is darkness the absence of no light or is there only light with the absent of darkness?

Question

which was first ( i know this sounds simple but think about the question before you answer please)

Answer 1

It is impossible to conceive of one without the other. I do not believe one came first; they emerged (were created, whatever) simultaneously. Figure and ground; yin and yang; there's no light without darkness, and not even a concept of darkness in the absence of light.

Answer 2

It appears all the known universe currently has opposites. It may be different in an evolved future, that's unknown.
We would not know light except for darkness;and could not know darkness without light. In order to grow in understanding we currently need opposites.
Consider this.
If you were a point of consciousness floating alone in the dark could you recognize dark? No. When light appears you can then recognize you are in the dark. Or of course the reverse.
And since light seems to consist of more than was first scientifically believed and is bendable it has substance, perhaps some yet undiscovered qualities.
Darkness is therefore the absence of light and depending upon the darkness you are using in your question can also be without substance.

Answer 3

Just like light, there are degrees of darkness. The darkness of night for example is not absolute but has some vestige of light from the sky even through heavy cloud.

No one can guess whether the infinity before the big bang was dark or light so we can only go on the science after the big bang.

Again light comes in many forms and in what can appear to be total darkness there is usually some form of infrared to be seen with the right equipment.

There is an argument that a very small amount of light may be involved in holding atoms together.

In the vastness of space light is everywhere. On earth away from man made sources there are still heat sources, radiation sources, reflected enhancement of light etc.

Since light is so abundant in the universe and it is so hard to get away from, at least, some infinitesimal amount of it even in deep caves I would have to suggest that common sense decrees darkness is the absence of light

Answer 4

Sorry, I'm an engineer, not a philosopher. Therefore let me point out that both darkness and light can be the product of energy. The sun produces light through nuclear fusion and a black hole in space produces darkness through the force of gravity. So since energy is distributed over the universe, both light and dark exist simultaneously at different places in the universe. Darkness is the absence of light and light is the absence of darkness. You can find both existing in the universe depending on where you look. Why does philosophy try to make it more complicated than that other than to justify the existence of philosophy?

Answer 5

Ahh, the "electric dark bulb" quandry.

You must consider which is the positive state, the percived opposite of which can be null or negative (the difference is only important to science and math)

So, in this case, do we have photons traveling one way, or anti photons traveling the other way? Unfortuneately this is where this particular quandry becomes simple quite quickly (but only to scientists and mathematicians).
Consider a torch shining into the sky, some light from that torch may travel to a distant planet and make it less dark there or is it that some time in the future an anti photon will leave that planet, travel back in time and aim directly to where your torch was when you shone it at the sky? Scientists say yo cant travel back in time, mathematicians say the odds are way against it.
A philosopher might maintain the these are not proof and boil down to "look it just dosent happen that way" and "not a whelks chance in a supernova", neither of which hold much sway in an argument.

So, its down to perception, what do you as an individual, we as a society percive to be the positive quantity, light or dark?

Answer 6

Light must be generated by something, usually the transformation of some form of matter into energy. Darkness is the absence of any such transformation. Thus, darkness is the absence of light.

The only thing that comes remotely close to creating darkness is a black hole, but in that case it is not propagating darkess, but absorbing light by means of extreme gravity.

Answer 7

Darkness seems to be the natural state. If you were to say take a book and block some light a dark shadow would appear, you see from here the light is the absense of darkness and darkness is therefore prior to light. That is to say the idea of light includes the idea of darkness inherently in it.

Answer 8

Dark was here first:


"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." Genesis: 1:1-3.

Answer 9

Darkness is the absence of light!
Light is the existence of energy!
When there is light darkness is gone!
It is like light is 1 (one) and darkness is 0 (zero)!
When there is 1 (one) the 0 (zero) does not influence!

Answer 10

After the big bank the unvivers was filled with energy and light/radiation and it is everywhere however the vast vast majority of it is so stretched that it no longer lies in the visible spectrum with the makority ling in the radio waves and infra red redion neither of which you can physically see unaided.

the true answer is darkness is the inability to see the 'radiation' that is there because it is at such a low level it is below our limit of detection..