The Mystery of Existence

This compelling study of the origins of all that exists, including explanations of the entire material world, traces the responses of philosophers and scientists to the most elemental and haunting question of all: why is anything here—or anything anywhere? Why is there something rather than nothing? Why not nothing? It includes the thoughts of dozens of luminaries from Plato and Aristotle to Aquinas and Leibniz to modern thinkers such as physicists Stephen Hawking and Steven Weinberg, philosophers Robert Nozick and Derek Parfit, philosophers of religion Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne, and the Dalai Lama.

• The first accessible volume to cover a wide range of possible reasons for the existence of all reality, from over 50 renowned thinkers, including Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Leibniz, Hume, Bertrand Russell, Stephen Hawking, Steven Weinberg, Robert Nozick, Derek Parfit, Alvin Plantinga, Richard Swinburne, John Polkinghorne, Paul Davies, and the Dalai Lama
• Features insights by scientists, philosophers, and theologians
• Includes informative and helpful editorial introductions to each section
• Provides a wealth of suggestions for further reading and research
• Presents material that is both comprehensive and comprehensible

About the Editors vii

Acknowledgments viii

1 General Introduction 1

2 Some Quotations 13

Leibniz, Kant 13

Schopenhauer, William James, George Santayana, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell, J.J.C. Smart 14

John A. Wheeler, Stephen Hawking, Steven Weinberg 15

3 Possible Responses to “Why Anything?” 16

Nicholas Rescher 16

4 First Solution: A Blank is Absurd 18

Editorial Introduction 18

F.H. Bradley, Henri Bergson 24

Bede Rundle 25

David Lewis 26

Peter Unger 30

Steven Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow 39

5 Second Solution: No Explanation Needed 41

Editorial Introduction 41

Epicurus 46

David Hume 47

Fred Hoyle 49

W.B. Bonnor 51

Bertrand Russell and F.C. Copleston 53

Adolf Grünbaum 56

6 Third Solution: Chance 71

Editorial Introduction 71

Alan H. Guth 77

Stephen Hawking 82

Alex Vilenkin 90

Martin Rees 98

Peter van Inwagen 98

7 Fourth Solution: Value/Perfection as Ultimate 101

Editorial Introduction 101

Plato 109

Aristotle 110

Plotinus 111

St. Thomas Aquinas 112

St. Anselm 113

René Descartes 114

Alvin Plantinga 115

Benedict Spinoza 118

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 119

G.W.F. Hegel 122

A.C. Ewing 123

Keith Ward 125

John Polkinghorne 125

John Leslie 126

8 Fifth Solution: Mind/Consciousness as Ultimate 142

Editorial Introduction 142

Richard Swinburne 147

Timothy O’Connor 153

William Lane Craig 155

Sayyed Hossein Nasr 159

Tenzin Gyatso, Dalai Lama XIV 160

Andrei Linde 161

Paul Davies 163

9 Fine-Tuning and Multiple Universes 171

Editorial Introduction 171

John Polkinghorne 178

Leonard Susskind 189

Steven Weinberg 192

Max Tegmark 194

Robin A. Collins 207

10 The Problem Seems Genuine 211

Editorial Introduction 211

Derek Parfit 220

Robert Nozick 238

Robert Lawrence Kuhn 246

Michael Heller 278

Nicholas Rescher 284

Bibliography and Further Reading 289

Index of Names 310

Index of Concepts 313

“In this deep and thoughtful book, philosopher
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_A._Leslie" John Leslie and public sage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Lawrence_Kuhn" Robert Lawrence Kuhn organize, integrate, and reassess past and current ideas about this most compelling of metaphysical questions.”
(Metapsychology, 13 August 2013)

“And now John Leslie and Robert Lawrence Kuhn have published http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470673559/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p14_d0_i3
The Mystery of Existence: Why Is There Anything At All?, a very useful anthology of classic and contemporary readings.”
(First Things, 24 July 2013)

“Read the book by all means. It's well written. Inevitably. After all its contributors number the greatest brains known to man. But I think it has been misnamed. The Mystery of Existence. (There really isn't anything to concern us.).”
(New Nurturing Potential, 1 July 2013)

“I certainly recommend it, but it is not the sort of book you would buy to read in the train.”
(Magonia Blog, 6 June 2013)

"Their book, which I would recommend highly to students, researchers or indeed anyone with a curiosity about or stimulated by these deepest of questions, offers an abundance of suggestions for further reading and research on this inexhaustible topic."
(Mysterious Planet, 1 June 2013)

John Leslie is University Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Guelph, Canada, and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Robert Lawrence Kuhn is a public intellectual and the creator and host of Closer To Truth, the long-running PBS / public television series on science and philosophy.

