Editing A Brief History of Time (section)

=== Conclusion ===
Hawking summarises the efforts made by humans through their history to understand the universe and their place in it: starting from the belief in anthropomorphic spirits controlling nature, followed by the recognition of regular patterns in nature, and finally with the understanding of the inner workings of the universe. He recalls Laplace's suggestion that the universe's structure and evolution could eventually be precisely explained by a set of laws whose origin is left in God's domain. However, Hawking states that the uncertainty principle introduced by quantum theory has set limits on knowledge.

Hawking comments that historically, the study of cosmology has been primarily motivated by a search for philosophical and religious insights, for instance, to better understand the [[nature of God]], or even whether [[Existence of God|God exists at all]]. However, for Hawking, most scientists today who work on these theories approach them with mathematical calculation and empirical observation, rather than asking such philosophical questions. In his mind, the increasingly technical nature of these theories have caused modern cosmology to become increasingly divorced from philosophy. Hawking nonetheless expresses hope that one day everybody would understand the true origin and nature of the universe. "That would be the ultimate triumph of human reason—for then we know would know the mind of God".{{Sfnp| Hawking|1996|p=233}}