John Hawthorne - Why is there "Something" rather than "Nothing"? 

I was riding my bike in the dark last night and had like...a religious experience. I looked up at the dark sky whizzing down the path 20mph, and I thought, "because there is something instead of nothing, something good is going on here even though I have no clue what it is." I don't know why, but that makes sense to me. And it's kinda comforting 'cause when I die something else cool probably happens. I think the odds of death being eternal darkness are like close to 0 'cause if that was the point of all this wouldn't it be easier to make eternal darkness right from the start? Like there's no point of making life and light and then eternal darkness afterwards in death because the creator of this already had that state before making life and light. So the fact there's something means it doesn't end here. I'm kinda 100% sure of it.

I am not an academic. There invariably comes a point in all your discussions where I fail to understand something and scratch my head. But I'm so glad I've found this channel. I always end up with a smile on my face when you guys have finished talking. Thank you.

This channel always makes me think deep af. Thank you for the solid thinking content

The more deeply I think about it, the more logical it seems that there should be nothing. Therefore, reality is inherently illogical, and that is the ultimate paradox.

(8:50) *JH: **_"It feels like, I mean, I'm not saying it's totally obvious, but it seems quite natural and intuitive to me to think that insofar as you're going to believe there are claims, then you should think that they exist necessarily."_* ... This rather confusing statement is what happens whenever someone tries to isolate one side of a dichotomy. The question _"Why is there something instead of nothing?"_ is a non sequitur because *something* is the opposite of *nothing,* and we cannot have one without the other. ... We must have both to comprehend what either represents! *Example:* If we asked, _"Why is there positive and not negative?"_ this would seem silly because one is merely the opposite of the other. If positive did not exist, then negative wouldn't be negative because there's nothing to offer clarity as to what negative represents. Likewise, if negative did not exist, then positive wouldn't be positive for the same reason. The best example is what we call "up" and "down" along with "left" and "right." Without these oppositional pairings there is no movement. *Example:* If the only direction available was "up" then there is no upward movement. There wouldn't be anything below you to move up from. Likewise, if the only direction that existed was "left," then there would be no leftward movement because there wouldn't be anything to the right of wherever you currently are. ... You would just be locked wherever you are. *Existence and Nonexistence* represent the fundamental dichotomy to which all other dichotomies have emerged. This first archetypal dichotomy is as low as conceivability will allow you to regress while still adhering to logic.

I think the puddle analogy kind of gives us a clue on this one, for us to say the puddle fits us at all there has to be a puddle first. The possibility of nothing is a possibility, but not as soon as there is someone to ask the question.

Fascinating. I feel that the Universe is not a thing, a noun - it is a verb, an action or process. I am that I am.

I literally think about this every day. Life is just so incongruous in and of itself!

When we sleep at night, there are dreams, but also there is part of sleep where there is no experience at all. Dreams can be vert real, so perhaps what we think is life is just another dream. We always seem to be aware much of the time and Consciousness or a sense of consciousness, seems to be always present.

I think, therefore I am.

That discussion solved nothing.

The moment you ask a question why is there something, you are already admitting to alternatives of something or nothing.

Appreciate Mr Kuhn's series. 👍

What a lovely discussion really enjoyed watching, would love to watch more. thank you

Because something exists then it must be absolutely metaphysically true that the possibility of something to exist has always existed.

Theists are not wrong to try to answer this question. It is not a question that can be countenanced by natural science.

If the universe is finite, does that mean “nothing exists” outside its boundaries? And if there is nothing, then there is a “place” where nothing is a possibility.

Let us say we’re are essentially non-physical beings but we are capable of pulling up the illusion of the physical in order to experiment with possibilities.

Even if nothing exists, the possibility for something to exists still exists (because here we are). Existence it seems is much deeper than just what we see and experience or can comprehend. The bubble of reality we see and live in is just that. A bubble. There is more.

I don’t see why people insist that “from nothing, nothing comes.” We know so little about nothingness, and that state is so remote from our experience that we couldn’t trust our common sense about nothingness. When we ponder quantum theory or the speed of light, reality becomes counterintuitive. True nothingness, and what can come from it, might be as incomprehensible to us.

