Has anyone considered this (i hope im not covering something thats been brought up before).

The universe is actually a living intelligent organism and we are just bacteria within its body, micro organisms if you like.

Could the stars and planets be the blood cells, solar systems and galaxy's be this beings organs, if so what are we, what role do we play. Are we a program thats being run within this entity's brain, are we a virus - maybe the equivalent of the common cold for this massive entity and its about to take some antibiotics.Hehe.

I dont know who it was that first used the grain of sand analogy but its true, for all our posturing and intelligence where do we really fit in to the universe, we surely cant be that conceited to think that we are special in the scheme of thing's. I personally find the thought of this massive entity and us as just body parts pretty cool.

Is this universal creature God.

What do you think, is this possible, if so what part do we play within this giant creature, are we pre-programmed to carry out a specific function and would this really change the way we perceive ourselves anyway. I would hate to think we are a cancer cell but have a look around...

Hope this is in the correct forum Mods, if not , sorry(shrugs).

Cheers
M4S

The way humans act, we are the feces.

...dung beetles did originate on Earth. There are plenty of scarab species, and so on and so forth.


If we are any thing, it is what ever we want to be. Free will and all, if you beleive in that.

Could we be preprogrammed, only if instinct is the basis.

mojo4sale that is incredible because I've actually thought of something like this before! Everything seems to be broken down into smaller and smaller parts, just like we're basically made up of cells (please forgive me because I have ZERO knowledge when it comes to science). I've thought before that we are just living parts of this planet, and that the planet is just a cell in another being. And when we have wars and such, and pollute the planet, we are basically turning it into a cancerous cell. I've often thought that just about everything can be broken down into smaller living parts, and that everything also can be put together to make bigger and bigger living organisms.

It's not something that I "believe" per-say, but its always been one of those "what if's" that I've imagined over the years.

Originally posted by Rasputin13
mojo4sale that is incredible because I've actually thought of something like this before! Everything seems to be broken down into smaller and smaller parts, just like we're basically made up of cells (please forgive me because I have ZERO knowledge when it comes to science). I've thought before that we are just living parts of this planet, and that the planet is just a cell in another being. And when we have wars and such, and pollute the planet, we are basically turning it into a cancerous cell. I've often thought that just about everything can be broken down into smaller living parts, and that everything also can be put together to make bigger and bigger living organisms.

It's not something that I "believe" per-say, but its always been one of those "what if's" that I've imagined over the years.

Thanks for the feedback, neither do i have a great grasp of science, but likewise since smaller and smaller particles have been discovered i've thought how far can this go down the chain.

I remember reading a book where the author hypothosised that we were an advanced program/experiment (sorry i cant recall the authors name) for an advanced race of super beings. This got me thinking along these lines.

And if we are merely a part of a larger entity, then would this entity also be part of a community/social structure. Imagine a society of galactic/universal size beings. No harder for me to believe this than it is to believe in an ethereal all knowing God. Or perhaps they are one and the same.

If the big bang is this creatures birth and the current expansion its growth period is it now approaching middle age? Will it start suffering from arthritis as it ages. Will our universe eventually become senile and forget where it was supposed to be going!lol.

Just thinking out loud.

The idea that the Earth is actually a living creature and we are its organs and cells was actually a hypothesis among biologists for a long time. When I took Biology 101, however, the professor addressed it, and there are some very specific reasons why it was proven incorrect (although I can't remember a single reason).

However, the idea has its merits. Plants take carbon dioxide CO2 and water H2O and use them to make sugar C6H12O6 and oxygen O2. Humans take sugar C6H12O6 and oxygen O2 and use them to make... carbon dioxide CO2 and water H2O! Great cycle.

Every species has its little place in the world, and it all balances out. It is a really fun concept to toy with.

So, you're saying we're basically antibodies, waste products, and maybe even parasites within a galaxy-spanning lifeform? That is definately a unique theory but that begs the questions as too what this entities purpose is. Is it just around to exist or does it converse and hang out with its buddies? It just seems odd that a thing of such size and importance has no other lot in life than to sit around and let the things living inside of it have free reign.

Originally posted by Speakeasy
So, you're saying we're basically antibodies, waste products, and maybe even parasites within a galaxy-spanning lifeform? That is definately a unique theory but that begs the questions as too what this entities purpose is. Is it just around to exist or does it converse and hang out with its buddies? It just seems odd that a thing of such size and importance has no other lot in life than to sit around and let the things living inside of it have free reign.

The way i see it is there would be a society of these beings, galactic size?, larger i dont know. What are they doing, again only speculation but would the thoughts of a creature this size take millennia to form and the following action of its thoughts take equally as long. Who knows what the aims of this society of beings would consist of, certainly they would be on a grander scale wouldnt they? Perhaps they just exist to create/destroy (order/chaos). Are they celestial engineers? Or are they merely base lifeforms with little direction other than to breed and survive.

