Why is there something rather than nothing?

Simple enough question, but I have to flesh this out to prevent it from being a one line post.

The inherent question speaks to the very nature of the universe: Why is there something in a universe rather than nothing at all?

I have my own answer to this, but I'd like to see what others say about it.

Whoa you are posting a lot of simple enough questions! First came universe, then came consciousness....
This is more of a personal question to me, because from the beginning I had to discern that this whole universe was ever real to begin with. I had often felt I was the only "living being" After all these years I had determined that nothing is created without purpose. I can only go off of that. I think really everyone is trying to figure out what that purpose is in their own way

At first I thought your title said "Why is something rarer than nothing?"

The misreading made alot of sense to wonder however!

But quite honestly, I have to know if you are asking the question "why is there something rather than nothing" expecting a causal answer since one cannot exist. Somethings come from other somethings.

The problem might be that you believe one gives up nothing for something but that might not hold in truth and both may exist, perfectly conserved.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


Well first I think we'd need to establish that there is a such thing as nothing. Recent developments in science seem to suggest that even empty space has a sort of quantum field. So nothing might not be nothing in the sense that we think of it. In that way absolute nothing might not have even ever existed which means that SOMETHING rather than NOTHING is the default state of the Universe.

WHY is there something? There doesn't have to be a reason. If the Universe did indeed come from absolute nothingness than my question is HOW, not WHY

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


Yeah Heidegger did a lot on that exact very question, "Why should there be beings rather than nothing?"...I am disinclined to casually paraphrase a (German-speaking, philology-loving) professional philosopher...but I remember being happy twenty years ago while I was reading his work on that topic..

nothing, nothingness cannot be percieved. its void, empty. everywhere you look there is "something" wether it be a molecule or a planet something exists.

That is easy, nothing is complete in itself. Something on the other hand is a never-ending, never satisfied constantly expanding Universe that cannot stop until it too is complete. The only possible end is for the nothing to be consumed by the something. The something morphs into the everything, making the something complete, it too passes away. When everything is in its place and all the places are filled, you find that nothing is new and that is all you have to look forward to.

Why?... because Nothing doesn't exist.

My above statement is literal.. therefore there has to be something.

Originally posted by EnlightenUp Somethings come from other somethings.

The problem might be that you believe one gives up nothing for something but that might not hold in truth and both may exist, perfectly conserved.

In this here song Lydia Lunch sings...no doubt referencing Shakespeare...NOTHING CAN BECOME OF NOTHING/ I GIVE YOU ALL, YOU GIVE ME NOTHING...

Because if you're nothing, nowhere, then you don't exist at all, well, that's boring. And if your everything, everywhere, you can't go anywhere, well... Cause your already there. That's boring too.

So it's better to be something somewhere rather than nothing nowhere, or everything everywhere.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


Everything = Nothing

One would be correct to say there is nothing in the infinite universe. But with a limited perpecitve comes the appearence of a "somthing"

An excercise to help with meditation on this. If you take a glass of water and play a sound onto the still surface it begins to ripple. If you play all sound frequencies possible it wil return to being smooth again, they all cancell out. If you remove only one sound frequency from all then the glass will begin to ripple as it was from just a single one being played.

Whats not in the universe is what makes it what it appears to be. Or should I say whats not being observed defines what is being observed. So one could say we observe a distillation from the infinite everything, rather than we observe a creation of something from nothing, its actually a somthing from everything which is basically the same thing because everything= nothing.

How paradoxical does this universe wanna be, infinetly I suppose.

reply to post by nine-eyed-eel


Ex nihilo nihil fit

Grendel says, "Nothing comes from nothing."

Billy Preston says, "Nothing from nothing leaves nothing."


Corpus Hermeticum says, "Though Unmanifest God is Most Manifest."

For Thou art all, and there is nothing else which Thou art not. Thou art all that which doth exist, and Thou art what doth not exist - Mind when Thou thinkest, and Father when Thou makest, and God when Thou dost energize, and Good and Maker of all things.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul


I agree with the other posters, there is no such thing as 'nothing'

Even empty blackness is something...you can see it can't you? Its black.

Why do multiple questions like this make me feel like I'm doing someone's philosophy homework for them?

How can you question nothing if there is something?
If there wasn't nothing there couldn't be something
Can you fathom nothing? Therefore there has to be something

Mr_Awesome beat me to it, but here is my take on it anyway:

The verb to be, "is", implies existence. "This is nothing" or "Nothing is" makes no sense: it should be "This isn't".

If "it" is, then "it" exists. But "it" can't be nothing. Therefore "it" is something.

The question is false, because it implies existence, therefore it excludes "nothing".

Why not? I mean seriously.

reply to post by polarwarrior


Everything = nothing?? More like:
Everything = the appearance of nothing: you can't see anything.

From the soundwave example: everything in equilibrium is not the same as nothing. You can't remove "only one sound frequency" from nothing.

So the infinite universe would be everything in equilibrium, and nothing to perceive.

Because even nothing is something.

reply to post by 27th Aquarius


You can make something out of nothing as long as you have something capable molding nothing but. you can never make nothing out of .something.

reply to post by madnessinmysoul

madnessinmysoul,

Now why do you think you have the urge to make the universe either something or nothing?? By all logic, if the universe is infinite, it should house both these concepts. It takes a little indifference to realize that the universe couldn't give a flying hoot what it was. It is potential. It's like asking if a coin is either heads or tails, it is both!! You as an observer can claim you only see one side, that does not mean the other side doesn't excist...

Does that make sense??

Peace