SCIENCE AND FAITH: Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?
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What is the most basic question of all? How about “why is there something rather than nothing?” That’s even more basic than “why am I here” or “what is the purpose of my life?”
Philosopher Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716) was a German polymath (i.e. extraordinarily smart person) and logician who said the most fundamental question of all was precisely that, why is there something rather than nothing.
His conclusion was that the answer to the question brings us face-to-face with the absolute necessity for the existence of God. Otherwise, nothing else, including us, would exist. It’s what philosophers and theologians today refer to as “The Contingency Argument.”
The following video from reasonablefaith.org provides an entertaining and thoughtfully accessible explanation of the how and why:
Have you ever watched Bill Craig’s Sunday School presentations? As a whole, a tour de force. They can be found at Reasonable Faith.
Is the list of necessary existence really only two items? “Nothing” does not have a cause: by the argument it is therefore a necessary existence. It should be on that list.
Alternately, are Necessary and Contingent the only two possible forms of existence?
That’s an interesting question, SS396. How about Something? BTW, my favorite was the 66 SS396. And I absolutely loved the Corvette Grand Sport (only five of which were ever built).