Why is there a universe? (Religious people, don't bother. Please try only if you are athiest)?

Question

Excluding "God" as a trivial cop-out solution, what might be the reason for the existing of a universe? I fear no one will ever find out. Billions have already passed through this planet, not knowing why.
If this question has no answer, lets try to answer a related one.

How long will it be and in what circumstances, that we will be able to learn the answer to the above question?

Answer 1

I like Tralfamadorian's response; it is a nice little fable which does a good job playing on the Anthropic principle, and this controversial theory may be as far as anyone can go in 'answering' your question at the moment, at least from a non-theological point of view....

The Anthropic principle states that man's ability to speculate on the origins and existence of the "Universe" is limited by the scope within which man has developed to view it; were the scope any different it would not be the scope of man and, consequently, man would not exist.
Simply put,... We see the Universe the way that it is because we exist...
Or, as some critics of this theory have mocked: "If things were different, they would be different."

This question may only be answered when we solve a Theory of Everything, but we don't even HAVE a Theory of Everything yet (although String Theory, I believe, is a promising start)...

I apologize if this wasn't what you were looking for but I, too, am an "I-don't-know-ist"...

Answer 2

A series of cataclysmic reactions. It's difficult to say why from a purely philosophical and secularist point of view. It could only be an opinion. It would be easier to describe how. Imagine a fish in the bottom of the ocean that miraculously surfaces and steps on the shore. That fish may look around in complete wonder at the world he never knew existed outside of the ocean.

The fish may flop up to a man, and say, "Why is there an ocean?".

To which the man replies, "Well oceans appear to me to be a rare thing in the universe, but had we no oceans, you and I would not be here."

And then the fish flips back into the water to establish his own aquatic community of scientific understanding.

Why are there oceans? Because comets collided with our planet, depositing water? Is that a why, or a how? In this case, the how is the reason.

The real question is why is there something instead of nothing? Well, a reason would imply a decision. Who makes this decision? A conscious being? Who made that conscious being? No one? That being is not bound by time or human understanding? I don't have that answer. I prefer to subscribe to fact. I am atheist.

Perhaps the universe is a large containment within space, and maybe if you flew far enough you would come to a celestial shore of some sort.

If the fish could not see beyond the planet, then his universe is the ocean, and the infinity of space is this spherical globe. That fish does not understand the earth nor what is beyond, perhaps like a human's understanding of the universe is limited, let alone what may lie beyond it. Who knows? Why is there a universe? Because it's a fluke.

The only religion I subscribe to is "I-don't-know-ism".

Answer 3

"why" implies a pre-ordained plan. There's no proof that a pre-ordained plan exists for the universe. Galaxies can be seen traveling aways from us and some toward us, all from a central point, ie, the big bang.

I like Hawkings definition the best:
"The Big Bang marks the instant at which the universe began, when space and time came into existence and all the matter in the cosmos started to expand. Amazingly, theorists have deduced the history of the universe dating back to just 10-43 second (10 million trillion trillion trillionths of a second) after the Big Bang. Before this time all four fundamental forces—gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces—were unified, but physicists have yet to develop a workable "

Answer 4

Strangely enough, the correct question is ''Why is there time?'' The universe exists only because time 'drags' it forward; forward of course being all directions at once...therefore we perceive an expanding universe filled with whirlpools and all kinds of other strange phenomenon, created by the rush of time.
For centuries, the worlds greatest minds have argued many things, yet all philosophers agree that YOU are the center of your universe. Science has upheld this; before the big bang everything was condensed to a single point; since the universe is without bounds, this brings us to the conclusion that you, me, and every point in this universe is, in fact, the center!
Will we ever know what has brought this all about? Probably not, for to understand time and the universe requires a complete knowledge of, well, everything, and I doubt seriously mankind is capable of thought that profound. Don't let this discourage you, however, from always trying to expand your mind...if the universe can do it, so can you!

Answer 5

So an Agnostic cannot answer this question? If you eliminate god from the entire realm of possiblity, then really there is no need for a reason, the universe simply is ( which is actually where I lean towards ). As an atheist the knowledge that the universe exists is enough onto itself, it does not require any further depth than to consider it a random occurence that has lead to us talking about it.

Answer 6

I used to be an atheist, but I'm not anymore. I will try to answer this from that persective. We can't know why the universe is here because we are in it. You can only objectively view a system from outside of it. I think that you can only give purpose to the universe if there was something that had a reason to create it. If there is no creator, then there is no reason for the universe to be here, it's just here.

Answer 7

As I are conscious of it, the sin of guy grew to become into so great it required a blood sacrifice to atone. and not purely any blood sacrifice, however the dying of a god. Which in all probability is sensible in case you compromise for that 'sin' may be cancelled by employing sacrifice interior the 1st place. And that sacrifices are some thing different than magical questioning. yet once you're taking a step back, the excellent difficulty will become absurd - as you describe. looks to me that if the story of Jesus got here approximately as written, each thing went incorrect. It looks as though he quite expected to be rescued by employing divine intervention on the final 2d, and grew to become into shocked and fearful whilst it did no longer take place. So he died for being seditious. as a manner to around out the story, they wrote interior the bit approximately resurrection, and complete the story particularly by surprise. If he HAD risen returned, he might have wiped sparkling up in all places - what a coup! rather, he purely diminished away. How ordinary. CD

Answer 8

For the universe to have a reason for existing requires a source of reason that transcends the universe (or, in more direct terms, God). So, yes, your Godless existence is meaningless.

And for your second question, the answer is obvious and always has been for those who aren't afraid of the truth.

Answer 9

I'm working on this... currently I see it this way

The concept of there being nothing is impossible because even nothing is something, So as soon as nothing existed it could not stop expanding. Nothing travelled faster and faster until it became light... etc.

Physics conceives that there were 10 (possibly 24) dimensions in balance. Balancing 10 dimensions equally, is difficult... the balance was lost and 4 dimensions expanded... and brought the observable universe into existence.

Keep searching.

Answer 10

The very question of 'Why?' there is a universe is a religious question. So by excluding religious answers you have made the answering impossible except as follows;
The universe exists because it is.