There is a theory, which is a variation on the strong anthropic principle, which would suggest that the physical laws of nature are such that it, in a sense, encodes life and intelligence in it’s DNA. It’s a form of cosmic DNA whereby the replication of the physical laws of nature, over a period of time, produce life and intelligence. That life and intelligence become developmental over time so that life and intelligence, emerging out of the infinite replication of the physical laws of the universe, provide an equal footing to the underlying laws of nature themselves. That said, it is actually possible to consider the universe as some type of organism, which continues to grow through time.
Original writing date: June 29, 2006