Many readers of the First Edition of The Self-Creating Universe said that it was so condensed in development of concepts that it had to be re-read to appreciate all of the implications. To assist in that regard I repeated important concepts throughout the text with the risk of being repetitive or redundant. In this edition I have expanded and explained difficult ideas to help elucidate them more fully.
Some readers of the first edition who leaned toward a theistic deity tended to see my arguments and conclusions as agnostic if not atheistic. I can assure you that I have tried to use scientific findings and used scientific methods in my inductive reasoning. Others of an agnostic or atheistic bent have looked at the term “Ultimate Reality” as another name for God. One even said that my conclusion of the universe and the concept of Ultimate Reality is neither science nor philosophy, rather it is religion.
As I discussed in the first edition, both theists and atheists need a leap of faith for their beliefs. I have tried in this book to use only scientific reasoning based on hard facts. I have also indicated how philosophy must help science answer some important questions. My own personal religious beliefs are close to Spinoza, Einstein and others who see an important force that underlies and unites all existence. I do not know what it is and cannot characterize it other than to observe the workings of the universe.
Ever since man became self-conscious and realized that he occupied a unique place on this planet, he has wondered what were the meaning and purpose of life and the world around him, and the stars above. I have written this book to help me answer some of those questions. I hope it helps you also.
My original intention was to write another book examining more deeply the questions of “Who am I?” and “What am I to do with my life?” I would have developed more deeply the concepts of free will vs. determinism, the existential meaning of our life, what the basis of ethics and morals are in society, and individual behavior. I would have discussed the implications today of the developments in politics, economics, and religion on today’s society. Finally I would have explored what the future implications are on our world and our universe.
Instead I have included these concepts with fuller explanations in this edition, including eight new charts of timelines. I have added significantly to chapters five, six and nine especially in the areas of individual meaning, purpose of life, free will and determinism, political ethics, and the role of philosophy today. I have added two more areas of consideration in chapter ten: “What are the implications for today?” and “What are the implications for the future?” I have also added some additional quotations, notes and bibliography. All told I have increased this edition by almost 17 percent.
I hope these will make the Second Edition not only more readable and enjoyable, but a more meaningful addition to your own knowledge and searching and those of mankind as a whole.
The Author, 2009
