Some hold that if fee will is defined as freedom from causation, then we do not have free will since all of our behaviors, actions, and decisions are caused.
Related Terms/words: Indeterminism – compatibilism – responsibility – determinism – subconscious
Some hold that if free will is defined as freedom from constraint or restraint then we have free will.
Related Terms/words: Indeterminism – compatibilism – responsibility – determinism – subconscious
There is an enormous force that lies within an unstable atom.
Related Terms/words: Atomic World – Radiation – Hiroshima – Nagasaki
The mass converted to energy in Hiroshima August 1945 was smaller than a Tylenol tablet. Death toll was 140,000.
Related Terms/words: World War II – Nagasaki – Japan – nuclear explosion – radiation – ground zero – atrocity
Pre-Socratic philosopher Empedocles (494 – c. 434 BC) believed that both plants & lower animals possessed souls as well.
Related Terms/words: panpsychism – hylozoism – vitalism
According to Democritus (460–370 BCE), the only things that exist are atoms & void (empty space).
According to String Theory there are 10^500 (10 followed by 500 zeros) different types of universes.
According to String Theory the universe exists in at least 10 dimensions, not 4.
size in diameter: earth =13,000 km, sun = 1,400,000 km, UY Scuti star = 2,400,000,000 km, Ton 618 black hole = 400,000,000,000 km
Humans have existed for only .002% of the total time since the Big Bang (300,000 years) out of a total of 13.5 billion years. The universe is expect to survive for another 10^100 years (10 followed by 100 zeros). Humans will likely be around for less than 5 billion years out of that total. Our existence in the universe is a blink of the cosmic eye. Not only are we infinitely small in infinite space, we are infinitely small in infinite time as well.
Related Terms/words: universe – extinction – existentialism – insignificance – arrow of time – infinity – entropy – cosmos “Why is there something rather than nothing?” This question has perplexed the mind since time immemorial. We’re still asking it.
- If the multiverse is false & the Big Freeze or Big Rip is true, then the future for anything existing in infinite space looks very bleak.
Related terms/words: darkness – emptiness – nothingness – Heat Death
- According to scientists, our universe will either freeze (Big Freeze) or burn (Big Crunch) to death. Which one depends on whether Dark Energy weakens or not.
Related terms/words: Astrophysics – Heat Death – Arrow of Time – gravity – Dark Matter – negative force – positive force
- In the far distant future when the universe becomes depleted of matter, the unobstructed photons will travel through space forever into infinity.
Related terms/words: Arrow of Time – Heat Death – Big Chill – Big Freeze
- In Hinduism, the god Vishnu is depicted as coming to earth in several incarnations (animal & human) to eliminate evil from the world & set up dharma.
Related terms/words: righteousness – religions – avatar – Hindu gods
- According to Orchestrated Objective Reduction, consciousness originates at the quantum level inside microtubules (within neurons). Some believe it may even survive physical death.
Related terms/words: neuroscience – brain – afterlife – materialism – dualism
- Those who hold to reincarnation believe that salvation depends on one’s own efforts. Those of the Christian faith believe that salvation depends on God’s grace & forgiveness.
- Life has prejudices, inequalities, discrimination, and racism. Death is the great equalizer. A level playing field for all.
- Dinosaurs once ruled the earth for 135 million years. If it wasn’t for that meteorite they would still be ruling today. No meteorite, no humans.
Related words/terms: extinction – natural disaster – luck – randomness – evolution
- Guru Arjan (1563-1606) believed humans to be at the forefront of creation: “All other creation is subject to you, O man/woman! You reign supreme on this earth.”
Related words/terms: creationism – Sikhism – religion – belief – God – subjugation
- One of the many benefits of near-death experiences is that they substantially reduce existential anxiety.
- Jains believe that passions are the main causes of human bondage. Conquering them frees one from the karmic loop.
- “The multitude of all things return each to their origin. To return to the origin means repose; It means return to their destiny. To return to their destiny means eternity.” – Tao Te Ching
- The earliest form of life on earth is believed to be the Prokaryotic cells.
- Jainism places greater value on the soul than on the physical body. Therefore, unlike other eastern traditions, Jains celebrate death instead of birth.