Ralph_The_Wonder_Llama
The idea that the Earth is actually a living creature and we are its organs and cells was actually a hypothesis among biologists for a long time. When I took Biology 101, however, the professor addressed it, and there are some very specific reasons why it was proven incorrect (although I can't remember a single reason).

However, the idea has its merits. Plants take carbon dioxide CO2 and water H2O and use them to make sugar C6H12O6 and oxygen O2. Humans take sugar C6H12O6 and oxygen O2 and use them to make... carbon dioxide CO2 and water H2O! Great cycle.

Every species has its little place in the world, and it all balances out. It is a really fun concept to toy with.

Where there any specific texts that discussed this hypothesis that you can recall. How could anyone prove that we arent part of a galactic sized biosystem. That would be like a bacteria in my gut denying my existence wouldnt it?
The cycle concept does seem to be prevalent not just here on earth, the birth and death of stars, we are star stuff ourselves arent we. It is fun playing with the idea, the best part being i think is that it shows that we are here for a purpose, even if it is just to be a microbe sorting through the stomach contents. Everything has a job to do!


[edit on 19/4/06 by mojo4sale]

The way i see it is there would be a society of these beings, galactic size?, larger i dont know. What are they doing, again only speculation but would the thoughts of a creature this size take millennia to form and the following action of its thoughts take equally as long. Who knows what the aims of this society of beings would consist of, certainly they would be on a grander scale wouldnt they? Perhaps they just exist to create/destroy (order/chaos). Are they celestial engineers? Or are they merely base lifeforms with little direction other than to breed and survive.

I was thinking more towards these beings having the same aimless pursuits and trivial goals that we do. Of course, if there are such beings they probably don't see themselves as massive entities supporting life, but just as normal Joe's who go to work every day and support their families.

But then again, if they do know what they are I'd be willing to bet they're all a bunch of cocky SOB's who hold life and death in the palm's of their sweaty hands. Kind of like the Mafia on a grander scale.

Cool. 'Sounds like "Gaia" writ big. Makes a great deal of sense to me. We may be everything you suggest and more AND less; perhaps we are the "answer" and the "question". Then again perhaps we are just prototypes in a "Skunk" or "Phantom" like "works" "non-us" R&D project. It'd be fitting if we turned out to be a fancy equation that turns up in some "proof" or a "bet" outcome in which we are only useful as an intellectual exercise or better yet - a null outcome!. Yeah, that'd put us in our rightful and humble "place".
Thanx, your ideas are thought provoking I like that!

Victor K

Originally posted by Speakeasy
I was thinking more towards these beings having the same aimless pursuits and trivial goals that we do. Of course, if there are such beings they probably don't see themselves as massive entities supporting life, but just as normal Joe's who go to work every day and support their families.

But then again, if they do know what they are I'd be willing to bet they're all a bunch of cocky SOB's who hold life and death in the palm's of their sweaty hands. Kind of like the Mafia on a grander scale.

If they are galactic architects then i guess they do know what there doing, if they are as you suggest then theres not much hope for anyone. I sort of prefer the notion that we are a program/ experiment running within their consciousness. Entity's of this type whose thoughts span millennia and bio-systems are galactic would have totally different directives than anything we could imagine imo. Do we know what microbes are up to within our bodies/ecosystems.

Guess if the're anything like me theyll be spending a fair bit of time down the local or sitting on the computer checking out conspiracy sites.

Originally posted by V Kaminski
Cool. 'Sounds like "Gaia" writ big. Makes a great deal of sense to me. We may be everything you suggest and more AND less; perhaps we are the "answer" and the "question". Then again perhaps we are just prototypes in a "Skunk" or "Phantom" like "works" "non-us" R&D project. It'd be fitting if we turned out to be a fancy equation that turns up in some "proof" or a "bet" outcome in which we are only useful as an intellectual exercise or better yet - a null outcome!. Yeah, that'd put us in our rightful and humble "place".
Thanx, your ideas are thought provoking I like that!

Victor K

Thanks Victor, yeh i like the idea of us as a running program/experiment. If true its one hell of a equation. Perhaps they are trying to determine which sort of lifeforms they would like to populate the universe with, if so i think were stuffed.

But if we are merely a part of their bio-system then perhaps they wouldnt even realise we exist. Another thought ive had is that it could be a symbiotic relationship, like the sucker fish on the body of a whale.

Thanks again for your reply.
M4S

The idea that we are bugs or brain cells in a universal organism has a lot going for it, though it isn't exactly new. But then, what is?

Our colleague aboard Discovery I mentioned James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, which is similar though it applies only to Earth.

The Jesuit scientist and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin wrote extensively about the idea that the universe may be evolving towards self-consciousness or even divinity. I have suggested elsewhere on ATS that perhaps the function of humanity is to be a participant (doubtless a very minor one) in this evolution.