Everything you see IS nothing; but in a temporary state that seems like something.

Remember that other show about nothing? Which one did you like better?

This is my best guest - I believe the incorrect assumption you're making which makes it appear that there is a paradox, is that there is only one universe or only one reality. Assuming the universe could have had nothing in it, that leaves us with at least 2 possible universes, (our universe, and a nothing universe) which causes us confusion why its one over the other. The universe doesn't have a choosing mechanism, the only logical conclusion is that there is only one possible universe, one where all possible things exist while all self contradicting things don't exist. Of course we then find ourselves in the branch which has matter, energy, life, consciousness, and has us. This also solves the "fine tuning problem." This is also in line with the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. When there are multiple possible states, they each are equally real. The most fundamental law of physics is that paradoxes don't exist, all laws then follow from that, including the law of all possibilities.

Plot twist: You are both NOTHING and EVERYTHING 😉

8:06 this is actually the key to it all right here (funny how they stumbled into it). Possibility is only defined by the constraints placed on it. No constraints means infinite possibility, which yields everything.

According to the Vedas, most of the time there are no particles in the universe. Viṣṇu's glance penetrates from outside the universe to produce the possibility of objects.

I think that logically,we can say that there is something rather than nothing, because we exist,if we don't exist we wouldn't say nor think that there is something,no one even bother to think nothing, because it is nothing

we cannot not think of something called 'nothing' simply because nothing is not a thing.

I ask myself: What would exist even if noting existed? A (theoretical) circle? Therefore the (theoretical) endless number Pi? Maybe other theoretical circles, points and shapes that interact with each other mathematically? Could this be enough to spawn the whole universe? Maybe the universe and time is the number PI trying to resolve itself?

The real question is where does information come from...??

This question is framed in a dualistic manner - drawing a line between 'something' and 'nothing', yet philosophies such as buddhism speak of the non-duality of nothingness and form, such that any given thing's real essence is actually nothingness however it appears. So in this case the answer to the question 'why is there something rather than nothing' is 'there isn't'.

Existence, what does it mean, something that has been manifested in our 3+1 dimension, if it’s not manifested it doesn’t exist. Why is there something instead of nothing? What if something only exists in 8D, or in a completely different realm, does it exist or not? The question should be rephrased, why is there something in 3+1D instead of nothing?

The real question is Could there have been content in this video rather than what we see here which is a bunch of nothing hahaha

A simple answer. It’s not good for man to be alone. 👍

"let me just work up the plane of existence." Like it's a a Saturday :)

How can you ask a question if there is nothing?

If there's nothing can there be darkness? If there's nothing can there be something invisible? If there's nothing can there be something outside of nothing?

Why is it that some questions are meaningful and some questions, even though they are grammatically correct, are not?

"nothing" simply isn't. All existence is a reaction to the abominable idea of "nothing".

The possibility of creation is infinite. The possibility of non-creation is also infinite. We exist as part of the creation, hence not capable of looking into the infinite void.

God made an appearance right at the end. And really the idea of a God feels like it's hampered us in understanding reality but has helped in giving a stable outlook for our minds. We need to feel we are at the centre of things, whether via a God or human omnipotence. The reality seems to be that we weren't inevitable. If you start from that it's not so far to ask whether anything was inevitable. But if reality was inevitable then perhaps everything is, if we believe in the idea of infinite worlds for example. But whether nothing could have existed or not, the reality is that something does. And inevitably people will ask why, as if there had to be a purpose. If there was no purpose then we have to create our own purpose, but can we even do that? Many people now believe reality as we know it will go on long after humans cease existing.

Maybe existence has always existed, so to speak! Perhaps there was no beginning and no end..i.e eternity. Eternal amount of universes..no starting point and no end point. The key word is consciousness.

I don't know about others but I had such question multiple times in my life once when I was sitting on the chair and I had nothing to do then I felt something extremely weird I had an existential level of feeling and I had a question why is life so random then I had a question that from where is this existence comming from and then I had this last question that why do this whole existence exist this is also possible that there was nothing to exist at all

it was a good and deep discussion. It seems to me that it's very difficult to arrive at any firm conclusion on such fondamental questions, science is not yet ready for them.

When I look at my bank account...

