The Universe and Humanity: A Philosophical Question

Professor Brian Cox
Translation: Valueversity

A fundamental philosophical question is:
“In an infinite and eternal universe, what meaning can a small, fragile, and limited life possibly hold?”

This is not a humorous question, but rather a deeply serious and important one.
In fact, it is a very good question.

In my opinion, the answer is somewhat paradoxical.

Physically, we are undeniably insignificant and trivial.
Our Earth is a tiny, unremarkable planet orbiting a star —
which itself is just one among 400 billion stars in a single galaxy — the Milky Way.
And there are about 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe alone.

So yes, we are truly very small — there is no doubt about that.
We are like specks of dust.

But…
If we reflect deeply, the question becomes: What are we really?

We are nothing more than a collection of atoms.
And even these atoms are far from ordinary — some of the atoms in our bodies are as old as the universe itself.
All the elements in our bodies — except hydrogen — were forged inside stars,
through processes that took billions of years of evolution.

And now, these very atoms have been organized into a form
that can not only breathe, but — most remarkably — can think, question, and wonder.

As Carl Sagan said:

“We are a way for the universe to know itself.”

So this is who we are.

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