The Reason the Universe Exists is that it Caused Itself to Exist

Philosophy ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-586
Author(s):  
Quentin Smith
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
The Other ◽  
Brute Fact ◽  
Causal Loop ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Backward Causation

Philosophers have traditionally responded to the question, ‘why does the universe exist?’, in one of two ways. One response is that ‘the universe exists because God created it’ and the other response is that ‘the universe exists for no reason—its existence is a brute fact’. Both these responses are inadequate, since a third response is possible, namely, that the reason the universe exists is that it caused itself to exist. There are at least three ways the universe can cause itself to exist, by (1) a closed, simultaneous causal loop at the first instant of time, (2) beginning with a continuum of instantaneous states in a first half-open second, with each state being caused by earlier states, and (3) being caused to exist by backward causation, where a later event causes the big bang to occur. This suggests that the principle, ‘if the universe begins to exist, it has a cause’ does not support theism (as traditionally has been thought) but instead supports atheism.

More Reflections

Tempo ◽  
1983 ◽  
pp. 12-14
Author(s):  
Robert Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
The Other ◽  
Central Axis ◽  
Apparent Absence ◽  
Actual Experience ◽  
Gravitational Pull ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

Any imaginative hypothesis must be seminal, and Jonathan Harvey's is no exception. As he points out, a number of composers have been fascinated by the idea of harmonic structures radiating above and below a central axis in reflecting intervals. He says ‘from either side’ rather than ‘above and below’, and perhaps advisedly, for as soon as the concept of ‘below’ is permitted, so is that of gravity. The thesis depends on the removal of gravity in what is essentially a placeless, directionless space, without perceptible ups, downs, or sides. Swedenborg's rarified and not altogether realistic ideas come from a mysticism that is unclear about the nature of space. There are relative directions in space; it has dimensions; it is full of energy and radiation; in it gravity is inescapable. A man floating between earth and moon may not be aware of it, but he will drift in one direction or the other, according to which gravitational pull is the stronger. We can estimate at least roughly the distances between the galaxies, and their relative positions, their rates of movement away from each other if they do not belong to the same group. If the theory that in music the bass has moved to the middle refers to the apparent absence of an absolute bottom to the universe, it can be regarded as at least plausible, though without much basis in actual experience, and scarcely susceptible to proof. Where is this axis from which things radiate? It is not, presumably, a fixed and all too audible persistent internal pedal. No doubt it was there at the beginning, like the Big Bang, to be afterwards detected only by means of some residual musical radiation. It becomes an imaginary, or remembered, point.

scholarly journals Nuclear Constraints on the Age of the Universe

1983 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 241-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Schramm
Keyword(s):  
Cosmological Constant ◽  
Nuclear Physics ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Distance Scale ◽  
The Other ◽  
Single Measurement ◽  
Age Of The Universe ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Fair Degree

In this paper a review will be made of how one can use nuclear physics to put rather stringent limits on the age of the universe and thus the cosmic distance scale. As the other papers in this session have demonstrated there is some disagreement on the distance scale and thus the limits on the age of the universe (if the cosmological constant Λ = 0.) However, the disagreement is only over the last factor of 2, the basic timescale seems to really be remarkably well agreed upon. The universe is billions of years old - not thousands, not quintillions but billions of years. That our universe has a finite age is philosophically intriguing. That we can estimate that age to a fair degree of accuracy is truly impressive.No single measurement of the time since the Big Bang gives a specific, unambiguous age. Fortunately, we have at our disposal several methods that together fix the age with surprising precision.

A view of the universe before the big bang

2006 ◽  
Vol 190 ◽  
pp. 15-15
Author(s):  
D CASTELVECCHI
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

The Planet in a Pebble

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Zalasiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Mineral Matter ◽  
Supernova Explosions ◽  
Deep Underground ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

This is the story of a single pebble. It is just a normal pebble, as you might pick up on holiday - on a beach in Wales, say. Its history, though, carries us into abyssal depths of time, and across the farthest reaches of space. This is a narrative of the Earth's long and dramatic history, as gleaned from a single pebble. It begins as the pebble-particles form amid unimaginable violence in distal realms of the Universe, in the Big Bang and in supernova explosions and continues amid the construction of the Solar System. Jan Zalasiewicz shows the almost incredible complexity present in such a small and apparently mundane object. Many events in the Earth's ancient past can be deciphered from a pebble: volcanic eruptions; the lives and deaths of extinct animals and plants; the alien nature of long-vanished oceans; and transformations deep underground, including the creations of fool's gold and of oil. Zalasiewicz demonstrates how geologists reach deep into the Earth's past by forensic analysis of even the tiniest amounts of mineral matter. Many stories are crammed into each and every pebble around us. It may be small, and ordinary, this pebble - but it is also an eloquent part of our Earth's extraordinary, never-ending story.

scholarly journals Relativistic Cosmology with an Introduction to Inflation

Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 276
Author(s):  
Muhammad Zahid Mughal ◽  
Iftikhar Ahmad ◽  
Juan Luis García Guirao
Keyword(s):  
Standard Model ◽  
Early Universe ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Relativistic Cosmology ◽  
The Standard Model ◽  
Big Bang Model ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

