Why do we matter?

The question of why we matter has preoccupied the human mind throughout history. Cosmological accounts previously rested on the centrality of human life in the cosmos. But then Galileo gave evidence that the earth is not the cosmological center of the galaxy, and the scientific enterprise revealed the vastness of the universe. So what gives our lives meaning? Are we meaningful because we can think? Because we are rare? Theistic accounts emphasize God's divine purpose for humanity or the nature of our relationship with God. Can we somehow evoke meaning from the physical universe—or do we need God to discover our purpose?

Why do we matter? Click here to join the discussion!

Watch the entire Playlist on our YouTube Channel • What is the meaning of life? How do we make sense of our world? • Marcelo Gleiser and Ian Hutchinson explore the question. • W. L. Craig and Christopher Hitchens provide very different answers. • Francis Collins: death and the question of meaning. • Jennifer Wiseman, astronomer and Christian: beauty provides hints of God. • Bill Newsome, Stanford neurobiologist and Christian, on faith and meaning. • Richard Dawkins, Oxford biologist and atheist: some questions deserve no answer. • Ard Louis, Oxford physicist and Christian: science is not the whole story.

Past Veritas Forums

Significant Figures? Click here to join the discussion!	The Veritas Forum at Dartmouth, 2010 Are We Significant Figures? In a vast universe, why is human life important? Is it because we are rare, because we are loved by God, or because of some other reason? Physicists Marcelo Gleiser (Dartmouth) and Ian Hutchinson (MIT) provide agnostic and Christian responses. Discussion moderated by classics professor Lindsay Whaley.
Who are we? Click here to join the discussion!	The Veritas Forum at Mayo Clinic, 2010 What Does it Mean to Be Human? Ravi Zacharias, renowned speaker, writer, and apologist, addresses The Veritas Forum at Mayo Clinic on the subject of humanity. What does it mean to be human? Have we lost ourselves? And how does our answer to this question affect the way in which we live our lives?
Moral Mammals? Click here to join the discussion!	The Veritas Forum at MIT, 2009 Moral Mammals: Why Do We Matter? Is the existence of a creator God foundational to human morality? Peter Singer, controversial atheist philosopher, discusses the implications of atheism and theism for morality with John Hare, professor of philosophical theology at Yale. Q&A is moderated by Eric Gregory, Professor of Religion at Princeton.
The God Delusion? Click here to join the discussion!	The Veritas Forum at Columbia University, 2006 The God Delusion? Dawkins, Dennett, and the Meaning of Life Are science and religion incompatible? What does science say about the roots of religion? Is faith in God irrational? Who gets to decide? This event, featuring Alister McGrath and David Helfand, is moderated by Ron Choong, Executive Director of the Academy for Christian Thought, based in New York City.
Quest for Meaning? Click here to join the discussion!	The Veritas Forum at UCLA, 2010 The Journey: A Thinking Person's Quest for Meaning How do we wrestle after truth? Os Guinness, sociologist, author, and founder of The EastWest Institute, discusses whether belief in God is good, bad or simply irrelevant through exploration of "The Journey: A Thinking Person's Quest for Meaning".