Meaning/Purpose

How do theories of consciousness relate to possible Meaning/Purpose (if any) in the grand cosmic sense of transcendent meaning/purpose, way beyond the 'meaning/purpose' we may make for ourselves?

Under Materialism Theories: (philosophical, neurobiological, electromagnetic fields, computational and informational, homeostatic and affective, embodied and enactive, relational, representational, language, phylogenetic evolution), I'd [RLK] be hard-pressed to rationalize any ultimate meaning or purpose, and probably no ultimate value, but recognize the humanistic meaning, purpose and value that we create for ourselves. None can explain this better than physicist Steven Weinberg. Near the end of his early book on cosmology, he wrote the indelible line, “The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless” (Weinberg, 1977).

Some 30 years later, I asked Weinberg to reflect on his words. “Oh, I don't have any second thoughts. I do think that as we've learned more and more about the universe, we've seen that there is no point in nature. There is nothing in the laws of nature that refer to human beings. There's nothing that gives us guidance. We do not discover that we are part of a cosmic drama in which we play a central role” (Weinberg, 2006).

However, Weinberg reflected further: “But I did have a following paragraph. I said that [even] if we don't find a point in nature, we can at least make a point for ourselves. We can love each other and find beauty in things. And one of the things that gives point to some of our lives is the process of discovering nature, discovering the laws of nature. But whatever point there is, it is one that we have to give to ourselves.” (I've said on Closer To Truth that if I were God, Steven Weinberg would be my prophet.)

By contrast, almost all Dualisms and Idealisms theories offer some kind of ultimate meaning/purpose/value (countless variations are imagined and on offer). Non-Reductive Physicalism, Panpsychisms, many Monisms, and some Quantum & Dimensions Theories. sit in the middle, with possible ultimate meaning/purpose/value. John Leslie's theory of why there is a universe, not a blank, has “Value” as its heart (Leslie, 2013). Non-Reductive Physicalism is taken up by some Christian philosophers who see God's purpose working toward a resurrection of the dead, not toward a post-mortem heaven or hell (with no immediate state between moment of death and moment of resurrection).

While Anomalous and Altered States theories distribute their support among Dualism, Quantum, and Monism theories, they all envision an expanded reality with potential for new kinds or levels of meaning, and almost all give credence to some kind of life or state of consciousness after death.

Information Theories: Integrated Information Theory may be the subtlest to interpret in that while its measurement and analysis of consciousness convey no ultimate meaning/purpose/value, its speculative, innumerable nth dimensional structures, each a conscious percept, is sufficiently novel to suspend judgment.

To summarize. Materialism: almost impossible, because the physical world and its impermanence are all there is. Non-reductive physicalism: likely, due to mental causation. Quantum: possible. Information, possible. Panpsychism: likely, because consciousness is part of fundamental reality. Monism: possible. Dualism: certain, because a nonphysical substance persists beyond the physical world. Idealism: almost certain, because ultimate reality is mental. Anomalous and Altered States: likely, because something beyond physics is needed. Challenge: unlikely.