Why is there SOMETHING rather than NOTHING?

[@benkehargitai1688]

For some time now, I have fallen in love with the answer: "It just is". It's just so incredibly liberating...

[@AlexTrusk91]

Don't ask don't tell. Normally liberating one self from seeking insights seems like a bad, even purposly ignorant, plan. But I guess we can make an exception for something noone can be expected to answer anyways. :D

[@benkehargitai1688]

Thanks for the clarification. 100% agree. I only meant the answer to this specific question, and its "siblings" (other formulations). Except here, seeking patterns and causes can be useful.

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

I think about this question a lot. I'm kind of inclined to believe that something just has to be. The closest we can conceive to nothing is a vacuum, but even that presupposes dimension and time. If the closest that there can be to true nothingness is just a void, then it could be that such a void is like a cosmic blank slate, pure potentiality. Which then becomes actuality.

[@Klayhamn]

somehow the possibility of "absolute nothingness" seems natural to us because we are used to things existing due to other processes causing them to exist or shaping them. but it just may be the case that in fact this "hypothetical absolute nothingness" - if it were even possible in any meaningful way - is simply more specific than infinity infinity does not "commit" to any one specific form, shape, or state of affairs - in fact, it is ALL possible forms, shapes and states of affairs so there is something more natural, in my opinion, about the infinity of possibilities actually "existing" in some way phrased a different way: "anything that can exist, does - in some form" this includes possibly realities that we cannot even fathom, maybe ones were the very fundamental "rules" of logic , math etc. behave completely differently. e.g. a universe were contradictions are actually possible and things can be A and its opposite at the same "time", etc. or realities were there is no concept of space or time but a completely different "way" of "being". all these fantastical realities might simply "exist" as a necessity simply by virtue of being one of the infinite possible enumerations, in a manner similar to how every integer is "forced" to exist by necessity by simply being the successor or predecessor of some other integer - and of the series being infinite.

[@TH3F4LC0Nx]

@@Klayhamn I've actually come to believe pretty much that over time myself. If it can be, it is and probably always has been and will be. I'm pretty much inclined towards like modal realism - all possible worlds are, in some form or fashion, real. However, I'm not sure about worlds that would contradict logic. I don't know how/that there could be a reality in which 2+2 did not =4. I think logic may very well be the true universal constant, if not the thing that permits anything to be anyway.

[@SkemeKOS]

I can not conceive the idea of true nothingness, other than to think of it in terms of how a video game world is created. It simply does not exist.... until it does. I know that isn't a good way of thinking about it, but my brain isn't capable of picturing anything else.

[@Klayhamn]

@@TH3F4LC0Nx as I see it, logic is a model that we developed to describe the world we see. Insofar as it fits the reality it makes sense and is coherent and consistent . But in a completely different reality where the very concept of amounts of numbers may be more "fuzzy " or different , you might get completely different logical system . Think for example of how quantum physics revealed that the idea of "location " or "time " itself are not what we used to think they are. For example the idea of absolute time or simultanity seems to make sense to us but turns out to be false. Similarly electrons can truly be in "more than one place at the same time ". The classical idea that an object can only be at one place at a time turned out to be false in our universe .

[@AlexTrusk91]

Even emptyness, real, proper emptyness, would still be something, the stage for something, a volume unmeassured in lack of tools. but still something

[@thethirdchimpanzee]

