As many philosophers throughout history have stated, “nothing comes from nothing.” Self-creation of contingent things is impossible which is why we don’t see it in our everyday experience. “Nothing,” as Martin Luther once quipped, “is not a little something.” To exist or “to be” means to stand out of nothing. Because nothing is “not a thing” it has no causal powers. One can not even think of nothing because to think of it is to think of something. In philosophical terms nothing has no existence or being whatsoever-it does not exist, it is not a thing, it has no ontological properties, it has no potential. It can not be and not be at the same time. It would have to exist and not exist at the same time and in the same respect which is impossible. The universe, in the point of singularity, would have had to exist prior to the detonation. Applied to the Big Bang model, which claims that a single compressed piece of matter and energy spontaneously created the universe from nothing violates the law of noncontradiction.
The law of noncontradiction states that nothing can both be and not be at the same time and in the same respect. At this point in the conversation, however, I think it is worthwhile to apply the law of noncontradiction and the principle of simplicity to these questions.
Philosophers are still debating this ancient question and have come up with some very complex reasoning about whether an infinite series is possible or not. Must be one or the other-either an infinite series of events or an Possibility that the universe has a real actual first cause andĭefinitive starting point in space and time. However, have investigated the evidence which suggests a significant Produces a series of causes that recede into infinity.
Regression, the idea that what caused the cause of the Big Bang One hand, some have explored the possibility of an infinite (things which are dependent for their existence on something else)Ĭomes into being by something external to it.Īnd cosmologists have addressed these questions in two basic ways. Principle of causality is the idea that every contingent thing Is caused by virtue of something outside itself. Inertia? These are some big questions given the principleīasic belief that every physical thing or event that comes into being Sense and scientific understanding of reality, which assumes causeĪnd effect relationships, what caused the Big Bang? What caused theĬause of the Big Bang? What caused the highly concentrated matter toĮxist in the first place? Why did it suddenly defy the laws of All space, time, and matter are a result of thatĬourse, the Big Bang hypothesis raises some questions. Hypothesized expanding universe has resulted from an explosion ofĬoncentrated matter (the point of singularity) fifteen or twentyīillion years ago. This theory is a cosmological model which states the present Possibility of the origin of the universe is the “Big Bang” Most cosmologists and physicists today believe that the Of our expanding cosmos and what scientists tell us about cosmicīackground radiation, it would seem that Plato is closer to the Philosophers to articulate the idea that the universe must have a “first cause,” but their first cause was the greatest in a The universe-time and motion-were eternal. Such as Aristotle and Aquinas, believed that the basic elements of Ultimate cause of all events and existence, which logically does not This line of thought explores whether or not there is an Many philosophers andĬosmologists are interested in “first cause” types of theories orĪrguments. Is the investigation of theories regarding the explanation, nature, Another way of looking at this question is what is known Is the most important and foundational question of all philosophical Nonetheless, the question about the cause ofĮxistence is central to the study of Being. Being includes both concrete physical objects and Mathematical axioms and formulas, emotions and intuition, moral goodsĪnd the like.
Mean physical nature as it can include abstract ideas such as mentalĬoncepts, consciousness, aesthetic theories, human rights, What philosophers call Being, however, does not strictly The greatest questions of Being (all of reality) is how it all