Optimistic Naturalism:
Scientific Advancement and
the Meaning of Life
Dan Weijers (né Turton)
VUW
The Meaning of Life
• Confusing, but
important question
The Meaning of Life
• Confusing, but
important question
• Even analytic
philosophers want to
live a meaningful life
• But how to do it?
Guidance on How to Live
This Talk
• Optimistic Naturalism:
– A theory to satisfy people with certain
beliefs:
• Naturalism & The Infinity Connection
– An umbrella theory
• Refutes a criticism of naturalist
theories
• Resolves Tolstoy’s Dilemma
• Result for these people:
– Their best bet for achieving a truly
meaningful life is to help advance science
& technology
The Main Positions
• Supernaturalism:
– more than a purely physical
universe is required for life to be
meaningful
• Naturalism:
– a meaningful life is possible in a
purely physical universe
• Nihilism:
– life cannot be meaningful
Criticism of Naturalism
• Theories don’t allow for much
meaning
– E.g. Taylor: Making plans and seeing
them through
– E.g. Frankfurt: Loving something or
someone
– E.g. Schlick: Doing lots of things for
their own sake
• Compare to going to heaven
Tolstoy’s Criticism
• Naturalist theories
cannot provide a
meaningful life
because they do not
allow for a connection
with the infinite
Tolstoy’s Dilemma
•
1)
2)
3)
Concurrent belief in:
Naturalism
The Infinity Connection
Naturalist theories do not allow
for a meaningful connection with
the infinite
•
Tolstoy turned to Supernaturalism
–
But he shouldn’t have
Optimistic Naturalism
• Naturalism:
– meaningful lives are possible in a purely
physical universe
• The Infinity Connection:
– a meaningful connection with the infinite
is required for a truly meaningful life
• Scientific Optimism:
– continual scientific and technological
advancement will allow us to make a
meaningful connection with the infinite
Naturalism
• A meaningful life is possible in a
purely physical universe
• Most recent work in this area
assumes Naturalism (Metz 2007,
p203)
• Assumed to be plausible
The Infinity Connection
• A meaningful connection with the
infinite is required for a truly
meaningful life
• Needs further explanation
• Assumed to be plausible
The Infinity Connection Cont.
• Connections to infinity are
diverse
• Some make a life more meaningful
• A few make a life truly
meaningful
• Connections could be meaningful
for one or more reasons
The Continuum of Meaning
Not at all
meaningful
∞
0.999…
=1
The Infinity Connection: A meaningful
connection with the infinite is required for
a truly meaningful life
Extremely
meaningful
Scientific Optimism
• Continual scientific and
technological advancement will
allow us to make a meaningful
connection with the infinite
• Needs to be argued for
• Plausibility of Optimistic
Naturalism hinges on it
Skepticism about Scientific
Optimism
• Most of the conceivable ways to
meaningfully connect to the
infinite require that the universe
can support life infinitely
– Being immortable
– Affecting others for infinity
• Can it?
There are Other Theories
•
•
•
•
Kurzweil’s Singularity
Eternal Inflation
Steady State Universe
Prevent aging/damage + time
travel?!
Kurzweil’s
Singularity
• Law of
accelerating
returns
• We’ll create AI,
• Upload into
robots
• Become very
smart
• Become
immortable
Humans  AI  AI+  AI++
• Assumptions
– Law of accelerating returns (science
& technology)
– We can create AI
– AI can create AI+
– AI+ can create AI++
– Etc.
Kaku: Escaping to New Universes
•
•
•
•
•
Inflation
Eternal Inflation
Bubble Universes in the lab?
Harness the power!!
Getting in there?
Progress
• You don’t need to believe in these
particular theories
• Scientific advancement needn’t
even be exponential
• Our capacity to solve problems is
constantly increasing
• We can’t begin to imagine what
the future might bring
Progress
Is Scientific Optimism
Plausible?
• Is this plausible?:
– scientific and technological
progress will make it possible for
us to meaningfully connect to the
infinite somehow
• Myriad ways it might happen
+
• Ever increasing intelligence
=
• Scientific Optimism is plausible
Refuting Tolstoy’s Criticism
• Tolstoy: Naturalist theories
cannot provide a meaningful life
because they do not allow for a
connection with the infinite
Not at all
meaningful
∞
0.999…
=1
Extremely
meaningful
How to Resolve
Tolstoy’s Dilemma
• Concurrent belief in:
1)Naturalism
2)The Infinity Connection
3)Naturalist theories do not allow
for a meaningful connection with
the infinite
• Swap 3 for Scientific Optimism
– Become an Optimistic Naturalist
How to Should an
Optimistic Naturalist
Live?
• Try to advance
science and
technology
• Use your strengths
and circumstances
• Focus on possible
near-future
catastrophes
• Have fun too
Faith in Science???
• To believe Optimistic Naturalism
requires faith
– Does that make it incoherent?
• No, ON requires faith in certain
facts about physical matters
obtaining
– Different to faith in Supernaturalism
• Dogmatic belief in any theory
requires faith in some unknown
Summary
• Tolstoy’s criticism refuted
• Tolstoy’s Dilemma resolved
• New Position:
Optimistic Naturalism
– Naturalism
– The Infinity Connection
– Scientific Optimism