Related words/terms: religion – philosophy – Eastern Traditions – belief system – India – liberation – spirit
- Some Buddhist Temples in Japan provide sacred space for aborted fetuses. Hence, the term “abortion temples.”
Related words/terms: Buddhism – philosophy – religion – death – embryo – abortion – honoring the dead
- According to some astrophysicists, since the odds of there being intelligence physical life in any one planet in the universe or in the multiverse are extremely small, then it follows that Homo Sapiens won the cosmic lottery.
- Astronomers believe that our universe will expand forever. However, the matter contained within it will continue to thin out during the expansion.
Related words/terms: infinity – Arrow of Time – gravity
- In early Buddhism the 6th perfection (a profound type of wisdom) known as prajna, was accessible only to those who reached a very high level of consciousness.
Related words/terms: enlightenment – philosophy – higher consciousness – Hinduism
- In Hinduism the cosmic lotus with its 1,000 petals is associated with infinity & enlightenment.
Related words/terms: religion – higher consciousness – illumination
- Compared to cats, humans see poorly. While we are virtually blind in a dark room, cats can see everything perfectly clear.
Related words/terms: human limitations – sight – humility
- Einstein believed that every point in the past, present and future are equally real. He wrote a letter to his deceased friend’s wife to let her know that her husband still exists.
Related words/terms: eternalism – philosophy of time – Arrow of Time – quantum physics
- Those who experience near death events often report that their new spiritual body (lacking solidness) is unable to communicate with or touch the living.
Related words/terms: invisible – afterlife – (near-death experience) – dissociation – (out-of-body experience) – dualism
- We are inherently connected with everything in the infinite universe – we are all comprised of the same stuff & share the same origin.
- Neurologists discovered that out-of-body experiences can occur when the temporoparietal junction is stimulated.
Related words/terms: neuroscience – brain – mind – depersonalization
- Both Democritus & Epicurus believed in omnipresent soul-atoms.
Related words/terms: soul – spirit – philosophy – panpsychism – consciousness – immortality
– Some supporters of mind uploading believe that going from flesh to digital means not having to worry about things such as hunger, poverty, and disease.
Related words/terms: Transhumanism – consciousness – AI – immortality – mind
- Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) believed that all natural things possessed the spirit of God. It is said that he would sometimes speak to flowers.
Related words/terms: animism – panpsychism – philosophy – consciousness – nature
- Out of the 12 Elementary Particles of matter that makes up the universe, only 3 of them were needed to build our bodies & everything else on earth – the up quarks, down quarks, & the electron
Related words/terms: quantum particles – universal – atoms – common origin
- According to evolutionary theory, the existence of Homo Sapiens was the result of blind chance, through a series of random mutations.
Related words/terms: evolution – Charles Darwin – natural selection – Hominids – Homo Sapiens – Chimpanzees – microorganisms – aquatic life-forms – reptiles – Homo erectus – Neanderthals
- It is said that the enlightened Buddha was able to recall all of his previous reincarnations.
Related words/terms: meditation – enlightenment – Buddhism – higher consciousness – philosophy – eastern traditions – past lives – nirvana – Karma – Karmic cycle
- One of things the Upanishads teaches: “There is no fear in heaven. Old age & death are not there…those in heaven attain immortality.”
Related words/terms: Hinduism – sacred text – bliss – paradise – peace
- Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825-1875) had an out-of-body experience while on hashish and believed that this drug was ordained by God to aid people to understand the nature of the soul.
Related words/terms: altered consciousness – hash – cannabis – spiritual – psychedelics
- Judaism is the base religion of both Christianity & Islam. All 3 trace their ancestry back to the Abraham of the Bible.
Related words/terms: monotheism – God – Garden of Eden – Ancient Near East
- Empedocles (494-434 BC) believed that the soul contains all the elements of the universe, and that each element is itself a soul.
Related words/terms: panpsychism – philosophy – science – consciousness – cosmogony – Ancient Greece
- A Neutron star is so dense that just one teaspoon of it ways more than the tallest mountain here on earth.
