Professor Stephen Hawking may have passed away earlier this year but he has a few more big messages to give the world, and one of the biggest is – there is no afterlife or supreme being.
Hawking had one of the biggest brains in modern times, and with the posthumous publication of his final book “Brief Answers To The Big Questions,” he seeks to do exactly what it said on the tin.
The Daily Mail reports that the Professor’s last ‘profound realization’ has been revealed and it’s this – “There is no God. No one directs the universe.”
“We are each free to believe what we want, and it’s my view that the simplest explanation is that there is no God.
“No one created the universe and no one directors out fate. This leads me to a profound realization: there is probably no heaven and afterlife either. I think belief in the afterlife is just wishful thinking.”
As final philosophies go it’s a tad depressing but Hawking was always about the evidence, and because there is no tangible evidence to confirm the existence of the big fella in the sky the Professor took the scientific point of view and said, “I think that when we die we return to dust.”
There is light at the end of the tunnel though. Although Hawking disputes the existence of God and an afterlife, he believes that in a manner we all achieve immortality in the influence and the genes we pass on to our children.
And of course, in Stephen Hawking’s case, his works and ideas have taken on a life of their own.
Specially recorded messages from the cosmologist who died in March at the age of 76 were heard at the launch of his new book earlier this week.
His daughter Lucy Hawking was present at the book launch and revealed it was emotional to hear her father’s voice again.
“I feel sometimes like he’s still here because we talk about him and we hear his voice and we see images of him, and then we have the reminder that he’s left us.”
As well as denying the possibility of God and an afterlife, Hawking also took aim at the election of Donald Trump and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. The Professor explained he regarded them both as a “global revolt against experts and that includes scientists.”
Although he did stress that there is a grave danger of scientists of becoming insular and culturally isolated.
In his new book, Hawking also states his belief that time travel could be a very real possibility.
Turning his thoughts to the future Hawking explained that coming generations will rely far more on science and technology than previous generations.
And what could be interpreted as a ditch-attempt to get youngsters away from the screens Hawking pleaded with young people to, “Look up at the stars and not down at your feet and wonder about what makes the universe exist.
“It matters that you don’t give up. Unleash your imagination. Shape the future.”