Some might say the whole idea goes back to Neoplatonism and the concept of the all-pervading divinity of the One.

And then, of course, there's this:

"The earth... hath a skin; and this skin hath diseases. One of these disease, for example, is called 'man'". -- Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra

Originally posted by Astyanax
The idea that we are bugs or brain cells in a universal organism has a lot going for it, though it isn't exactly new. But then, what is?

Our colleague aboard Discovery I mentioned James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, which is similar though it applies only to Earth.

The Jesuit scientist and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin wrote extensively about the idea that the universe may be evolving towards self-consciousness or even divinity. I have suggested elsewhere on ATS that perhaps the function of humanity is to be a participant (doubtless a very minor one) in this evolution.

Some might say the whole idea goes back to Neoplatonism and the concept of the all-pervading divinity of the One.

And then, of course, there's this:

"The earth... hath a skin; and this skin hath diseases. One of these disease, for example, is called 'man'". -- Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra

Thanks for that Astyanax, as you can see from my first post i didnt think that i would have been the first to theorise that we are only a part of a universal entity. I had read of the Gaia hypothesis before so i guess its no leap to go one further. Its a fascinating idea though.

i will check up on Teilhard de Chardin, i hadnt heard of him before. I certainly believe that we are merely a quantum sized part of the universes evolution, considering the size of the eco system we live in. But to at least think that in some small way, that we are playing our part in this evolution, has its own advantages. It doesnt in any way discount either religion or science imo. A universal architect would be considered a god in any religion and surely would have scientific merit if it could be scientifically proven that we are part of such a bio-system.

And to the last part of your post, yes thats the kicker, i can only hope that we arent a cancer cell.

Edit to add: wouldnt mind hearing more of your thought's regarding this Astyanax.

Cheers
M4S

[edit on 20/4/06 by mojo4sale]

Originally posted by mojo4sale
It doesnt in any way discount either religion or science imo.

Unfortunately, it would seem to contradict the uncompromising, unbreakable Second Law of Thermodynamics... though perhaps not necessarily. I hope not, because I quite like the idea and think that living as if you believed it might help make the world a better place. It has a moral dimension to it too, you see.

Edit to add: wouldnt mind hearing more of your thought's regarding this Astyanax.

I mean to make a post of them, just as soon as I have the time. But as I said earlier, none of these ideas are particularly original. You can find 'em all over the place.

Originally posted by Astyanax

I mean to make a post of them, just as soon as I have the time. But as I said earlier, none of these ideas are particularly original. You can find 'em all over the place.

doesnt make them any less interesting or worth while..

This theory doesn't sound quite right to me, however, i do believe that systems do repeat themselves on a microscopic scale, and a macroscopic scale throughout the universe.
I believe we may be like a cell, within a large structure, just as we have cells in our bodies, but I think it may be in a way different to that portrayed here.
I'd prefer to think of it similar to how you described, but not as us really being the contained within it, but it being the universe itself. From what I read, you described some kind of external factors, or a lifeform. But I've always thought of this 'god' as being more internal within the universe, and not as externally aware as you describe.
To put it simply there may be no outside of god, as if there is an outside, that means there is something god is not, whereas i believe god cannot be something there is not.

Originally posted by T0by
This theory doesn't sound quite right to me, however, i do believe that systems do repeat themselves on a microscopic scale, and a macroscopic scale throughout the universe.
I believe we may be like a cell, within a large structure, just as we have cells in our bodies, but I think it may be in a way different to that portrayed here.
I'd prefer to think of it similar to how you described, but not as us really being the contained within it, but it being the universe itself. From what I read, you described some kind of external factors, or a lifeform. But I've always thought of this 'god' as being more internal within the universe, and not as externally aware as you describe.
To put it simply there may be no outside of god, as if there is an outside, that means there is something god is not, whereas i believe god cannot be something there is not.

Its really just a theory in progress and any opinions, ideas or criticisms are greatly appreciated.

Wether planet, galactic or universal size this being would, to our measures be godlike. If there are alternative universes would these other universes be part of a community of universal sized entity's.(phew, used universe in that sentence alot), thereby allowing external influence? This being would still be 'our god' but not the god of an alternative universe.

I like to think of this entity as our universe, the galaxy's and stars and planets as organs and cells, the vacuum of space its bloodstream, the centre of the universe, the big bang source, the brain. And within it all, we, as small as we are still have a function. I guess i prefer order to chaos.

The idea of multiple universes is interesting, and one wonders if there are multiple gods for each universe?
And maybe a super super incomprehensible god that governs them that even they dont understand
I remember reading a book once supposedly written by someone channelling god, very good read. And somewhere it said in it 'I have my god, just as you have yours'.

The only problem i have with the multiple universe /multiple gods scenario is where does it end, thats when i start getting a headache and curl into a ball...