Theories of the origin of the Universe. How many theories of the origin of the Universe are there? The Big Bang Theory: The Origin of the Universe

Where did people come from on Earth? It would seem that everyone knows the answer to this question, because scientists have provided quite significant evidence of the theory of evolution, which states that man descended from a monkey. At the same time, there are many other, alternative theories of human origins. As a rule, these hypotheses have practically no evidence, although these ideas themselves are quite interesting for their originality and boldness.

For many centuries, religion has quite successfully answered the question of the origin of man. The idea that man was created by God, however, like any other religious theories, did not require any evidence, only faith. In the past, science was not very developed, and most people were not well educated. That is why the religious theory of human origin suited everyone. Over time, along with theological theories, others appeared, in particular, Darwin's theory of evolution. Initially, the hypothesis that man could have descended from a monkey caused a storm of protest in society. But when Darwin published his scientific work on the origin of species, creationism received a serious competitor.

According to Darwin and his followers, man descended from ancient apes, who were the common ancestors of both modern apes and modern humans. Natural selection played a major role in this. In order to exist more or less comfortably, human ancestors were forced to become more intelligent and cunning compared to other species. Predators could only be defeated by cunning, since ancient man had neither sharp claws, nor impressive teeth, nor the ability to run fast. Ancient people were forced to compensate for their imperfections by cunning and the use of various devices and tools. Thus, man became the first biological species in which only the smartest and most cunning survived, and not the fast and toothy. Ultimately, this was the reason for the development of the human brain and the emergence of Homo sapiens.

Today, both adults and children know the theory of evolution. However, this does not mean at all that the question of where man came from is completely closed. The theory of evolution does not satisfy many people, which is why alternative theories appear that, to one degree or another, explain the emergence of the human race.

Among alternative theories, one of the most popular is the so-called “cosmic” hypothesis. Its supporters are confident that humanity owes its appearance on the planet to aliens. At the same time, there are many versions of exactly how aliens contributed to the emergence of human civilization.

According to some scientists, humans are direct descendants of aliens. It is quite possible that alien guests ended up on our planet and either simply could not leave it for some reason, or deliberately arrived as a result of an unknown disaster on their home planet. Others claim that aliens somehow created humans, either as slaves, as pets, or simply out of boredom or fun. Later, for some reason, the aliens lost interest in the people they created, or are still waiting for people to reach a sufficient level of development to make contact with the aliens.

It should be noted that space theories appeared relatively recently, namely at a time when people began to think about interplanetary travel and the fact that they might not be alone in the Universe. There is no evidence for theories of the extraterrestrial origin of humanity and there probably won’t be until people have the opportunity to study aliens.

There are cosmic hypotheses that are very closely related to the theory of evolution. They say that microorganisms were brought to Earth from other planets, which over time adapted to the new habitat and gradually changed. As a result, the first mammals, monkeys and humans appeared. In addition, there is a theory according to which man was transported to Earth in a ready-made form, and after that he did not change at all. This hypothesis is closer to theological theory, that is, to the theory of the creation of man by higher powers. And due to the fact that the “divine” theory provides that this has never happened again, it is impossible in principle to test a new alternative theory.

There is an opinion according to which people were not at all the first intelligent beings on Earth. The theory of Ernst Muldashev, in particular, states that intelligent civilizations lived on our planet at different periods of time, moreover, one race replaced another. Humans are the fifth intelligent race on Earth.

It is worth noting that Muldashev was an ophthalmologist by profession, but he became famous precisely thanks to the theory of human origins. The hypothesis about the existence of other intelligent civilizations on the planet before people helps to explain many facts that could not be explained before, in particular, the presence of ancient structures that ancient people simply could not build due to the lack of developed technology. In the same case, if these technologies remained as a legacy from previous intelligent races, this explains a lot.

Muldashev's works are very convincing, so many people, after reading them, become not only fans, but also followers of the professor of medicine, who decided to devote his life to anthropology. The theory that the Atlanteans could have been the forefathers of humanity seems to many more attractive than the traditional theory of evolution. At the same time, if we talk about the evidence for this hypothesis, the situation here is not very good, since none of the numerous scientific expeditions in which Muldashev himself took part was able to find evidence of his version.

The scientist himself is confident that the absence of evidence does not at all guarantee that his theory does not correspond to reality, because there is also not much evidence for the theory of relativity, but it has nevertheless become the basis for many scientific works and research. However, the scientific world categorically disagrees with this statement, therefore the hypothesis about the origin of man from earlier, more advanced races is not taken seriously by scientists.

Some scientists who doubted the relationship between humans and monkeys began to look for other relatives in the animal world. American biologists have discovered that a human cell is genetically similar to a gray rat cell. The similarity was so obvious that scientists came to the conclusion that humans and rats had a common ancestor.

Moreover, in support of their theory, scientists say that the behavior of rats and people is also very similar. Thus, rats are quick-witted, smart, learn quickly and know how to apply the acquired skills. Packs of rats are very closed, so they recognize only their own, and simply gnaw on strangers. Rat populations closely resemble social organizations of an authoritarian nature.

Genetic scientists, in turn, claim that in their modern form, people appeared on the planet about 200 thousand years ago, which is five times longer than the existence of human civilization. At the same time, there are many reasons to believe that the ancient history of mankind is much older and is not limited to two hundred thousand years. And the named figure is just a line when a branch of humanity separated from an more ancient race of intelligent beings.

