?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=The+meaning+of+life+in+a+developing+universe&rft.creator=Stewart%2C+John+E&rft.subject=Ethics&rft.subject=Theoretical+Biology&rft.subject=Developmental+Psychology&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.subject=Evolutionary+Psychology&rft.description=The+evolution+of+life+on+Earth+has+produced+an+organism+that+is+beginning+to+model+and+understand+its+own+evolution+and+the+possible+future+evolution+of+life+in+the+universe.++These+models+and+associated+evidence+show+that+evolution+on+Earth+has+a+trajectory.++The+scale+over+which+living+processes+are+organized+cooperatively+has+increased+progressively%2C+as+has+its+evolvability.++Recent+theoretical+advances+raise+the+possibility+that+this+trajectory+is+itself+part+of+a+wider+developmental+process.++According+to+these+theories%2C+the+developmental+process+has+been+shaped+by+a+yet+larger+evolutionary+dynamic+that+involves+the+reproduction+of+universes.++This+evolutionary+dynamic+has+tuned+the+key+parameters+of+the+universe+to+increase+the+likelihood+that+life+will+emerge+and+produce+outcomes+that+are+successful+in+the+larger+process+(e.g.+a+key+outcome+may+be+to+produce+life+and+intelligence+that+intentionally+reproduces+the+universe+and+tunes+the+parameters+of+%E2%80%98offspring%E2%80%99+universes).++Theory+suggests+that+when+life+emerges+on+a+planet%2C+it+moves+along+this+trajectory+of+its+own+accord.++However%2C+at+a+particular+point+evolution+will+continue+to+advance+only+if+organisms+emerge+that+decide+to+advance+the+developmental+process+intentionally.++The+organisms+must+be+prepared+to+make+this+commitment+even+though+the+ultimate+nature+and+destination+of+the+process+is+uncertain%2C+and+may+forever+remain+unknown.++Organisms+that+complete+this+transition+to+intentional+evolution+will+drive+the+further+development+of+life+and+intelligence+in+the+universe.++Humanity%E2%80%99s+increasing+understanding+of+the+evolution+of+life+in+the+universe+is+rapidly+bringing+it+to+the+threshold+of+this+major+evolutionary+transition.&rft.publisher=Foundations+of+Science+(http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vub.ac.be%2FFOS%2F)+Kluwer+Academic+Publishers&rft.contributor=Aerts%2C+Diederik&rft.contributor=Smart%2C+John&rft.contributor=Vidal%2C+Clement&rft.date=2009-10-14&rft.type=Conference+Paper&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6655%2F2%2Fmeaning.pdf&rft.identifier=++Stewart%2C+John+E++(2009)+The+meaning+of+life+in+a+developing+universe.++%5BConference+Paper%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F6655%2F