If we are to understand life, we must account for all of life. Humans act in purposeful ways, and we are as much a part of the living world as the first multicellular organism. Any account of life must incorporate all of these realities. Similarly, we cannot understand human purpose apart from our context. We are part of a living world that may exhibit other evidence of purpose, from various organisms exhibiting intention to trends and fine-tuning relevant to questions of cosmic or divine purpose.

A new $5.5 million program of the John Templeton Foundation will support research concerning whether the study of life, its origins, history, current profusion and potential future can offer any insight into the existence and nature of purpose in the universe.

Research in physics and cosmology has documented a remarkable range of apparent “fine-tunings” of the physical laws, constants, and early conditions of the cosmos with respect to life. These insights suggest to some that we inhabit, as Paul Davies calls it, a “bio-friendly” cosmos. Despite natural linkages of this work with the phenomenon of life, detailed extension into biochemistry and evolutionary biology remains limited.

This initiative is meant to help fill that gap, supporting chemical and biological studies of the potential significance of purpose in the living world (including ways in which we have incorrectly attributed purpose to living things). To what extent is purpose a fundamental feature of life rather than, as many assume, a chancy and unique feature of humans – if not, indeed, just a phantom of brain chemistry?

Many biologists are wary of viewing the living world from a perspective of purpose. Some are even reluctant to attribute purpose to humans – excluding, no doubt their own intentional choice to deny human intention. And it is sometimes argued that purpose and related concepts like teleology and design, are not properly scientific topics, that biology can only address purpose in the sense of teleonomic function. Science can study what the lungs are “for” but not how the course of evolution may be a part of cosmic purpose. But there is no need to quibble about the definition of science. These are all important questions, and they should be addressed in light of current scientific knowledge.

The connection with biological science is important. Too often the study of purpose, teleology and design, far from taking advantage of the great progress in biological science, has been set up in opposition to biology. In this program the goal is not really to ask questions like Was this designed or was it the product of natural selection? but rather to ask What can our knowledge of selection and other evolutionary process tell us about purpose or design in the history of life? Empirical, philosophical, theological and collaborative multidisciplinary research leading to a better understanding of purpose can transform our view of life.

Because of the range of possible research, the program overall consists of three separate (though overlapping) requests for proposals:

• Complex Chemistry and the Origins of Life in which topics might include the fine-tuning ‘behavior’ of proteins and its importance in living purpose, emergent organic chemistry, origins and nature of life, and the role of purpose in the presence of chance, determinism, and various kinds of causality.
• Evolutionary History and Contemporary Life which will support research on such topics as grand ‘mega-‘ trends in evolution indicative (or not) of purpose, and other potential sources of evidence of purpose in biology and zoology, including animal behavior.

• Human Nature and the Origins of the Religious and Spiritual Sense which may include origins of human cognition, what it is to be fully human, origins of the human spiritual sense, and progress of religions.
In addition, the program will establish at least six expert research consultancies throughout the world to research elements of purpose in life from a deeply interdisciplinary perspective. It also includes a competitive prize program to inspire strategically effective outreach, including design of major programs in other media (to be supported by other sources).