Abstract

Humans are only one of many species that populate the earth. Based on the way they have taken command of natural resources and rearranged the surface of the earth with a network of cities, roads, infrastructure and technology, they seem to have become the dominant and leading species alive. However, on the evolutionary scale of organic progression they are actually quite young. In this dissertation, a philosophical account will be given of how a deterministic cosmos managed to become partly alive. It will be shown how it harbours within itself the peculiar ability to evolve material and organic structures of high complexity – and how those structures became alive, self-conscious and morally responsive. It will be argued that humans have evolved within the bosom of the cosmos on account of intricate laws to become teleological agents of high advancement. That is, they represent those parts of the cosmos that can reflect upon its own existence, acquire knowledge of its nature and project it towards a future state of being.