There is a lot of evidence for this theory. In particular, there is the concept of forbidden archeology, which includes finds that modern science cannot explain. We are talking about the footprints of giants, whose age reaches tens of millions of years, ancient skeletons of incredible creatures that are very similar to humans, and objects of artificial origin, whose age reaches millions of years.

Modern science does not take such findings seriously and does not consider them, since they do not fit into any of the existing theories. However, at the same time, the idea arose that there once existed a mother planet in the Galaxy, on which humanity was born, after which it settled across all worlds suitable for life. Then all the colonies created by aliens, for some unknown reasons, degraded, became wild and lost civilization.

Against the backdrop of all these theories, the idea that it was not man who descended from the monkey, but the monkey from man, does not sound so stupid. In other words, primates are a completely degraded collateral branch of humans. Moreover, the authors of this hypothesis quite easily found evidence for it.
As is known, during intrauterine development the fetus goes through all stages of development. But, as it turned out, a person does not go through the so-called “monkey” phase. Conversely, there is a period in the development of the monkey embryo when it is very similar to humans.

Occultists have their own opinion regarding the origin of modern man. They collected a large number of ancient myths and legends about the origin of humanity and those civilizations that existed before. These legends claim that the most ancient civilization arose in the north. This happened long before the Ice Age. The divine ancestors settled near the northern horizon. Some researchers are confident that we are talking about the settlement of the Earth by creatures from outer space. Others say that a developed culture that existed on a small island decided to expand its territory. However, both versions mean that the settlers were representatives of another, even more ancient civilization, about which nothing is known. The aliens settled on the continent of Hyperborea, around the North Pole.

The Hyperboreans lived on the mainland where the Sun never set. Periodically, Apollo flew to them on a golden carriage drawn by swans. According to some researchers, this was the prototype of a spaceship. The inhabitants of the mainland were tall, fair-haired creatures. And it was they who became the progenitors of the white race.

Hyperborea did not exist for long; a comet or a fallen second Moon completely destroyed the continent.

A new race appeared in Lemuria, on a huge continent where the Atlantic Ocean is now located. This continent was constantly subject to earthquakes and eventually broke up into islands, after which it sank to the bottom of the ocean.

It is quite possible that scientists will be able to find it in the foreseeable future and this will radically change all ideas about the origin of humanity. And perhaps the scientific world will not be able to decide for a long time which of the many theories is correct.

And every insignificant speck of dust can become the center of the universe...

If the Big Bang theory is just a hypothesis, are there other hypotheses that explain the origin of the known universe?

Theory of a stationary Universe.
The Universe has always existed in an unchanged state, as believed by supporters of the theory of a stationary Universe, popular in the 50s and 60s. But what about the obvious expansion of the Universe observed by astronomers? Proponents of this theory believed that the Universe may be expanding, but it remains the same, and matter constantly appears from nothing.

This theory lost its relevance when the cosmic microwave background radiation was discovered. CMB radiation is considered to be radiation left over from the Big Bang, and astronomers study it to find out what the known part of the Universe looked like early in its existence, or even in the first fractions of a second. Proponents of the theory of a stationary Universe do not offer an alternative explanation for the cosmic microwave background radiation.

Cyclic model.
This theory does not reject the Big Bang theory, but argues that there were many successive Big Bangs. Between the two big bangs there was the Big Bang: the Universe expanded to its limit and then contracted. The oscillation between creation and destruction is called the Big Rebound.

After studying the cosmic microwave background radiation, scientists have concluded that the Universe may end with a “Big Freeze or Heat Death” rather than a Big Bang, according to an article in Universe Today.

Chaotic theory of inflation.
Stanford physicist Andrei Linde asks questions that the Big Bang theory cannot answer. Some of them were voiced in a 2007 article in Stanford Alumni magazine: “What exactly exploded? Why did it explode at this specific moment and everywhere at once? What existed before the Big Bang?

In Linde's view, the Big Bang was not a single event, but rather a disorderly and dispersed inflation. He developed his chaotic theory of inflation in the 1980s: Big Bang-like expansions can happen anywhere in space given enough potential energy.

“We assumed that the entire universe was created at one moment,” says Linde. - But actually it is not".
Studies of the cosmic microwave background radiation in the 1990s showed varying intensities, which provides some evidence to support the chaotic theory of inflation.

Linde believes that from a very broad perspective, the cosmos does not fit into the framework created by science: “Instead of a Universe where there is one law of physics, eternal chaotic inflation creates a picture of a self-replicating and eternal multiverse where everything is possible,” says Linde. - Parallel lines can intersect at a very long distance. The laws of physics can change... We are simply unable to see when this happens. We are like ants inside a huge ball."
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In fact, there are many hypotheses about the origin of the Universe, these are scientific concepts, and individual theories, and religious teachings, and philosophical ideas, and myths about the creation of the world of the ancient Julys. However, all of them can be divided into two groups:

1. Theories of the origin of the Universe (primarily religious), in which the Creator acts as a creative factor. In other words, according to them, the Universe is a spiritualized and conscious creation that appeared as a result of the will of the Supreme Mind;

2. Theories of the origin of the Universe, based on scientific factors and rejecting both the very concept of the Creator and his participation in the creation of the world. They are often based on the principle of mediocrity, which considers the possibility of life not only on ours, but also on other planets located in other solar systems or even galaxies.

