--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fredkin was quoted by Robert Wright in…" description: "\"“Fredkin was quoted by Robert Wright in the 1980s as saying, There are three great philosophical questions. What is life? What is consciousness and thi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/ray-kurzweil-3529_life_fredkin-was-quoted-by-robert-wright-in-t_1328395.jpg" --- # Fredkin was quoted by Robert Wright in the 1980s as… ![“Fredkin was quoted by Robert Wright in the 1980s as saying, There are three great philosophical questions. What is life? What is consciousness and thinking and memory and all that? And how does the universe work? …” quote by Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/ray-kurzweil-3529_life_fredkin-was-quoted-by-robert-wright-in-t_1328395.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/ray-kurzweil-3529_life_fredkin-was-quoted-by-robert-wright-in-t_1328395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/ray-kurzweil-3529_life_fredkin-was-quoted-by-robert-wright-in-t_1328395.jpg) > ““Fredkin was quoted by Robert Wright in the 1980s as saying, There are three great philosophical questions. What is life? What is consciousness and thinking and memory and all that? And how does the universe work? …”” [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Three core philosophical questions—life, consciousness, and the universe’s workings—drive scientific inquiry. **In simple terms:** Key questions: life, mind, cosmos. Key Takeaway Explore these questions to guide research and meaning. Themes philosophy science existential inquiry Mood curious contemplative Type intellectual inspirational When to use this quote - academic research - public lectures - interdisciplinary workshops - personal meditation Key Concepts ontology cognitive science cosmology Questions to Reflect On - How do these questions shape your worldview? - What practical steps can you take to explore them? A Different Perspective Complex answers may remain elusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Philosophical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical/) [Philosophical questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophical-questions/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) ## Related quotes > [To become aware of the subtlety of nature you need to be alert. The moment you become alert you become still... thinking subsides. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-become-aware-of-the-subtlety-of-nature-you-need-to-be-alert-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [No woman has been a significant original thinker in any of the world's great philosophical traditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/no-woman-has-been-a-significant-original-thinker-in-any-of-the-world/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [Although an increasing number of humans are undergoing a process of awakening, identification with thinking is still the prevalent state of consciousness. Thinking is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/although-an-increasing-number-of-humans-are-undergoing-a-process-of/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [All consciousness is consciousness of something: in thinking I am aware that my thought is 'pointing towards' some object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/all-consciousness-is-consciousness-of-something-in-thinking-i-am/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [When you awaken spiritually, in fact, you can use thought much more effectively than before, but you realize there is a depth to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-awaken-spiritually-in-fact-you-can-use-thought-much-more/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Mann was profoundly influenced by two philosophers, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, who returned to the most ancient of all philosophical questions - "How to live?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/mann-was-profoundly-influenced-by-two-philosophers-schopenhauer-and/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [Quite early on, and certainly since I started writing, I found that philosophical questions occupied me more than any other kind. I hadn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/quite-early-on-and-certainly-since-i-started-writing-i-found-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [One of the recurring philosophical questions is: 'Does a falling tree in the forest make a sound when there is no one to hear?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/one-of-the-recurring-philosophical-questions-is-does-a-falling-tree/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Philosophical questions and modes of thought just seem natural to me. They mesh with the way my mind works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-scheffler/philosophical-questions-and-modes-of-thought-just-seem-natural-to-me/) [Samuel Scheffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-scheffler/) > [Science will always raise philosophical questions like, is any scientific theory or model correct? How do we know? Are unobserved things real? etc. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-crane/science-will-always-raise-philosophical-questions-like-is-any/) [Tim Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-crane/) > [Jacques Tati is the great philosophical tinkerer of comedy, taking meticulous care to arrange his films so that they unfold in a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/jacques-tati-is-the-great-philosophical-tinkerer-of-comedy-taking/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [It can be shown that a mathematical web of some kind can be woven about any universe containing several objects. The fact that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/it-can-be-shown-that-a-mathematical-web-of-some-kind-can-be-woven/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There will be no end to the troubles of states,Or of humanity itself,Till philosophers become kings in this world,Or till those we now call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/there-will-be-no-end-to-the-troubles-of-states-or-of-humanity-itself/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You can only be you when you do your best. When you don't do your best you are denying yourself the right to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/you-can-only-be-you-when-you-do-your-best-when-you-don-t-do-your-best/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [I could never figure out or probably did not take the trouble to figure out what the great philosophical problems are about. The