Finding Life’s Purpose in the Multiverse

Many people seek meaning in the chaos of life. But to Stephanie “Stevie” Kaschke (MBP '17), disorder itself holds the clues.

In Kaschke’s book, The Entropic Philosophy (2021), she applies the laws of thermodynamics, evolution, and astrophysics to answer our most profound questions about life. The central thesis of the book posits that human life is a predictable outcome of natural selection. 

The book was published in May 2021, but Kaschke's first ideas for it came during her time in Northwestern’s Master of Biotechnology Program (MBP). She came to the program with a biology and ecology background, but when Professor Igor Kourkine assigned reading on entropy in a bio-nanotechnology course, it put theories into a new context. 

“Thinking about entropy through the filter of biology, ecology, and evolution is what ultimately led me to these new ideas,” she said.

Kaschke recently started a new job as manager of operations and strategy at Ginkgo Bioworks, where she works with customers to ensure project success and helps launch new projects. The Entropic Philosophy is her first book.

The beginning of the book provides the reader with a primer on topics like entropy, natural selection and evolution, and the multiverse. She then lays out her core theory: if biological life decreases entropy, then we are the result of natural selection working at an inconceivable, cosmos-sized level.  

In the last section of the book, Kaschke turns to the philosophical implications of this theory. If we are the result of natural selection, how does that change how we view ourselves? Furthermore, how does it apply to ethical dilemmas, such as genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and climate change?

Despite the topic’s complexity, Kaschke purposefully wrote the book to a wide audience. Using a conversational tone, extensive examples, graphics, and storytelling, she offers a fresh take on humanity’s oldest questions. 

“My goal was to have anyone who has grappled with existential questions to be able to understand the ideas in this book,” she said.

Beyond the initial ideas, Kaschke credits MBP with being influential in developing the skills needed to think through and ultimately write the book.

“The communication course continues to be helpful to me throughout my career and especially in writing this book,” she said. “The critical thinking course was also very helpful when thinking through these ideas and how to best communicate them. Learning how to build and evaluate arguments has been a crucial skill that has helped me with writing this book and in my career.”

Now that the book is published, Kaschke is excited to use it to launch conversations with the academic community. She plans to submit scientific papers based on the concepts presented in the book. 

She’s grateful for the lessons learned and network gained through MBP, but perhaps most importantly, she's appreciative of the new perspective she acquired.

“My time at Northwestern and in MBP taught me to think bigger," she said. "That's something I'll carry with me my whole life.”