The difference between these concepts lies, first of all, in different terminologies, for example, nature is the creator, creation is origin. But in some other issues, individual scientific and religious theories intersect or even repeat each other.
In addition to various concepts about the origin of the Universe, there are also religious and scientific dating of this grandiose event. Thus, the most common scientific theory about the origin of the Universe - the Big Bang theory - states that the Universe arose approximately 13 billion years ago.
According to various Christian sources, from the creation of the world by God to the birth of Jesus Christ, from 3483 to 6984 years passed. In Hinduism, approximately 155 trillion years have passed since the beginning of the universe.
However, let us consider some concepts of the origin of the Universe in more detail.

Kant's cosmological model.
Until the beginning of the 20th century. The prevailing theory among scientists was that the Universe is infinite in space and time, static and homogeneous. Isaac Newton also made the assumption that it is limitless in space, and the German philosopher Emmanuel Kant, based on the work of Newton and developing his ideas, put forward the theory that the Universe also has no beginning in time. He referred to the laws of mechanics and used them to explain all the processes occurring in the Universe.
Kant took his theory even further, extending it to biology as well. He argued that in the ancient and vast Universe, which has no beginning or end, there is an infinite number of possibilities, thanks to which any biological product can be born. This theory about the possibility of the emergence of life in the Universe later formed the basis of Darwin's theory.
Kant's cosmological model was confirmed by the observations of astronomers of the 18th-19th centuries. behind the movements of the luminaries and planets. Soon his hypothesis became a theory that by the beginning of the 20th century. was already considered the only true one. It was not in doubt, even despite the photometric paradox, or the paradox of the dark night sky, which consists in the fact that in the infinite Universe there is an infinite number of stars, the sum of whose brightnesses should form an infinite brightness. In other words, the night sky would be completely covered with bright stars, but in reality it is dark, since the number of stars and galaxies is countable.

Einstein's Model of the Universe (static Universe)

In 1916, Albert Einstein’s work “Fundamentals of the General Theory of Relativity” was published, and already in 1917, based on the equations of this theory, he developed his model of the Universe.
Most scientists of that time agreed that the Universe was stationary, and Einstein also adhered to this opinion, so he tried to create a model in which the Universe should not expand or contract. This in some places contradicted his own theory of relativity, from the equations of which it follows that the Universe is expanding and at the same time braking is occurring. Therefore, Einstein introduced such a concept as the cosmic repulsive force, which balances the attraction of stars and stops the movement of celestial bodies, due to which the Universe remains static.
Einstein's universe had a finite size, but at the same time it had no boundaries, which is only possible when space is curved, as, for example, in a sphere.
So, space in Einstein’s model was three-dimensional, it closed itself and was homogeneous, i.e. it had no center or edges, and galaxies were evenly distributed in it.

Expanding Universe model (Friedmann Universe, non-stationary Universe)

In 1922, the Soviet scientist A. A. Friedman developed the first non-stationary model of the Universe, which was also based on the equations of general relativity. Friedman's work went unnoticed at that time, and A. Einstein rejected the possibility of the expansion of the Universe.
However, already in 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that galaxies located near the Milky Way move away from it, and the speed of their movement remains proportional to the distance to our galaxy. According to this discovery, stars and galaxies are constantly “scattering” from each other, and consequently, the expansion of the Universe occurs. As a result, Einstein agreed with Friedman’s conclusions, and later said that it was the Soviet scientist who became the founder of the theory of the expanding Universe.
This theory does not contradict the general theory of relativity, but if the Universe is expanding, then some event must have occurred that led to the scattering of stars and galaxies. This phenomenon was very reminiscent of an explosion, which is why scientists called it the “Big Bang.” However, if the Universe appeared as a result of the Big Bang, then there must be a Supreme First Cause (or Designer) that allowed this explosion to occur.

The Big Bang Theory.

The Big Bang theory is based on the fact that the matter and energy that make up everything in the Universe were previously in a singular state, i.e. in a state characterized by infinite temperature, density and pressure. In a state of singularity, not a single law of physics applies, and everything that the Universe currently consists of was contained in a microscopically small particle, which at some point in time became unstable, as a result of which the Big Bang occurred.
Initially, the Big Bang theory was called the “dynamic evolutionary model.” The term “Big Bang” became widespread in 1949 after the publication of the works of scientist F. Hoyle.
At the moment, the theory of the Big Bang is developed so well that scientists undertake to describe the processes that began to occur in the Universe 10-43 s after the Big Bang.
There are several proofs of the Big Bang theory, one of which is the cosmic microwave background radiation that permeates the entire Universe and resulted from the Big Bang due to the interaction of particles. CMB radiation can tell us about the first microseconds after the birth of the Universe, about those times when it was in a hot state, and galaxies, stars and planets had not yet formed.
Initially, relict radiation was also only a theory, and the possibility of its existence was considered by G. A. Gamov in 1948. American scientists were able to measure relict radiation and prove the reality of its existence only in 1964 thanks to a new device that had the necessary accuracy. After this, the cosmic microwave background radiation was studied using ground-based and space observatories, which made it possible to see what the Universe was like at the moment of its birth.
Another confirmation of the Big Bang is the cosmological redshift, which consists of a decrease in the frequencies of radiation, which proves that stars and galaxies are moving away from each other in general, and from the Milky Way in particular.
The Big Bang theory answered many questions about the origin of our Universe, but at the same time it gave rise to new mysteries that remain unanswered to this day. For example, what caused the Big Bang, why did the singularity point become unstable, what happened before the Big Bang, how did time and space appear?
Many researchers, for example R. Penrose and S. Hawking, studying the general theory of relativity, added indicators such as space and time to its equations. In their opinion, these parameters also appeared as a result of the Big Bang along with matter and energy. Therefore, time also has a definite beginning. However, it also follows from this that there must be some kind of Essence or Supreme Intelligence that is independent of time and space, and has always been present. It was this Supreme Intelligence that caused the creation of the Universe.
The study of what happened before the Big Bang is a new branch in modern cosmology. Many scientists are trying to answer the question of what happened before the birth of our Universe and what preceded it.