momentous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/i-could-never-figure-out-or-probably-did-not-take-the-trouble-to/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More by Ray Kurzweil > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The telephone is virtual reality in that you can meet with someone as if you are together, at least for the auditory sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/the-telephone-is-virtual-reality-in-that-you-can-meet-with-someone-as/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [By 2010 computers will disappear. They'll be so small, they'll be embedded in our clothing, in our environment. Images will be written directly to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/by-2010-computers-will-disappear-they-ll-be-so-small-they-ll-be/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [All different forms of human expression, art, science, are going to become expanded, by expanding our intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/all-different-forms-of-human-expression-art-science-are-going-to/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [Doing real world projects is, I think, the best way to learn and also to engage the world and find out what the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/doing-real-world-projects-is-i-think-the-best-way-to-learn-and-also/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [Take death for example. A great deal of our effort goes into avoiding it. We make extraordinary efforts to delay it, and often consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/take-death-for-example-a-great-deal-of-our-effort-goes-into-avoiding/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [By the time we get to the 2040s, we'll be able to multiply human intelligence a billionfold. That will be a profound change that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/by-the-time-we-get-to-the-2040s-we-ll-be-able-to-multiply-human/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [We're democratizing the tools of creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-re-democratizing-the-tools-of-creativity/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [A Singularitarian is someone who understands the Singularity and has reflected on its meaning for his or her own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/a-singularitarian-is-someone-who-understands-the-singularity-and-has/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [A lot of movies about artificial intelligence envision that AIs will be very intelligent but missing some key emotional qualities of humans and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/a-lot-of-movies-about-artificial-intelligence-envision-that-ais-will/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The key issue as to whether or not a non-biological entity deserves rights really comes down to whether or not it's conscious… Does it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/the-key-issue-as-to-whether-or-not-a-non-biological-entity-deserves/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [We'll be able to have very intelligent, little robots with computers going inside our bloodstream, keeping us healthy from inside, destroying cancer at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-ll-be-able-to-have-very-intelligent-little-robots-with-computers/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The ethical debates are like stones in a stream. The water runs around them. You haven't seen any biological technologies held up for one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/the-ethical-debates-are-like-stones-in-a-stream-the-water-runs-around/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [By the end of this decade, computers will disappear as distinct physical objects, with displays built in our eyeglasses, and electronics woven in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/by-the-end-of-this-decade-computers-will-disappear-as-distinct/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [As you go out to the 2040s, now the bulk of our thinking is out in the cloud. The biological portion of our brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/as-you-go-out-to-the-2040s-now-the-bulk-of-our-thinking-is-out-in-the/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) [Explore all 127 Ray Kurzweil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) ## More Great philosophical quotes > [No woman has been a significant original thinker in any of the world's great philosophical traditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/no-woman-has-been-a-significant-original-thinker-in-any-of-the-world/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [You can only be you when you do your best. When you don't do your best you are denying yourself the right to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/you-can-only-be-you-when-you-do-your-best-when-you-don-t-do-your-best/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [There will be no end to the troubles of states,Or of humanity itself,Till philosophers become kings in this world,Or till those we now call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/there-will-be-no-end-to-the-troubles-of-states-or-of-humanity-itself/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It can be shown that a mathematical web of some kind can be woven about any universe containing several objects. The fact that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/it-can-be-shown-that-a-mathematical-web-of-some-kind-can-be-woven/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Jacques Tati is the great philosophical tinkerer of comedy, taking meticulous care to arrange his films so that they unfold in a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/jacques-tati-is-the-great-philosophical-tinkerer-of-comedy-taking/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [I could never figure out or probably did not take the trouble to figure out what the great philosophical problems are about. The momentous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/i-could-never-figure-out-or-probably-did-not-take-the-trouble-to/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Every noble action is selfish. Some selfish actions are nobler than others. But they are all selfish. And as such there can be no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/every-noble-action-is-selfish-some-selfish-actions-are-nobler-than/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) Browse all 8 Great philosophical quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fredkin was quoted by Robert Wright in the 1980s as saying, There are three great philosophical questions. What is life? What is consciousness and thinking and memory and all that? 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