Has this ever crossed your mind about "reality"?

[Innit]

I was sitting down some time back, and was pondering over the idea of reality, and how it incorporates itself with science.

 

The primary question of reality is, why is there the universe? Of course there was the big bang theory, but why are there all these "things" around us - planets, galaxies, our universe. Why are they here. Go back before the big bang theory. Before all events prior to that, too. What was of our universe then?

 

Obviously science may be able to explain this, but why is there science in the first place? Why is there anything in the first place? Why do things exist, rather than there being no reality, and no universe - nothing at all?

 

It's just a big string of "Why's" but it just kind of popped into my mind and I thought I'd share it with you. It might seem a bit absurd to some, but perhaps there can be a discussion about it...

 

Don't know if this is in the right forum... Maybe it could go in the General Discussion section, but I wasn't sure where to put it...

[gib65]

My first thought: there can't "be" nothing. Nothing, by definition, is non-existent.

[the tree]

This question becomes meaningless if you intend to repeat it indefinitely.

[bascule]

Sounds like you're asking about a first cause

 

Existence can't have a first cause because the cause would have to exist

 

The negation of existence is meaningless without existence

 

Therefore, we're left with a simple explanation: existence is, because nothing else makes sense

[iNow]

Why is there anything in the first place? Why do things exist, rather than there being no reality, and no universe - nothing at all?

These are major questions, and have no clear, easy, consistent answer. Millenia of philosophers have attempted to describe and explain these issues. If you're truly curious, you might try a few books on existential philosophy. Look for author names like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, De Beuvoir, and Tillich.

 

 

Life is what you make of it, quite literally.

[Rocket Man]

combine navel gazing with quantum theory, go suitably mad and i'm sure you'll stumble on an acceptable answer.

[Innit]

Sounds like you're asking about a first cause

 

Existence can't have a first cause because the cause would have to exist

 

The negation of existence is meaningless without existence

 

Therefore, we're left with a simple explanation: existence is, because nothing else makes sense

 

You're quite right. But then that means that existence cannot have a beginning. There has been an infinite amount of "time" before us. I suppose that human beings are so adapted to the idea of "starts" and "ends", that they don't come across the idea of infinity. Perhaps this could even suggest the idea of afterlife.

[Guest026]

i try not to wonder about these kind of things because it kills me inside to not know and at the same time to know it is impossible to know but i think about these things a lot anyways

 

Edit: i think its impossible for nothing to exist because if nothing existed then well... i dunno i suck at explaining my ideas in a coherent manner

 

You're quite right. But then that means that existence cannot have a beginning. There has been an infinite amount of "time" before us. I suppose that human beings are so adapted to the idea of "starts" and "ends", that they don't come across the idea of infinity. Perhaps this could even suggest the idea of afterlife.

 

PUH-SHAAAWWWW!!!!! that is sooo not true when someone dies they rot away but of course they dont disapear they just get separated into atoms n molecules if thats what you mean by this "afterlife" one never ceases to exist they only cease to be a living thing though what once was there body would eventually end up in another living thing (if thats what you call an "afterlife")unless everything dies before this could happen

[bascule]

You're quite right. But then that means that existence cannot have a beginning. There has been an infinite amount of "time" before us. I suppose that human beings are so adapted to the idea of "starts" and "ends", that they don't come across the idea of infinity. Perhaps this could even suggest the idea of afterlife.

 

If anything it argues to the idea that causality regresses infinitely, an alternative to the cosmological argument for a first cause

[someguy]

You're quite right. But then that means that existence cannot have a beginning. There has been an infinite amount of "time" before us. I suppose that human beings are so adapted to the idea of "starts" and "ends", that they don't come across the idea of infinity. Perhaps this could even suggest the idea of afterlife.

 

true it would mean existence cannot have a beginning, but time did. there is not an infinite amount of time before us.

 

this thread is about entropy and time and morphs into exactly what we're talking about here if you're interested.

 

http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=28323&highlight=entropy

[bascule]

true it would mean existence cannot have a beginning, but time did. there is not an infinite amount of time before us.

 

Prove it

[Innit]

true it would mean existence cannot have a beginning, but time did. there is not an infinite amount of time before us.

 

this thread is about entropy and time and morphs into exactly what we're talking about here if you're interested.

 

http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=28323&highlight=entropy

 

Thanks for that, I'll be reading this...