Big bounce.

This interesting alternative theory to the Big Bang suggests that there was another universe before ours. Thus, if the birth of the Universe, namely the Big Bang, was considered as a unique phenomenon, then in this theory it is only one link in a chain of reactions, as a result of which the Universe constantly reproduces itself.
It follows from the theory that the Big Bang is not the beginning of time and space, but appeared as a result of the extreme compression of another Universe, the mass of which, according to this theory, is not zero, but only close to this value, while the energy of the Universe is infinite. At the moment of extreme compression, the Universe had maximum energy contained in a minimum volume, as a result of which a large rebound occurred, and a new Universe was born, which also began to expand. Thus, the quantum states that existed in the old Universe were simply changed by the Big Bounce and transferred to the new Universe.
The new model of the birth of the Universe is based on the theory of loop quantum gravity, which helps to look beyond the Big Bang. Before this, it was believed that everything in the Universe appeared as a result of an explosion, so the question of what came before it was practically not raised.
This theory belongs to the theories of quantum gravity and combines the general theory of relativity and the equations of quantum mechanics. It was proposed in the 1980s. such scientists as E. Ashtekar and L. Smolin.
The theory of loop quantum gravity says that time and space are discrete, i.e. consist of individual parts, or small quantum cells. On small scales of space and time, no cells create a divided discontinuous structure, but on large scales, smooth and continuous space-time appears.
The birth of the new Universe took place under extreme conditions that forced quantum cells to separate from each other, this process was called the Big Rebound, i.e. The universe did not appear out of nothing, as in the Big Bang, but began to rapidly expand from a compressed state.
M. Bojovald sought to obtain information about the Universe preceding ours, for which he somewhat simplified some quantum gravitational models and equations of the theory of loop quantum gravity. These equations include several parameters of the state of our Universe, which are necessary in order to find out what the previous Universe was like.
The equations contain complementary parameters that allow us to describe the quantum uncertainty about the volume of the Universe before and after the Big Bang, and reflect the fact that none of the parameters of the previous Universe were preserved after the Big Bounce, so they are absent in our Universe. In other words, as a result of an endless chain of expansion, compression and explosion, and then a new expansion, not identical, but different Universes are formed.

String theory and M-theory.

The idea that the universe can constantly reproduce itself seems reasonable to many scientists. Some believe that our Universe arose as a result of quantum fluctuations (oscillations) in the previous Universe, so it is likely that at some point in time such a fluctuation may arise in our Universe, and a new Universe will appear, somewhat different from the present one.
Scientists go further in their reasoning and assume that quantum oscillations can occur in any quantity and anywhere in the Universe, as a result of which not one new Universe appears, but several at once. This is the basis for the inflationary theory of the origin of the Universe.
The resulting Universes are different from each other, different physical laws operate in them, while they are all located in one huge megauniverse, but isolated from each other. Proponents of this theory argue that time and space did not appear as a result of the Big Bang, but have always existed in an endless series of compression and expansion of the Universes.
A kind of development of inflationary theory is string theory and its improved version - M-theory, or the theory of membranes, which are based on the cyclicity of the universe. According to M-theory, the physical world consists of ten spatial and one time dimensions. In this world there are spaces, so-called branes, one of which is our Universe, consisting of three spatial dimensions.
The Big Bang is the result of a collision of branes, which, under the influence of a huge amount of energy, scattered, then expansion began, gradually slowing down. The radiation and matter released as a result of the collision cooled, and galaxies appeared. Between the branes there is energy that is positive in density, again accelerating the expansion, which after some time slows down again. The geometry of space becomes flat. When the branes are attracted to each other again, quantum vibrations become stronger, the geometry of space is deformed, and the sites of such deformations in the future become the embryos of galaxies. When the branes collide with each other, the cycle repeats.
In the scientific concepts of the origin of the Universe listed above, there is no Creator as a creative, spiritualized force. However, besides them, there are other theories of the emergence of the universe, in which the Supreme Mind, named differently in each of the theories, acts as a creative factor.

Creationism.

This worldview theory comes from the Latin word “creations” - “creation”. According to this concept, our Universe, planet and humanity itself are the result of the creative activity of God or the Creator. The term “creationism” arose at the end of the 19th century, and supporters of this theory claim the truth of the story of the creation of the world as told in the Old Testament.
At the end of the 19th century. There was a rapid accumulation of knowledge in various fields of science (biology, astronomy, physics), and the theory of evolution became widespread. All this led to a contradiction between scientific knowledge and the biblical picture of the world. We can say that creationism appeared as a reaction of conservative Christians to scientific discoveries, in particular, to the evolutionary development of living and inanimate nature, which at that time became dominant and rejected the emergence of all things from nothing.

Christian creationism.

