

The truth exists for those who seek it, those who don't and those who scoff at it. imho

r6
"U"niverse > UniVerse > universe > I-verse < you-verse < we-verse < them-verse
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Dave Moore
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Re: What is "the universe"?

Post by Dave Moore »

It is, I think, the questioner's own mind that is answering.
That is to say, while it is impossible to know in a deeper sense if any answer is coming from a "higher" source, if the question would only apply to that particular person, then in a sense he is asking himself a question whose answer is found in his own subconscious.
The answer wouldn't necessarily apply to anyone else. Or. if it did apply in a more general sense, this might not be known to anyone in any case. This gets into belief issues. What is believed isn't often what actually is!
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