Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - The problem of existence; interested in thoughts/articles

SPQR · 10-11-2004, 11:09 PM

More or less my first post, and it's pretty amateur-philosopher-metaphysical, so bear with me:

Lately I've been considering the question: How is it that anything exists? By "anything" I mean more than just the matter that makes up me, you, and the universe; "anything" includes the laws of science and mathematics, basic notions of order such as "space," "time," and "causality" as well as any thoughts we might have. Why is there a universe to begin with, as opposed to absolutely nothing at all?

Of course one simple answer that should explain everything is "god." However, the presence of god doesn't really exclude the possibility of "absolutely nothing," unless god is taken as a given, an "axiom" to existence. An axiom such as "god necessarily exists" would be part of "anything" however, and would therefore require explanation for its own existence. In the same way, it seems that attempts to root existence in any entity, tenet, axiom, or other construct necessarily fails, leading to at best a recursive question defying an ultimate answer, similar to the repeated "Why?s" children employ.

Is existence necessarily inexplicable? Can a world exist in which existence somehow justifies itself? I'm currently of the mindset that whatever flicked the "on" switch to our universe is beyond the grasp of science and religion alike, what do you think?

I'd love to see your thoughts or any links to similar discussions or relevant articles. Have any noteworthy intellectual figures tackled this issue?

10-11-2004, 11:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
SPQR Upright	The problem of existence; interested in thoughts/articles More or less my first post, and it's pretty amateur-philosopher-metaphysical, so bear with me: Lately I've been considering the question: How is it that anything exists? By "anything" I mean more than just the matter that makes up me, you, and the universe; "anything" includes the laws of science and mathematics, basic notions of order such as "space," "time," and "causality" as well as any thoughts we might have. Why is there a universe to begin with, as opposed to absolutely nothing at all? Of course one simple answer that should explain everything is "god." However, the presence of god doesn't really exclude the possibility of "absolutely nothing," unless god is taken as a given, an "axiom" to existence. An axiom such as "god necessarily exists" would be part of "anything" however, and would therefore require explanation for its own existence. In the same way, it seems that attempts to root existence in any entity, tenet, axiom, or other construct necessarily fails, leading to at best a recursive question defying an ultimate answer, similar to the repeated "Why?s" children employ. Is existence necessarily inexplicable? Can a world exist in which existence somehow justifies itself? I'm currently of the mindset that whatever flicked the "on" switch to our universe is beyond the grasp of science and religion alike, what do you think? I'd love to see your thoughts or any links to similar discussions or relevant articles. Have any noteworthy intellectual figures tackled this issue?