Yeah, which makes wonder sometimes if the reason there is something, anything at all, is because true nothingness can't...um...exist - it's a nonsense concept, and contradiction. Any kind of nothingness we can imagine is still something...because if we say that there can be *true* Nothingness, than we are says that Nothingness is a thing that exists. (Where though!? It can't *be* ANYWHERE or it would BE something!) It's the absence of things which exist. The opposite. Which gets into Taoist ideas "The Nothingingness that can be told, is not the true Nothingness." Perhaps another world instead of Nothingness is Nonexistence. And Nonexistence be a state that...exists? If so, then it's clearly NOT True Nonexistence - instead it...again, I am reminded of Taoism or Daoism...what I imagine of as "Nonexistence" is the *opposite* of a thing - Existence - so you have a Duality, the Yin and Yang, my Nothingness and my Nonexistence are Opposites of something, so they are still SOMETHING, and a TRUE Nothingness or TRUE Nonexistence, would not be the opposite of anything. Because, it doesn't exist, it's not a thing, it is a "no thing" as some Daoists would say. But anyway, so TRUE Nothingness, or TRUE Nonexistence don't exist....can't exists...because if they were Something - Some Thing - and...*UGH*, this is SO HARD for me to try to explain, bit basically, the arguments I'd, that the REASON there is Something, rather than Nothing, and they reason the there is Existence, rather than Nonexistenxes is because Nonexistence is a meaningless concept (at least for the sake of this argument) because you can't have a state of "no state" There is Something rather than Nothing, and Existence rather than Nonexistence...is because you can't HAVE true Nonexistence. You know, humans are just hairless chimpanzees with freakishly oversized brains...and trying to communicate these grand idead of existence using a language that evolved to tell other apes where the best fruit was...why should we be anymore capable of understanding the the true nature of existence than a chimpanzee is. We think that we are "smarter" and "more conscious" than the other animals...but probably there are levels of intelligence and self-awareness and consciousness that are so much more advanced and complex than we are, that compared to us, we are like apes...or even amoeba by comparison, and they can comprehend the nature of reality much better than we can.

[@jaydenmillett9274]

I like to think that the natural state of being is total balance and something kicked it off and it’s like a sine wave of the universe jumping between states of existence and jumping back into non existence as a way to self correct itself and ultimately jumps back into a state of being again

[@JimothyJenkins420]

The tranquility of the background music and your relaxed presentation manner is wonderful. Thank you for sharing this information in such a soothing way.

[@TurtlesWayDown]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Shining.Darkness]

That's exactly my recent thoughts. Where did concept of nothingness even come from? Where do all truths arise from? My own deductions led me to conclude that nothingness is actually = unknown/uncertainty itself by the way, because if you remove literally everything, all that will be left is unknown/undefined.

[@phutureproof]

if there is nothing to observe the nothingness then I think it's in a state beyond unknown or undefined, not sure what I'd call that though

[@Shining.Darkness]

@eproofI think closest we can get to it is through realizing how nothingness is even created. Concept of lack is a primary quality of nothingness and the more you apply this "lack" to something the closer to nothing it gets. Funnily enough that's why most people suffer too, it's when they get subjected to concept of lack being applied to them. Anyway, if you keep applying that lack to something you indeed may end up with nothing, but since we are trying to define that nothingness from outside we will always percieve it as something undefined. Empty space and something undefined just look exactly same way in my mind, I dunno, that's how it is. And even if you try to put yourself on a place of that nothingness you will not have any experiences at all, because nothingness can't do anything! So yeah, it seems like all evil is based on lack and nothingness.

[@SkemeKOS]

I havent watched the video yet, but I used to think about this kind of question very often as a 10-12 yr old kid, and it would drive me mad. I think it was after I heard about the nonsensical big bang theory, that got me thinking about it. It just never made sense how there could be literally NOTHING. The concept of NOTHING makes more sense to me now, but not much.

[@siquod]

Related question: Why does only specific stuff exist rather than everything possible? (Note that assuming that everything possible does indeed actually exist leads to a complete loss of any predictive power and inductive reasoning, and becomes increasingly falsified with every second that passes in an orderly world)

[@johnwick2018]

Why isnt there nothing rather than something?

[@chaosincarnate7304]

This video was insightful. Also, I love the background music and I'd love the link to the original or at least the name!

[@TurtlesWayDown]

Hi @chaosincarnate7304, I've now included a link in the description for the background music. Thanks.

[@dukeon]

Master Dōgen would say, “Mu!”

[@DNE2012]

I've asked myself this question for years and my mind goes really funny, i can't explain it when i think what nothing would be, to give it a description would make it something

[@SeanSpecker]

i gotta go with if there was nothing we wouldn't know it. no other option.

[@lonesomealeks4206]

The something is inside the nothing. The absolute nothing also contains an infinite potential for something. Now, is 'potential' something rather than nothing? Is the immaterial idea something or nothing?

[@Konspirantas]

Had not viewed the video yet. Here's my take. Something is due to it being able to continue being. In nothing, whenever there is something, it turns back to nothing if it does not hold a property of holding on to being. If something has that property, it will remain something for as long as being is maintained. Withing limitless time, therefore, a something will appear that holds being indefinitely, and such there will be something rather than nothing. Its existential math, a direct result of an ability for nothing and something to be. And as nothing can not be and therefore hold a property of being, there only can be something. Shiiit even pure true vacuum has 'virtual' particles popping in and out of existence. Weird stuff mate.