Related words/terms: cosmos – astrophysics – universe – astronomy – density
- Even the analytical & logical Aristotle believed in souls: “It seems that the principle found in plants is also a kind of soul.” – ‘De Anima’
Related words/terms: philosophy – Ancient Greece – animism – panpsychism –
- “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” – Anatole France (1844 – 1924)
Related words/terms: animal rights – compassion – caring – bonding – homogeneity – oneness – unity – commonness
- A common feature of near-death experiences is a panoramic review of ones past life in minute detail, in instant & condensed time.
Related words/terms: spiritual consciousness – altered consciousness – super consciousness – memory – afterlife
- According to astrophysicists, the universe is far less ordered today than it was at the Big Bang. This disorder increases with time.
Related words/terms: entropy – expansion – astronomy – astrophysics – cosmos – randomness
- “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution .” Theodosius Dobzhansky (1990-1975).
Related words/terms: materialism – science – natural selection
- Many scientists who study mass extinctions believe we are due for the 6th one soon. The last one occurred 66 million years ago – Dinosaurs.
Related words/terms: annihilation – plague – pandemic – climate change – global warming – nuclear war – AI – existential threats – pollution – ice age – volcanic winter – asteroid impact
- If the First Cause (God or Energy or Initial Singularity or Higgs Field etc.) is eternal, then it could not have been created.
Related words/terms: universe – metaphysics – existence – philosophy
- Although we pass a part of ourselves down to our children, our genetic stuff is diminished by 50% in each subsequent generation, till there’s nothing left of us.
Related words/terms: DNA – genes – science – heredity
- According to Epicurus, we should not fear death. When we are alive it cannot hurt us. When we are dead, we don’t exist, therefore, it can’t harm us.
Related words/terms: Fear of death – materialism – physicalism – consciousness – philosophy – Ancient Greece
- Everyone wants to go to that paradise in the sky, but no one wants to die.
Related words/terms: The unknown – fear of death – heaven – afterlife – preservation – nature
- A common feature of near-death experiences is the spirit body being forced to return (regretfully & painfully) to its physical body.
Related words/terms: prison body – afterlife – soul – paradise – bliss – peace
- In Christianity, love is the essential attribute of the divine. Followers of Christ are encouraged to love as God loves in order to triumph over evil.
- There are some who hold that the soul will never suffer from hell or punishment in the spirit world, since physical suffering is confined to the material world.
Related words/terms: afterlife – bliss – heaven – supernatural – immaterial – abstract – spirit body
- There are some, like Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891) who believe that during the dream state, most people unknowingly travel out of their physical bodies.
Related words/terms: astral travel – spirit world – unconsciousness – subconscious mind – soul
- There are some who believe that all religions emerged from the same Ultimate Reality. They say it makes no difference what you call Him or It, provided you call.
Related words/terms: pluralism – inclusivism – God – beliefs
- Martin Luther (1483-1546) became toxically Anti-Semitic and called for the burning down of synagogues, many restrictions against the Jews, and the total destruction of Jewish homes.
Related words/terms: Protestant Reformation – hate – Anti-Semitism – demagogue – Judeophobia
- In one Aztec creation story, gods created the sun by hurling themselves into a huge fire, and created humans by spilling their own blood.
Related words/terms: Creationism – mythology – supernaturalism
- According to Graham Sumner (1840-1910), the existence of poverty and social inequality is determined through the struggle with nature – ‘Social Darwinism’. The Nazis adopted this ideology and used it to justify genocide on a massive scale.
Related words/terms: racism – ideology – Charles Darwin – evolution – survival of the fittest – pseudoscience – bad science – holocaust – euthanasia
- According to astrobiologists, life first appeared on earth 3.6-4 billion years ago in the form of microorganisms.
Related words/terms: evolution – astrobiology – origins – ancestors – science – biology
- If Jesus were alive today he would not approve the hateful ideologies of the Far-Right and Far-Left. His message was one of love and peace.
Related words/terms: division – politics – racism – cancel culture – liberals – conservatives – #MeToo – QAnon – Antifa – White Supremacy – Conspiracy Theorists – narcissism
- The benefits of becoming involved in religion: an alternative coping mechanism for life’s painful events, it relieves existential anxiety, provides moral guidance, provides support from a caring community (emotional, spiritual & material), and offers hope of a blissful afterlife.