In this review article, the study of the development of relativistic cosmology and the introduction of inflation in it as an exponentially expanding early phase of the universe is carried out. We study the properties of the standard cosmological model developed in the framework of relativistic cosmology and the geometric structure of spacetime connected coherently with it. The geometric properties of space and spacetime ingrained into the standard model of cosmology are investigated in addition. The big bang model of the beginning of the universe is based on the standard model which succumbed to failure in explaining the flatness and the large-scale homogeneity of the universe as demonstrated by observational evidence. These cosmological problems were resolved by introducing a brief acceleratedly expanding phase in the very early universe known as inflation. The cosmic inflation by setting the initial conditions of the standard big bang model resolves these problems of the theory. We discuss how the inflationary paradigm solves these problems by proposing the fast expansion period in the early universe. Further inflation and dark energy in fR modified gravity are also reviewed.

scholarly journals Dynamo effects in gravity

2019 ◽  
Vol 127 ◽  
pp. 02009
Author(s):  
Boris Shevtsov
Keyword(s):  
Gravitational Constant ◽  
Nonlinear Oscillations ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Baryon Asymmetry ◽  
System Of Equations ◽  
Fractal Structures ◽  
Expansion Of The Universe ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Made In

Nonlinear oscillations in the dynamic system of gravitational and material fields are considered. The problems of singularities and caustics in gravity, expansion and baryon asymmetry of the Universe, wave prohibition of collapse into black holes, and failure of the Big Bang concept are discussed. It is assumed that the effects of the expansion of the Universe are coupling with the reverse collapse of dark matter. This hypothesis is used to substantiate the vortex and fractal structures in the distribution of matter. A system of equations is proposed for describing turbulent and fluctuation processes in gravitational and material fields. Estimates of the di usion parameters of such a system are made in comparison with the gravitational constant.

scholarly journals Searching for space-time variation of the fine structure constant using QSO spectra: overview and future prospects

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (H15) ◽  
pp. 304-304
Author(s):  
J. C. Berengut ◽  
V. A. Dzuba ◽  
V. V. Flambaum ◽  
J. A. King ◽  
M. G. Kozlov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Reactor ◽  
Structure Constant ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fine Structure Constant ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Fundamental Constants ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis ◽  
The Universe

Current theories that seek to unify gravity with the other fundamental interactions suggest that spatial and temporal variation of fundamental constants is a possibility, or even a necessity, in an expanding Universe. Several studies have tried to probe the values of constants at earlier stages in the evolution of the Universe, using tools such as big-bang nucleosynthesis, the Oklo natural nuclear reactor, quasar absorption spectra, and atomic clocks (see, e.g. Flambaum & Berengut (2009)).

A swift and simple refutation of the Kalam cosmological argument?

1999 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLIAM LANE CRAIG
Keyword(s):  
Big Bang ◽  
Cosmological Argument ◽  
Convincing Argument ◽  
Realist Position ◽  
Big Bang Theory ◽  
Simple Demonstration ◽  
Kalam Cosmological Argument ◽  
John Taylor ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

John Taylor complains that the Kalam cosmological argument gives the appearance of being a swift and simple demonstration of the existence of a Creator of the universe, whereas in fact a convincing argument involving the premiss that the universe began to exist is very difficult to achieve. But Taylor's proffered defeaters of the premisses of the philosophical arguments for the beginning of the universe are themselves typically undercut due to Taylor's inadvertence to alternatives open to the defender of the Kalam arguments. With respect to empirical confirmation of the universe's beginning Taylor is forced into an anti-realist position on the Big Bang theory, but without sufficient warrant for singling out the theory as non-realistic. Therefore, despite the virtue of simplicity of form, the Kalam cosmological argument has not been defeated by Taylor's all too swift refutation.

Naming the Big Bang

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helge Kragh
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Community ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Consensus Model ◽  
Initial State ◽  
The Standard Model ◽  
Modern Cosmology ◽  
Fred Hoyle ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Origin Of The Universe

The standard model of modern cosmology is known as the hot big bang, a name that refers to the initial state of the universe some fourteen billion years ago. The name Big Bang introduced by Fred Hoyle in 1949 is one of the most successful scientific neologisms ever. How did the name originate and how was it received by physicists and astronomers in the period leading up to the hot big bang consensus model in the late 1960s? How did it reflect the meanings of the origin of the universe, a concept that predates the name by nearly two decades? Contrary to what is often assumed, the name was not an instant success—it took more than twenty years before Big Bang became a household word in the scientific community. When it happened, it was used with different connotations, as is still the case. Moreover, it was used earlier and more frequently in popular than in scientific contexts, and not always relating to cosmology. It turns out that Hoyle’s celebrated name has a richer and more surprising history than commonly assumed and also that the literature on modern cosmology and its history includes many common mistakes and errors. An etymological approach centering on the name Big Bang provides supplementary insight to the historical understanding of the emergence of modern cosmology.

scholarly journals COSMOLOGICAL CONSTRAINTS FOR THE COSMIC DEFECT THEORY

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (06) ◽  
pp. 1039-1051 ◽  
Author(s):  
NINFA RADICELLA ◽  
MAURO SERENO ◽  
ANGELO TARTAGLIA
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Hubble Constant ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
Nuclear Species ◽  
Type Ia ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Age Of The Universe ◽  
Ia Supernovae ◽  
The Big Bang ◽  
The Universe

The cosmic defect theory has been confronted with four observational constraints: primordial nuclear species abundances emerging from the big bang nucleosynthesis; large scale structure formation in the Universe; cosmic microwave background acoustic scale; luminosity distances of type Ia supernovae. The test has been based on a statistical analysis of the a posteriori probabilities for three parameters of the theory. The result has been quite satisfactory and such that the performance of the theory is not distinguishable from that of the ΛCDM theory. The use of the optimal values of the parameters for the calculation of the Hubble constant and the age of the Universe confirms the compatibility of the cosmic defect approach with observations.

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