There is really only one question for human beings that in the end matters. That is, what if any is the purpose of existence, and what are we here for? It is a question that has underlain religious conviction and philosophic inquiry throughout human history, and to which scientific rationalism in recent centuries has added some important insights. It highlights two contesting views of the nature of reality: is there a purpose behind the universe, and if so, is the evolution of man somehow related to that purpose, or is it a mechanistic universe driven by blind natural forces in which there is no ultimate purpose and no meaning of life? Or is there indeed some alternative third explanation? What is one to believe about the ultimates of human existence? What Michael Meacher seeks to do in this book is rather to assess the evidence - the whole range of it - without a predetermined world view as a premise, and to decide, as objectively as possible, what the evidence on balance points to.