Related words/terms: practicality – faith – church – temple – mosque – belief – well-being – health
- What do not wearing a mask during a pandemic, drinking and driving, and unsafe sex all have in common? Reckless and dangerous behavior.
Related words/terms: risky behavior – plague – protection – contagious – selflessness – caution
- Like the dinosaurs and millions of species that came before, humans will one day become extinct. And the universe will go on beating as if nothing happened.
Related words/terms: extinction – meteorite – comet – nuclear war – climate change – pandemic – AI – arrow of time
- The human isn’t the only animal capable of expressing love and affection. Lower animals are perfectly capable of these emotions as well.
Related words/terms: bonding – compassion – animal rights – interconnectedness – nature
- The multiverse may suggest humans won the cosmic lottery. A single universe may indicate a Supreme Being (God) set the cosmic variables in our favor.
Related words/terms: fine-tuned universe – Anthropic Principle – chance – luck – divine intervention – Creator
- If near-death experiences are supernatural, instead of natural events, then heaven is for real. 93% of NDEs are beautiful and transformative.
Related words/terms: Life Review – spirit world – out-of-body experience – bright light – unconditional love – NDE – quantum mind – spirit mind – spirit body
- Let us not delude ourselves. Amidst infinite space with its hundreds of billions of galaxies, we are pitifully insignificant. If the afterlife is real, however, then it changes things dramatically.
Related words/terms: immortality – universe – insignificance – lost in space – cosmos – existentialism – delusion – self-importance – physicalism – materialism – humility – narcissism
- The initial size of the universe (before the Big Bang) was 100 billion times smaller than a proton. Everything that you see was once contained in an infinitely dense tiny particle.
Related words/terms: singularity – Higgs Field – vacuum – quantum fluctuation – inflation – expansion – something from nothing
- The ancient Ionian philosopher and scientist Democritus was the first to assert that the order of the cosmos was due to sheer chance.
Related words/terms: philosophy – Ancients – laws of physics – quantum mechanics – entropy – chaos – nature – materialism
- We have approximately 3-4 billion years to find a new sun.
Related words/terms: extinction – nuclear war – climate change – pandemic – AI – famine – drought – doomsday
- Is Theistic Evolution to be believed? Would an omnibenevolent God subject life-forms to the cruelty and immorality of natural selection for billions of years?
- Ionian scientists (Democritus, Empedocles, Anaximander, Pythagoras) of the ancient past were theorizing and discovering important scientific concepts (atoms, air, evolution, math), long before they were re-discovered in the 19th century.
Related words/terms: Greece – philosophy – Pre-Socratic philosophers – Ancients – quantum – science
- Being alive (existing) is not normal, being dead (non- existence) is normal – why? 1) We never existed for billions of years prior to our birth. 2) We are only alive for about 80 years. 3) We will cease to be alive (physically) forever after we die.
Related words/terms: physicalism – materialism – death – existence – conquering fear of death – philosophy – naturalism
- Christians interpret “I am the Alpha and the Omega” as God existing eternally, having no beginning & no end. Existing before the universe emerged, and outlasting the universe.
- There are some who hold that an infinitesimally small earth existing amidst an infinite universe (with its trillions of stars, planets) suggests that If humans were created by God, it was an afterthought. Otherwise, why all this unoccupied real estate?
Related words/terms: infinity – cosmos – insignificance – creationism – inconsequential – worthless
- Is the Higgs Field a good candidate for the “Unmoved Mover” or First Cause? After all, without the Higgs Field there would be no universe. This field gives mass to quantum particles. It is everywhere (omnipresent). We are literally soaking in it.
Related words/terms: origins – quantum fluctuations – popping into and out of existence – singularity – naturalism – infinity
- If death is natural and universal, then are you not doing yourself an injustice by letting it overwhelm you?
Related words/terms: anxiety – fear – physicalism – naturalism
- There is this inequality in death. Some die at a very young age and some die at a very old age. Would it be ideal if everyone died at the same age?