Why does ‘awesome’ have positive connotations while ‘awful’ has negative connotations?

Figuring out how there is "something" rather than "nothing" should be the aim. Let the why come after.

You'd need something divine if absolutely nothing were possible.

Seinfeld was a show about nothing.

Just one question. What did you guys say?

What I want to know is if the universe is infinite or simply so big that there are billions of indentical copies of myself - if every atom down to the last quark is identical then why am I only aware of and experience this particular instance?

If there was nothing it would only be nothing for zero time so it's immaterial. Absolutely nothing wouldn't last for any length of time whatsoever. Something is the only state with time.

Nothing is something that is not contemplatable and given the way our brains work we cannot contemplate what nothing is ever. It is as unexplainable as what was before the great expansion.

"Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin' You gotta have somethin' if you wanna be with me" (Billy Preston 1997)

how do we provide proof of both capacity and opportunity of conceptualizing a particular scenario, in this case "nothing", when the way we process information requires something to begin our thought process... 🤔 maybe it's easier to start with the possibility of existence of the most elementary units of reality rather then more complex ideas that stem from such units...

The much touted "problem of evil" is an error resulting directly from the false premise of a philosophy of nothing.

Basically put, the reason why there is something rather than nothing is because energy and matter can be created but cannot be destroyed.

Kurt Vonnegut said the question "Why is there something rather than nothing?" signifies only neurosis.

Has anyone ever questioned Kuhn on the whole contradiction of his dream. He will often say "As a child he had a dream that nothing could have existed..." How can Kuhn be fearful of a nothing universe when he could not possibly witness it. If Kuhn existed in a nothing universe, then that universe would by definition have something.

If I have 'nothing' but 'something', and the 'something' was 'nothing', would that then mean that 'nothing' is 'something' and that 'something' is 'nothing'? I have nothing more to say, and that's saying something.

Is there something or nothing? Nothing is not something but something is not nothing. Not not something is something but not not not something is nothing or you could say it’s not not nothing. 😂

Ha, so Brad Pitt has recurring nightmares about being stabbed to death, and Rob loses sleep over nothing? So based!

Excellent discussion

Excuse my ignorance but how the truth and claims are necessary? Human existence is not necessary. If there were no humans around ever or any other intelligent beings, who then would think about truths and claims? Am I wrong?

Defining "nothing" seems impossible. It's like defining time -- impossible.

Beautiful. I can sleep at night now!

'Why' is such a meaningless question, but in his defense, that's not what he's really intending to ask. What he's actually trying to get at is 'how'?

It's logically possible that nothing existed (e.g. not a contradiction). Why should that bother me?

Somethingness creates nothingness and never the other way round.

So in terms of answering the question this conversation got us precisely nowhere.

If there was nothing, how would you know?

Maybe consciousness always existed and somehow it created time and all that is physical.

A lot of incoherent questions and statements in this one but otherwise a good discussion. The statement “there could have been nothing” makes no sense because “nothing” is not a state of being. A better way to phrase it would be to ask, “why is there existence?” We can’t talk about non existence as if it’s real. The fact that spacetime exists at all is quite an impossibility in my opinion. -John

If reality is the totality of all existences and is infinite then something must always exist.

For anyone to even think that they can provide a coherent or meaningful answer to this question is the epitome of arrogance.

I agree with Advaita Vedanta (Brahman) - consciousness is the ground of all being... brains and bodies are merely instuments that tune into that ocean. Intuitively true.

All possibilities necessarily manifest in reality according to Feynmans path integral in the one current reality, and if your high level possibility (like a chair or a purple swan) is not manifested than it never really was a possibility on the Feynman level. And therefore the current world is the best of all possible worlds a la Leibniz, because it's necessarily the world. If you feel like agreeing with his colleague that everything that currently exists exists necessarily

Because Something was more Compact.

You can easily observe that not everything exists. Of the things that could happen to you next, the overwhelming majority are nonsense. Pause for a moment. Here you are still in a relatively orderly universe.