[@sprightlyrandom1550]

I am not satisfied with it coming from ‘nothing’ as I define nothing as not even having possibility for something. I am also not satisfied with there always being something because that would suggest an infinite past which raises all kinds of questions. Ultimately my dissatisfaction is caused by my definition of what time and cause is and I’m stuck maybe having to accept against all intuition that I can never understand the true nature of concepts like time or cause

[@oliverlloyd8762]

Infinity doesn't really exist so therefore there cannot be nothing.

[@elonmusk4490]

Infinity is impossible so the highly improbable existence of spacetime is an eventuality.

[@SuatUstel]

Are we living in block universe?

[@TurtlesWayDown]

You may be correct, but how can you be certain that infinities cannot exist in reality?

[@SuatUstel]

@TurtlesWayDown infinity is a concept can be useful in maths but in practice events become meaningless and pointless such as big bangs..creations...

[@michaelransom5841]

hmm.. i have come to much the same conclusion as you... I think that statistics and probability can't not exist, these maths come how apply even outside of the realm of existence... I know... This isn't much different than teleological answers, but it is interesting that the mathematics of probability can still be applied to "nothingness"... and when combined with the Penrose model of scale... you run into some strange paradoxes when there is no reference for the passage of time, or a measure of scale.. infinitely large and infinitely small are indistinguishable... It seems that we always run into nothingness becoming unstable as there becomes an infinite number of states of being, that dwarf the single state of non-existence.... as so long as things can change, then things must exist.

[@Farmergreg4082]

Good video

[@TurtlesWayDown]

Thank you

[@efrencanaria4263]

"i am NOTHING god i am" my son , i am here to protect you . be hold !

[@cpcnw]

What is the ambient back track please?

[@TurtlesWayDown]

Hi @cpcnw, I've now included a link in the description for the background music. Thanks.

[@Mistoffillies2]

There must have been something that has always existed. There can't literally have ever been nothing.

[@darrenjames6309]

Nature abhors a vacuum implies there is nature so it's incorrect. The answer seems simple to me. Nothingness would not have anything definable, no time, no possibility, no past, no dimensions. Since we have those things we can conclude that nothingness was simply not possible and there was therefore always 'something'. There no more we can know. End of!

[@kcz6865]

Nothingness can exist in only one way, and the Universe in infinitely many ways (you can imagine various laws of physics, etc.), so the Universe is more likely (the probability of existence of nothing tends to zero)

[@AlexTrusk91]

Then... How is there something rather than nothing?

[@apparentbeing]

Where's the rainbow when it's gone? There are only illusions and ultimately nothing.

[@michaelward878]

The Universe Works like a giant quantum computer and it was preprogrammed to do exactly what you see. The all seeing eye generation. 20 20 20 vision

[@pinchopaxtonsgreatestminds9591]

Because nothing is made from something 1 + -1 = 0.... next!

[@SkemeKOS]

That's how I see it. 'Nothing' is still something. Some people often view 'nothing' as just blackness, but that is still something lol

[@beam5655]

​@@SkemeKOSNope, you are imagining a vacuum, not true nothingness. True nothing is like the state before you were born, and after you die, it's impossible to fathom

[@kasungamage2716]

🌎

[@AlexTrusk91]

0 -> 1 or 1 -> 1 both are unsatisfying. Either the kick-off-cause had no cause for itself, braking logic (at least into the past), or the first cause had not to obey logic (compatible with religious thoughts and god knows what else), therefore braking logic in a slightly different way. THe logic that everything needs a cause, and a cause is something, and therefore needs a cause, isn't even complete with a ring-like timeline, because then said ring would need a cause. fundamentally, it seems we need to kiss this logic goodbye, because it can't cause itself all the way back. That's why I'm agnostic, in a nutshell. It's just my current state I can truthfully express. TLDR: I have no idea, just like everyone else, including the brightest minds of current and past times. DUnno if it stays that way or if we have a chance to grasp this fundamental question. Therefore can't even decide on weak vs. strong agnosticism, But I can wish everyone a great time, may it be a slightly different definition what constitues such for all of you :)

[@phutureproof]

Braking logic like the harder you press it the faster you stop?

[@milog7193]

first XD