Related words/terms: deprivation – randomness – loss – equilibrium – balance
- Natural Selection is indifferent to cruelty and immorality. If that isn’t horrific, then what is?
Related words/terms: evolution – predation – death – prey – hunter – hunted
– Materialists believe that the mind and body are one and the same. When we die, lights out. No love, no fear, no heaven nor hell.
Related words/terms: materialism – naturalism – physicalism – atheism
– If the universe is eternal, then it could not have been created.
Related words/terms: naturalism – eternalism – cosmos
– Buddhism teaches about suffering and how to overcome it. “Om jewel lotus hum.”
Related words/terms: philosophy – religion – enlightenment – impermanence – meditation
– Are we deplorable narcissists or justified to believe humans are the center of creation? Consider the sheer vastness of the universe, evolution, mortality, the decomposition process, and our physical limitations.
Related words/terms: naturalism – materialism – anthropomorphism – arrogance – creationism – death
– The worst period of all-time was 1914-1945: World War I, Bolshevik Revolution, Holodomor, Great Depression, Stalin’s Purges, World War II, Holocaust, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Let us be thankful we were not alive during this time.
Related words/terms: fate – misfortune – genocide – Hitler – doom – disasters – turmoil – annihilation – catastrophe
It takes light 1.25 seconds to travel from the moon to the earth & 300,000 years for it to travel from one end of our Milky Way galaxy to the other end (diameter) – this is just 1 galaxy. There are 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe
Related words/terms: speed of light – physics – vastness – cosmos – universe – photons
– Amidst the hundreds of trillions of stars and planets in infinite space, earth is a mere speck of dust.
Related words/terms: insignificance – existentialism – infinity – cosmos – puniness – meaningless – immensity – marginality – universe
-COVID-19 is a horrible virus, but it is no match for Yersinia Pestis of 1348 which killed around 137 million people worldwide.
Related words/terms: Black Death – pandemic – plague – mortality
– According to some eastern religions, our fate is tied to Karma and Reincarnation. This means we are tossed into this world over and over again.
Related words/terms: Karmic loop – eternal – death and rebirth – Hinduism – immortality – enlightenment
– Ecclesiastes 9:5 “For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.” According to this Biblical verse, humans have no consciousness after death.
Related words/terms: materialism – naturalism – atheism – Bible
– According to original sin, our nature was predetermined in the Garden of Eden. According to existentialism, we are not born with a nature. Rather, we develop our own purpose and meaning to life as we grow.
Related words/terms: determinism – free will – indeterminism – libertarianism – freedom – sinful nature
– In the future, humans will become extinct. The earth will continue to spin, the stars will continue to shine as if nothing happened.
Related words/terms: extinction – insignificance – nuclear war – climate change – sun – plague – pandemic – meteorite – dinosaurs
– Our earliest ancestor is the dying star from billions of years ago. We really are stardust. Praise the stars.
Related words/terms: origins – atoms – evolution – ancestor worship – cosmos – universe – cosmology
– According to evolutionary theory, the human is as much an animal as any other. The difference is that the former is an advanced version.
Related words/terms: naturalism – science – brain – natural selection – Darwinism – Origin of Species
– In 10^96 years (10 trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion years) our universe will finally die, turning dark, empty, cold and silent.
Related words/terms: Heat Death – Big Chill – Big Freeze – Arrow of Time
– Did our universe emerge from nothing? The initial size of the universe was 100 billion times smaller than a proton. It was one quantum particle among trillions upon trillions of others that popped into existence.
Related words/terms: singularity – Big Bang – cosmic inflation – Higgs Field – Higgs boson – subatomic particles – Quantum particles
– God has often been blamed or credited for pandemics. Could a benevolent and merciful God be the cause of such evil and suffering? Probably not.
Related words/terms: Problem of Evil – Natural Evils – Theodicy – Omnibenevolent – Bible – All-Loving
– In the far distant future, when the solar system unravels, all the eternal atoms that comprise us and everything else, will be freed to roam through space.
Related words/terms: eternity – Quantum Soul – Soul Atoms
History and other topics 