Paper Status Tracking
Contact us
[email protected]
Click here to send a message to me 3275638434
Paper Publishing WeChat

Article
Affiliation(s)

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland

ABSTRACT

The origin of the universe? The origin of free will? The origin of space? Or simply the appearance of something out of nothing, with no causal before, likes a probability that transforms into an unpredictable particle actuality in quantum physics. In short, does better explanation for such questions await us? Or are we hamstrung by our tendency for “cause-and-effect” explanations or “something vs. nothing” ways of forcing the options? This essay explores the notion of beginnings—that is, the possibility of something from nothing. It begins by clarifying how the meaning of such terms is being intended, for example the question of whether the moon if no one sees it qualifies as a nothing, the question of an uncaused something or an effect minus an antecedent of any kind. In short, what does a something-from-nothing entail? And what is a something in the first place, as Heidegger asks in his essay, “What Is a Thing?” Having sketched out notions of “something” and “nothing”, the discussion proceeds to the central question, namely the possibility of a something from nothing. What is something? What is nothing? It may be that we need new categories of understanding for a better answer. This essay suggests such a quest.

KEYWORDS

nothingness, non-causal emergence, free will, pre-temporal Big Bang, expanding universe

Cite this paper

Dwight Holbrook. (2023). Beginnings: The Possibility of Something From Nothing. Philosophy Study, March 2023, Vol. 13, No. 3, 121-124.

References

Chalmers, D. J. (2010). The character of consciousness. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Connor, J. A. (2002). Silent fire: Bringing the spirituality of silence to everyday life. New York: Crown Publishers.

Heidegger, M. (1967). What is a thing? Chicago, Illinois: Henry Regnery Company.

Holbrook, D. (2018). Blink of an eye: Material nature captured in the momentary now, a radical 1st person perspective. Poznan, Poland: Adam Mickiewicz University. (about this book: (youtube) interview with Deepak Chopra: Timeless existence: Blink of an eye)

Hooff, H. (2013). Genesis of conscious mental states. Mind and Matter, 11(1), 45-60.

Polt, R. (1999). Heidegger: An introduction. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.

About | Terms & Conditions | Issue | Privacy | Contact us
Copyright © 2001 - David Publishing Company All rights reserved, www.davidpublisher.com
3 Germay Dr., Unit 4 #4651, Wilmington DE 19804; Tel: 1-323-984-7526; Email: [email protected]