Reading Time: < 1 minute By NASA, ESA, and C. Robert O’Dell (Vanderbilt University) (http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic1310a/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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The universe is often seen, by Theists in particular, as teleological; that is, in terms of a supposed goal or end outcome towards which it is oriented.

For many skeptics or atheistic thinkers, this doesn’t sit well. A better way of thinking of the universe concerns the term ekinological. This comes from the Greek word for “start” or “departure”. In this way, the universe is better understood in terms of a present state being dependent on a previous state, or the future state being dependent on the present one. It’s all about those initial conditions. In this case, the, The Big Bang becomes an important thing to understand in determining our present, and thus our future.

Anyway, I just thought I’d introduce a new term to some of you.

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Jonathan MS Pearce

A TIPPLING PHILOSOPHER Jonathan MS Pearce is a philosopher, author, columnist, and public speaker with an interest in writing about almost anything, from skepticism to science, politics, and morality,...