Are conscious self aware beings a fundamental part of the universe?
The universe is fundamental without any life. Life is not necessary for the operation of those physical laws that determine the rate of expansion, the death of stars, the formation of galaxies, and other actions of nature that arise from the workings of natural law. Life is an effect of such natural laws, and whatever causes are effected upon extant reality, it does not affect and cannot affect the workings of natural law. A nuclear explosion for example that is man-made may affect some entity of the universe besides life forms; but those effects still follow natural law, as did the workings of the explosion, and such an explosion, while perhaps having an unintended “butterfly effect” are not “foundationally” a part of the universe–and “fountationally” is what “fundamental” means. They come from the same base word and in this context have identical meanings.