Creationism in Christianity is represented by several movements, which differ in the degree of divergence from scientific views on the origin of the Universe and the Earth.
According to young earth, or literalist, creationism, the world was created by God in 6 days, just as the Bible says. Moreover, some followers (primarily Protestants) of this theory claim that the world was created approximately 6 thousand years ago. This statement is based on the Masoretic Text of the Old Testament. Others (mostly Orthodox researchers) proceed from the text of the Septuagint (the oldest translation of the Bible) and believe that the world appeared 7.5 thousand years ago.
Followers of old earth, or metaphorical, creationism believe that the 6 days of creation is a metaphor that was more understandable to the people of that time. In the Bible, the word “day” does not mean a day, but an indefinite period of time, therefore, one day of creation can include millions of earthly years.
In this case, metaphorical creationism is divided into the following subtypes:
- creationism of gradual creation. Followers of this concept agree with some scientific discoveries, in particular, they accept astrophysical dating of the birth of the Universe, stars and planets, but do not accept the theory of evolution of the formation of species in the process of natural selection. They argue that it is God who influences the emergence of new and changes in existing biological species;
- evolutionary creationism, or theistic evolutionism. Representatives of this movement agree with the theories of evolution, but, in their opinion, it is the Creator who directs evolution, and it is the implementation of his highest plan. Generally accepted scientific ideas are almost completely accepted by supporters of this concept, and the miraculous intervention of God is considered by them, for example, in the manifestation of divine providence or the existence of an immortal human soul, i.e. in those questions that science simply cannot answer. They view creation not as an instantaneous, complete act, but as evolution, which is why the most radical literalists do not consider them not only creationists, but even Christians.

Creationism in Judaism.

Just as in Christian creationism, among adherents of Judaism there are those who accept modern scientific views and those who deny them. For example, representatives of classical Orthodox Judaism do not recognize the theory of evolution, adhering to a literal interpretation of the Torah.
Modern Orthodox Jews, which include religious Zionists and modernists, recognize the possibility of an allegorical interpretation of some parts of the Torah and consider some aspects of the theory of evolution to be correct.
There is also Reform and Conservative Judaism, whose followers agree with the basic tenets of the theory of evolution.

Creationism in Islam.

Islam criticizes the theory of evolution even more strongly than Christianity. Many followers of this religion consider the ideas of evolutionary theory to be close to atheism, and therefore cannot support them, fully advocating the divine creation of the Universe and life on Earth.
On the other hand, there are scientists who note that evolution is a scientific fact that does not contradict the Koran. Unlike the Bible, the Koran does not contain a detailed account of the creation of the world, so literalist creationism is less common in Islam.

Creationism in Hinduism.

The 15 sacred scriptures of Hinduism, the Vedas, describe primary and secondary creation. The primary creation involved the Supreme Lord, who created the material energy. He also created the first living being - Brahma, who carried out a secondary creation, which consisted in creating material bodies for kitchen creatures and conditions in which these creatures could contact each other and objects of inanimate nature.
Hinduism believes that the universe created by God is very ancient and is approximately 155 trillion earth years old. In the Vedas, the evolution of humanity is described as a gradual spiritual degradation, during which the duration of human life is shortened, its moral foundations decline, diseases appear, and the ability to communicate with higher intelligent beings disappears.
The development of humanity and the Universe in Hinduism has a cyclical nature: after humanity has completely spent the time allotted to it for free development, the time wheel stops, after which the cycle of creation of the universe and humanity is repeated anew.

World religions about the creation of the world and the birth of the Universe.

Such a global question as “Where did our Universe come from?” has interested humanity throughout the history of its development. It is not surprising that in almost any of the world's religions you can find myths about the creation of the world. Moreover, only at first glance it may seem that they are often absurd from the point of view of a modern person who has at least a little understanding of the achievements of science. In fact, many of them tell the story of what scientists are now trying to prove; it’s just that when interpreting myths, allowances should be made for a different level of perception among ancient people and their less scientific knowledge.

Religious and philosophical theories also try to answer the question of the origin of the Universe, but almost all of them are based on the belief that the world was created as a result of the creative act of the Supreme Mind, God, the Creator.
In Christianity, God is the Creator of all things, and one of the main Christian dogmas is “creation from nothing,” i.e. our Universe was transferred from a state of non-existence to a state of existence as a result of the Divine will. The first three chapters of Genesis (the first book of the Bible) describe the stages of the creation of all things.

Most Christians believe that all three hypostases of the Holy Trinity were involved in the act of creation of the world: God the Father, the not yet incarnate God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Some Christian teachers, for example, St. John of Damascus, point out that creation is a beginningless and eternal process, it “comes from the very essence of God” and does not cause changes in him, i.e. there is no God “before” and God “after” the creation of the world, it remains one. The created world was initially ideal, harmonious and obedient to man, and he himself was endowed with free will.

The scientific theory of the cyclical nature of the Universe in some way repeats the ideas about the origin of the Universe in Buddhist cosmology, which presents an endless alternation of birth and destruction of the universe.
In this case, the supreme being (God) did not create I (one as such. Each world cycle accumulates the general karma of all living beings, and as a result of such accumulation a new Universe arises. Each world is allotted a certain period of existence, during which humanity goes through the path “and flourishing to degradation. The accumulation of bad karma of living beings occurs, and the Universe is destroyed from this. After some time of cosmic peace, the cycle begins anew.
In addition to the religious theory of the creation of the world from nothing, in the Christian and Jewish traditions there is also a theory of the creation of the world from matter. A number of modern Jewish researchers see this as a possible connection with the theory of evolution.

There are 4 periods in each world cycle:
- a period of emptiness, i.e. a time when one world is destroyed and the other has not yet formed;
- the period of formation, when the world begins to emerge anew;
- the sojourn period when the Universe is in a stable state;
- a period of destruction when bad karma leads to the death of the Universe.