"A skillful, comprehensive review of scientific, philosophical and theological attempts to answer ultimate questions of existence. What, if anything, came before the big bang? If our universe appeared from nothing in a law-like way, then where did the laws come from?" Paul Davies, Director, BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University, Author of The Goldilocks Enigma: Why the Universe is Just Right for Life

"Some of the best thought on what may be the most fundamental question of all: Why does anything exist? Readers won't find a definite answer – perhaps there isn't one that we're capable of understanding – but they will at least get a feel for the nature of the question." Martin J. Rees, Astronomer Royal (UK), Author of Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe

"A very useful collection containing many of the most prominent responses to the question why there is something rather than nothing, with helpful introductions by the editors." Richard Swinburne, University of Oxford, Author of The Existence of God

"An indispensable resource for anyone who wants to think seriously about the questions, 'Why is there something – and not rather nothing?' and 'Why is there this something – and not rather some entirely different "something"?'" Peter van Inwagen, the University of Notre Dame, Author of Existence: Essays in Ontology

The Mystery of Existence asks the haunting question: Why does anything exist? Anything of any kind, anywhere. The first edited volume to cover an extremely wide variety of solutions to what must be the ultimate mystery, it features dozens of luminaries. They range from Plato and Aristotle to Aquinas and Leibniz, and then to modern thinkers. These include physicists Stephen Hawking and Steven Weinberg, philosophers Robert Nozick and Derek Parfit, philosophers of religion Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne, and the Dalai Lama. Some answers are philosophical, some are theological or religious, and yet others come from physics and cosmology – fields in which debate on the deep origin of all reality continues to rage.

Whether you believe the universe began with a quantum-fluctuation big bang or in the creative consciousness of a divine designer, here is a feast for the mind. With enlightening introductions to each section, and offering a wealth of suggestions for further reading, The Mystery of Existence provides general readers, students, and researchers with a readily accessible map of the many diverse paths humans have followed when confronted by the most baffling of all enigmas: Why is there something rather than nothing?

“Recent discoveries in cosmology have led to a renewed surge of interest in ultimate questions of existence. What, if anything, came before the big bang? If the universe appeared from nothing in a law-like manner, then where did the laws come from, and why do they have the form that they do? Or is our universe but an infinitesimal fragment of an eternal, infinite sea of diverse laws and universes? This book provides a comprehensive review of attempts to grapple with such foundational questions, and skillfully charts the intersection of science, philosophy and theology. The authors have assembled an intellectual feast for all those who care about physical existence, the universe and our place within it.”

—Paul Davies, Director, BEYOND Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University
Author of The Goldilocks Enigma: Why the Universe is Just Right for Life


“This book gathers together some of the best that has been thought and written on what may be the most fundamental question of all: Why does anything exist? Readers won’t find a definite answer – perhaps there isn’t one that we’re capable of understanding – but they will at least get a feel for the nature of the question. And in philosophy, understanding the question is in itself an important step
forward.”

—Martin J. Rees, Astronomer Royal (UK)
Author of Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe


“A very useful collection containing many of the most prominent responses to the question why there is something rather than nothing, with helpful introductions by the editors.”

—Richard Swinburne, University of Oxford
Author of The Existence of God


“This book will be an indispensable resource for anyone who wants to think seriously about the questions, ‘Why is there something – and not rather nothing?’ and ‘Why is there this something – and not rather some entirely different “something”?’”

—Peter van Inwagen, the University of Notre Dame
Author of Existence: Essays in Ontology