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Beginnings: The Possibility of Something From Nothing



Author(s)

Dwight Holbrook

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DOI:10.17265/2159-5313/2023.03.002

Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland

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.

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

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