Buddhism does not answer questions about whether the world cycles themselves had a beginning, whether the Universe has an end or whether it is infinite, since such questions belong to the realm of the unknown, to which the enlightened Buddha “kept a noble silence.”
The first living being in each new Universe is the god Brahma. Moreover, he is not considered the Creator of the Universe itself, but only the supreme deity whom everyone worships. Although it is believed that Brahma is eternal and has always existed, he is not immutable and he, like other beings, is subject to the cause-and-effect law of karma, i.e. Brahma also disappears along with the collapsing Universe.

The Kabbalistic theory of the “breaking of vessels,” which was created in the Middle Ages by the Kabbalist and Jewish theologian Isaac Luria, is very similar to the Big Bang theory. In his teaching, he said that the attempt at creation was followed by a cosmic catastrophe, as a result of which the world arose. The divine rays that appeared as a result of the catastrophe dissipated and underwent a change.

In the myths of many peoples there is such a concept as “chaos”, i.e. the original state of the universe in which matter and space had no form. The elements of the cosmos (from Greek “order”, “beauty”) were isolated from the original chaos, and so the Universe appeared, subject to certain laws and opposed to chaos. Primary chaos is also called the world abyss.

Thus, in the religious views of the ancient Scandinavians, in the beginning there was only a world void, an abyss called Ginungagap, which was filled only by the primitive forces of creation. Muspell (the land of fire) and Nifel (the land of darkness) existed in it. The collision of two opposites - heat and cold - led to the appearance of the first living creature, the giant Ymir, from whose torn body the Universe was subsequently created. According to the ancient Scandinavians, everything emerged from the world abyss and at the end of time everything will return to it.
In Chinese mythology, there is also a myth about the birth of the Universe from dark chaos. The main cosmic forces there are the masculine principle (Yang, which means “dark”) and the feminine principle (Yin, which means “light”). These two principles themselves formed in the world abyss and established the main directions of the world (universal) space of which, according to Chinese mythology, there are eight. The beginning of Yin began to rule the earth, and the beginning of Ni the sky.
A similar idea of the birth of the world exists in the concept of Taoism. In the beginning there was a thorn. emptiness (Wu-ji), vacuum, unknown, from which two main energies were formed: Yang and Yin. Thanks to their interaction, the formation of qi energy took place, and then all things in the Universe.

Is the Universe infinite?
When studying the Universe and its structure, the question often arises as to whether it has an end or is it infinite. The concept of infinity is one of the most interesting in science, since it relates to the realm of the mysterious and unusual. Indeed, it is impossible to imagine infinity, because the concept has no clarity, but it is not at all an invented mathematical construction, but is used in science to solve many problems.
Astronomers and physicists are most interested in studying infinity, since they have to deal with the space of the Universe and the geometry of the surrounding world. The study of the infinity of the Universe and space began in ancient times. Great philosophers offered simple and seemingly irrefutable reasoning that, at first glance, did not contradict logic.

Thus, Lucretius Carus wrote in his poem “On the Nature of Things”: “The Universe has no end on any side, for otherwise it would certainly have an edge.” For many scientists of that time, it was easier to imagine that the Universe had no end and extended indefinitely in all directions than that it had certain boundaries, because then they would have to look for the answer to the question of what lies beyond these boundaries.

However, the reasoning of Lucretius and his supporters was based, first of all, on logic and familiar ideas about earthly space, and in the modern world, relying on this when studying the problem of infinity on the scale of the Universe is considered unreasonable. In this case, one should study the real properties of the world and draw conclusions based on them.
During the Renaissance, Copernicus developed a heliocentric model of the world, according to which the Sun was at the center of the Universe, and the Earth and other planets revolved around it. According to the scientist, the Universe was bounded by a sphere of fixed stars. He believed that all celestial bodies revolve around the Sun at the same speed, making one revolution per day. Consequently, the greater the distance from the Sun to a celestial body, the greater the speed of revolution of the latter.
Thus, if there are stars located at infinitely large distances from the Sun, then they must have an infinitely high speed, which is impossible. From this it follows that the Universe has an end, that is, it is enclosed in the sphere of stars. To Copernicus’ contemporaries such evidence seemed irrefutable, because at that time they did not yet know that the Sun was not the center of the Universe, but the center of the Solar System.
The Italian scientist Giordano Bruno was the first to doubt Copernicus's conclusions. He was the first to propose the idea of an infinite Universe. In his reasoning, the scientist relied on philosophical views, and not on physical or astronomical research.

Isaac Newton was the first to try to give a natural scientific explanation of the infinity of the Universe in the laws of mechanics he developed. According to his provisions, if material particles are attracted to each other, then over time they should disperse in endless space. Therefore, there cannot be an unchanging finite Universe.
For a long time it was believed that the answer to the question of the infinity of the Universe had been received and was considered final, but the opinion turned out to be erroneous. It has always been believed that the question of whether the Universe has a boundary should have only two answers: “yes” or no.” And only later it turned out that there could be several types of infinity. For example, in mathematics there is an infinity of a series of natural numbers and an infinity of all points located on a line segment.

In geometry, there can also be different infinities. For example, there are concepts such as infinity and unlimited space, which are not identical to each other. Unlimited space is one that has no boundaries, but at the same time it is closed in itself, or finite. An example of such a space is a sphere. The area of a sphere has a finite value, but it is impossible to reach its boundary, so it is considered unlimited. The example with the sphere serves as an example of how space can have a finite volume, but at the same time it has no boundaries.
In modern science, no one doubts that the space of the Universe is unlimited, i.e. it is impossible to reach the boundary of the Universe. But the question of its infinity or finitude still remains open. In order to find the answer, scientists study the geometry of the world and try to figure out the location of matter in the Universe.

