Setting aside those imponderable questions which require a level of perception and analytical capability lacking in humans, other questions remain including: What is our relationship to this vast universe? Why are we here? and, What is the meaning of our lives?
Traditionally, such queires have been responded to with supernatural explanations. Not subject to the requirement of evidence, supernatural explanations can answer virtually any question. Persistent questioners however, soon encounter the limits of what can be answered. Ultimately, they are told something obfuscating like “We cannot know what’s in the mind of god.”
Within the boundaries of naturalism there are certain kinds of “big picture” questions which can be answered with astonishing depth and precision utilizing science. When it comes to questions about how a system or a process functions such as: “How does gravity work?” or “How did humans evolve?” knowledge generated by applying the scientific method produces comprehensive answers.
In contrast, throughout most of the history of science, questions involving meaning or purpose have not been regarded as answerable within a naturalistic context. In recent decades, however, sufficient evidence-based knowledge has become available making a naturalistic response more feasible.
During the past century humankind learned about the rarity of intelligent life; how life on earth will end; how to develop what will eventually become new forms of intelligent life; and have taken the very first steps into space exploration. In combination, these breakthroughs suggest a significant future role which humans may play.