Calls for an Explanation

Robert Wright interviews John Polkinghorne on the anthropic principle on Slate's Meaning of Life TV. (The video's two and a half minutes long.)

Here are some of the other offerings:

"John Maynard Smith, one of the great figures in modern evolutionary biology, died in April of 2004. He was a scientist who tackled very big questions and yet maintained his intellectual humility--appreciating, for example, how mysterious is the very existence of human consciousness. He was also a scientist who anticipated his own death with impressive equanimity.

Is mysticism an enemy of rationalism? Omid Safi, speaking from a Muslim point of view, says no. (If you're wondering how a Muslim got to be an authority on mysticism: Don't forget about the Muslims known as Sufis).

Is consciousness a mystery--so mysterious as to suggest some higher purpose in the universe? Yes and no, says psychologist Steven Pinker (who more definitively solves the mystery of his hair).

Why are the world's religions sometimes at each other's throats? Huston Smith, who wrote the book on them, has an answer, and it's inspiring yet depressing."