Using theoretical calculations, the critical density of matter in the Universe is measured. Thus, it is calculated that 13 cm of space accounts for 1/100,000 of the mass of a proton. Based on the theory of relativity, scientists say that the world space has an end if the average density of matter in the Universe is greater than the critical one. Conversely, the Universe has an infinite volume if the density of matter in it is below critical.
Cosmology, a special branch of astronomy, deals with the origin, evolution and properties of the Universe. It is based on sciences such as physics, mathematics, astronomy, as well as theology and philosophy.
Based on this finding, many researchers have created various versions of calculating the average density of matter in the world. Some, based on their calculations, came to the conclusion that the Universe is finite, and made attempts to calculate its radius.

However, such calculations cannot answer the question of the infinity of the Universe and tell us about its geometric properties.
General relativity provides a physical criterion by which one can make guesses about the curvature of space, but the physical magnitude of this curvature can most likely be judged only on the basis of observations indicating that the average density of matter in the world is approximately equal to the critical one.
All this speaks in favor of the fact that modern science is not yet ready to give an unambiguous answer to the question of the finitude and infinity of the Universe and to prefer one of these probabilities.
Author: A.V. Kolpakova, E.A. Vlasenko

Until the 19th century, the most popular theory was the version of his creation. Depending on the religion, it had its own specifics. In particular, Christians held the point of view that man was created on the sixth day of the existence of the world in the image and likeness of God.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, as scientific consciousness grew, the theory of evolution increasingly began to supplant religious views about creation. The answer to this was the so-called scientific creationism, in which a number of Christian figures sought to confirm biblical postulates with the help of scientific arguments.

There are two main schools of thought in scientific creationism. According to the so-called young earth creationism, both the Earth and man were created no more than 10,000 years ago and from the Bible about 6 days of creation should be taken literally. Another category of creationists considers the words about 6 days to be biblical, meaning a longer period of time. What unites these theories is that all creationists deny the evolutionary connection between humans and primates and insist on divine intervention in anthropogenesis.

Creationism is most widespread among Protestants in the United States, but similar views are also held by some representatives of the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

Despite the support of scientific creationism by some individual researchers, mainly belonging to fundamentalist Protestant groups, in general the scientific community considers scientific creationism not a full-fledged theory of anthropogenesis, but a religious doctrine.

Alien influence

Another alternative theory is the version of outside intervention. According to the views of supporters of this theory, the Earth is not the only inhabited planet in the Universe. There are several versions based on the postulate of alien intervention. According to one of them, people are the direct descendants of those who visited the Earth. From another point of view, aliens did not just populate the Earth by accident, but did so deliberately and control human history.

Within the framework of the theory of alien influence, planets are studied for the presence of microorganisms similar to terrestrial ones or their traces.

The most moderate part of the supporters of the alien theory of human origins adheres to the version that the influence did not directly cause anthropogenesis, but influenced the appearance of the first living beings on Earth - bacteria. Of the presented versions, only the latter is considered by academic science as a possible adequate hypothesis.

Throughout its history, humanity has been interested in where life on Earth originated. Many hypotheses have arisen, sometimes fantastic and meaningless. But before the beginning of the 19th century, there was an opinion that living creatures could appear in meat broth, in rotten meat, in hay tincture. Research conducted by L. Pasteur proved that such ideas are false. The scientist conducted experiments on pasteurization, that is, processing products using high temperatures to prevent the entry of microorganism spores. With their help, he proved that no organisms appear either in broths or in anything else.

In general, it should be noted that no other hypothesis causes as much controversy and discussion as the theory of evolution. If we take into account the results of a recent sociological survey, it turns out that only 15 percent of people believe in the random evolution of Homo sapiens. That is why more and more new theories of the possible past and future development of mankind are currently appearing.

Among the most popular hypotheses, the following should be highlighted:

1. Morphic resonance.

While most scientists around the world argue about the possibility of evolution in biology, R. Sheldrake decided to analyze the origin of species from the point of view of the Universe. His theory states that after a certain time, certain morphic fields are formed that contain the collective memory of substances and organisms, including galaxies with stars. And it is this information field that subsequently influences the development of species.

2. Intelligent design.

The theory of intelligent design was developed by the American biochemist M. Behom and the philosopher and mathematician W. Dembski. According to her, some things are too complex to evolve by chance. That is why, instead of arguing that man is essentially a slightly more developed ape, it is necessary to look for some kind of heavenly equivalent. Simply put, life on our planet arose as a result of the influence of some higher intelligence.

3. Cosmic ancestors.

Most people are accustomed to thinking that the Universe has a certain date from which its existence begins. It doesn't matter whether it was created by God or arose as a result of the Big Bang - it happened at some specific moment. According to the cosmic ancestor theory, the universe has existed at all times, always, and in the same way, life has always existed. Life on Earth arose as a result of the introduction of cosmic microbes. And all subsequent development of earthly life is an imitation of life in the Universe.

4. Christian Science.

According to the theory of Christian Science, God is everywhere and everything that exists around is part of Him. This hypothesis, according to M. Baker Eddy, is based on the eternal truths contained in the Bible. In addition, this theory says that nothing exists except the spirit, and therefore everything around is just an illusion.

5. Progressive creationism.

Everyone knows the story from the Holy Scriptures that God created the Earth for six days and rested on the seventh day. According to progressive creationists, each of these six days lasted millions of years.

