Cosmic Inflation

A brief period of exponential expansion in the first fraction of a second after the Big Bang, proposed to solve the horizon and flatness problems.

Abiogenesis (Oparin–Haldane / “Primordial Soup”)

Life arose from non-living chemistry: simple organic molecules in early Earth conditions gradually self-organized into self-replicating systems.

RNA World Hypothesis

Proposes that early life relied on RNA both to store genetic information and catalyze reactions, before DNA and proteins took over those roles separately.

Global Workspace Theory

Models consciousness as information being broadcast widely across the brain via a shared “workspace,” making it available to many specialized unconscious processes at once.

Theistic / Religious Teleology

Holds that life’s meaning and purpose derive from a transcendent creator or divine order, with human existence directed toward a further, often eternal, end.

Buddhist Philosophy (Four Noble Truths / Anatta)

Holds that suffering arises from craving and attachment to a falsely perceived fixed self, and that liberation comes through ethical conduct, mental discipline, and insight into impermanence and non-self.

Eudaimonia / Virtue Ethics

Aristotle’s view that the good life consists of flourishing (eudaimonia) achieved by cultivating virtuous character and exercising reason well, rather than through pleasure or duty alone.

Utilitarianism

Holds that the right action — and, by extension, a meaningful life — is one that maximizes overall well-being or happiness and minimizes suffering for all affected.