There is no such thing as nothing! No such thing as empty Space, this nothing is actually Something. So where does nothing come from, is there a beginning? Maybe by seeking the answer I'm already starting on the wrong foot.....but if that's the case, what to do........ 🎸💚

I get obsessed with the very fabric of reality to the brink of madness 🤔

The greater nothing would have to exclude all other possible universes, would it not? Interesting, considering that they should be irrelevant anyway since no information exchange is ever possible?

True nothingness can't exist. If it existed it would be something. I don't think humans can comprehend a complete void of anything similar to the postmortem state or what's beyond our Universe. 'Something' is all we know and all there is. Other than that it's just a word or mind game. Strange concept when you think about it - nothingness not existing.

If truths and claims exist as Hawthorne states, then we must be able to create them. Concepts like democracy, private property, friendship, value - these weren’t possible until humans conceived of them. So Plato’s world of essences must be affected by the physical world and vice versa. This suggests that existence is monistic - an integrated whole - not dualistic between the physical and ideal.

There is something here . . . an egghead bromance.

Perhaps the single greatest, pointless enquiry. There is something. And devoid of need or ego, there is no 'why'. It just is.

Existence and nonexistence, something and nothing are just concepts. We have to transcend these, then we touch the nature of reality.

I have been posting for several years on Kuhn's videos that you can't have nothing, that it is not possible, because if you try to describe it, then it is something. This video marks the first time that Kuhn ever mentions this to one of his interviewees (at least that I am aware of), and I feel pretty sure it is because he read my comment one or more times. And Hawthorne had no real answer to this that made any sense. How can there not be space? And can there be space without time. I say yes. If the space has absolutely nothing happening in any way, a true vacuum with just empty space, then there is no change and therefore there is no time. Time is measured against change. In fact, my argument that there can't be nothing because of what I explained above, was picked up by a well-known atheist debater on RU-vid. I'm pretty certain that he also got the idea from me because I never heard him say it until I started posting it. Our universe may have had a beginning, but in the same way that a mother gives birth to a child. If our universe had a beginning then it came from something else. There was always something and there will always be something, even if that something is empty space. And if you say that a god created everything then still there was always something.... the god that created everything. So no matter how you slice it, there was always something. It is just a brute fact that there must always be something. For there to be nothing, that is illogical. For the record, I don't believe in any gods, at least none that I have heard about. The universe and all in it is a mystery but I believe there are non-supernatural reasons for its existence.

Why is there something rather than nothing ? Why does the world keep on turning ? Why do the stars keep on shining ? Don't they know it's the end of the world ?

You cannot have particles without space or time. That is not logical unless particles you define as eternal.

The existence of matter demands a Creator. Object credit giving has always been called into question. It’s called idolatry, ascribing attributes to physical things that they do not have. Information is not something physical things are able to produce. When you see information that has meaning and purpose, you know that it is not the product of the physical universe. The credit goes to a higher order than the universe since the universe cannot make or direct itself.

Nothing is poorly defined to-date. Nothing is not void of potential. Talking of something is also ill-defined.

Great last question Robert

Why is there "something" rather than "nothing"? Is the question today irrelevant, or academic, or is it our ability to ask the question that makes it relevant.

Nothing and Something are duality's therefore both of them exists as one :)

The maximum nothing exist when thing will be at it's minimum. It's like shadow and light or matter and antimatter. I'm I right?! I don't know!

Change is universal and constant. To have change there must be something to change. Existence is dynamic even change changes. Any entity relatively changes with any alteration of a perspective point. “Nothing”, is just that, nothing, the concept of change has no relationship to it, but the existence of nothing allows change. Therefore, “Nothing” exists because it has an effect. In this, the infinite and nothing are beyond our comprehension.

Why is the something rather than nothing? That is the eternal question Georges Lamaitre caused us to ask. The universe itself doesn't think like that, only religion does. Our universe has no concept of time or size. Only humans do. Everything was already here 13.8 billion years ago. Why has nobody ever thought that? Our universe slammed two objects together and turned itself into a particle collider with two already existing objects. The galaxies are shrapnel from this event. Isn't that the only thing that could have been? What else could it have been? Why create questions that will never end? What is scientific about that?

So it’s like if something is possible then you can philosophise about it but not if it’s impossible, or something like that lol

It’s still nothing! We just get how it looks behind our eyes, but it’s really nothing! Form is emptiness, emptiness is form.