6. Ancient Astronauts.

According to the cosmic legacy or intelligent design hypothesis, aliens arrived on our planet millions of years ago and deliberately established life here. Proponents of this theory cite ancient texts, pyramids, flying saucers, the ancient Mayan calendar and the like as evidence of their hypothesis.

7. Scientology.

The once American science fiction writer R. Hubbard created a system of beliefs on the basis of which the religion of Scientology arose. This religion claims that human consciousness has evolved from birds to sloths, and then monkeys, and only then the development of man began. Humans are the product of an alien race that died millions of years ago in a nuclear disaster, and their consciousness was transferred from one animal to another until it reached the human brain. Animal memories leave a person with feelings such as envy, indecision and toothache.

8. Punctuated equilibrium.

The theory of punctuated equilibrium is currently one of the most widespread. It is well known that most archaeological finds indicate that human evolution did not occur gradually, but that species arose suddenly. According to this theory, all species are in a state of stable equilibrium, interrupted by short periods of sudden changes.

9. Creationism.

According to the theory of creationism, absolutely everything in the Book of Genesis is stated correctly. Simply put, God created the Earth over six days and rested on the seventh, people descended from Noah, and once upon a time in ancient times there were giants. In addition, our planet is only six thousand years old, and therefore all archaeological and geological finds are complete nonsense.

10. Theistic evolutionism.

Theistic evolutionism is a science that combines Darwin's theory with the divine origin of man. The essence of this theory is that the Almighty created the Universe, but only according to scientific theory. Thus, evolution is one of the divine instruments in God's experiments with creation.

Despite the existence of numerous theories of the origin of life on Earth, none of them fully fits some ancient artifacts that were discovered during archaeological research. No one is still able to explain their origin.

It is quite obvious that some of these finds are hoaxes, but some have very real stories associated with them.

One such mysterious ancient artifact is the Sumerian king list. During excavations in ancient Sumer, on the territory of modern Iraq, an ancient manuscript was discovered that listed all the rulers of this state. Initially, researchers were confident that the find was an ordinary historical document, but later it was found that many of the kings named in it were mythological characters. Conversely, some rulers whose existence was well known were not included in this list. Some rulers were attributed to excessively long periods of time in power or mythical events, in particular, Sumerian versions of the exploits of Gilgamesh or the Great Flood.

Another artifact that has not found a scientific explanation is the Easter Island writing. Many people are familiar with the statues from Easter Island, but the existence of 24 wooden carved tablets containing a system of symbols is also associated with this place. These symbols were called “rongorongo” and are recognized as an ancient proto-writing form. Currently, no scientist has been able to decipher them.

A large number of artifacts have been discovered in the marshes and rivers of Ireland. In total, their number reaches 6 thousand copies. They were called Fulachtai Fia. These are embankments of stone and soil, made in the shape of a horseshoe, with a trench in the center filled with water. As a rule, such mounds are found singly, but sometimes they can be seen in groups of 2-6. And there is always a source of water near them. It still remains a mystery why they were built.

Another artifact, the origin and purpose of which is unknown, was discovered in 2014 during excavations at the battle site in Nottinghamshire. The find turned out to be a fifteen-centimeter “witch’s bottle.” Such vessels were used for black witchcraft in America and Europe in the years 1600-1700. They were made from glass and ceramics. In total, about two hundred of these bottles were found containing remains of nails, needles, hair, nails and urine. Some scientists claim that such vessels were used to protect the owner from the harmful influence of witches and evil spells.

Some museums around the world contain strange exhibits that were once alive. This is a legendary medieval beast known as the "Rat King". It was formed when several rats intertwined or fused their tails. A nest of rats appeared, their faces pointing outward. The largest of these artifacts contains 32 individuals. Currently, archaeologists are finding similar mummified artifacts, although no one has ever seen a single living anomaly of this kind.

In the north of Russia there is a large Hare Island, which poses another mystery. About three thousand years before the new era, not only religious objects and settlements were built there, but also irrigation systems. However, the most mysterious objects here are the spiral labyrinths, the largest of which reaches 24 meters in diameter. These buildings are two rows of boulders overgrown with vegetation. Science still cannot say for sure what they were used for.

In those regions that in ancient times were under the influence of the Roman Empire, archaeologists are discovering strange objects called “Roman dodecahedrons.” These are hollow bronze or stone objects that range from 4 to 12 centimeters in diameter, with 12 pentagonal flat faces and holes on each side. There are small handles on each corner. Scientists have put forward as many as 27 theories that tried to explain the origin and purpose of these objects, but none of them were confirmed.

And finally, one of the most famous manuscripts in the scientific world is the so-called Codex Gigas, or “The Devil’s Bible.” This book is made of 160 skins and weighs so much that one person cannot lift it. According to legend, this book was written by a monk who made a deal with the devil after he was sentenced to death (the monk was to be walled up alive in a wall). With the help of the devil, the monk wrote the Code overnight. The handwriting in the book is really the same and even everywhere, as if it really was written in a short time. Scientists, however, are confident that such work could take from 5 to 30 years. The manuscript contains tests that, at first glance, are absolutely incompatible with each other: “Jewish Antiquities” by Josephus, the complete Latin Vulgate Bible, medical works of Theophilus and Hippocrates, “Etymological Encyclopedia” by I. Seville, “Chronicles of Bohemia” by K. Prague, as well as magical formulas, exorcism rites, illustration of the heavenly city.

Thus, it is quite obvious that scientists will have to struggle for decades, and perhaps even centuries, to unravel the mystery of the origin of life on our planet. And who knows whether their attempts to get to the truth will be successful...

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