Which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?

Question

all answers are welcome.

Answer 1

The chicken or the egg is a reference to the causality dilemma which arises from the expression "which came first, the chicken or the egg?". Since both the chicken and the egg create the other in certain circumstances (a chicken emerges from an egg; an egg is laid by a chicken) it is ambiguous which originally gave rise to the other. Purely logical attempts to resolve the dilemma result in an infinite regress, since an egg was caused by a chicken, which was caused by an egg, etc. Since every chicken originates from its egg, it seems obvious the egg came first. Put simply, the reason is down to the fact that genetic material does not change during an animal's life. The solution may require an examination of syntax and may rely on verification from advances in modern genetic science. When used in reference to difficult problems of causality, the chicken and egg dilemma is often used to appeal to the futility of debate and lay it to rest.

History of the problem

The earliest reference to the dilemma is found in Plutarch's Moralia, in the books titled "Table Talk," in a series of arguments based on questions posed in a symposium. Under the section entitled, "Whether the hen or the egg came first," the discussion is introduced in such a way as to suggest that the origin of the dilemma was even older:

"...the problem about the egg and the hen, which of them came first, was dragged into our talk, a difficult problem which gives investigators much trouble. And Sulla my comrade said that with a small problem, as with a tool, we were rocking loose a great and heavy one, that of the creation of the world..."

Various answers have been formulated in response to the question, many of them humorous.

Answer 2

Technically this is a religion question. If you are a creationist , you would say the chicken came first. Because God created the chicken. If you are an evolutionist you would say the egg came first because whatever the chicken was before it evolved into a chicken came first. It laid the egg that was an evolution of the chicken. So the first chicken as we know it came in the form of an egg that contained a mutation. I'm an egg man myself.

Answer 3

This one again? :-)

If you're specifically talking about the domestic chicken as we know it today and the eggs of those chickens as we know them today, it would be the chicken. But...the chicken as we know it today at some point came from an egg that was the result of other chicken-like creatures getting their groove on and creating a new hybrid of that chicken, so in that case, it's the egg. It all depends on how you want to look at the question. Which egg and which chicken?... have I confused you even more? Then I've accomplished my task. :-)

Answer 4

The chicken. Once there was a bird. It laid an egg. Out of that egg a little bit different bird was born. The next generation was again a little bit different. Many generations later the last bird laid an egg. The bird out of that egg was so different from firstbird, that they decided to call it different: chicken. This chicken laid the first real chicken-egg.

Answer 5

The chicken because the chicken lays the egg

Answer 6

The egg would die w/o the chicken, so the chicken came first.

Answer 7

Hey chickenhead! Its the 1st time the ans. hit me, even if its a very common question!!!!
Look, Its chicken 1st. for the egg HAS TO B HATCHED by the chicken(hen). Without the chicken How will that b done?? & Who will take care of it? Its impossible for an egg to grow without his mom.
So GOD must've created the chicken 1st.
Ever heard of a story --Once a hen finds an egg of an eagle. She decides to hatch it. When the eagle was born , it started to behave completely like the chicken for his mum taught him so.
One day he saw an eagle flying in the sky & asked his mum who that beautiful bird was. Mum said that it was an eagle & u ll never b like that!
So did u get what I meant by this???

Answer 8

The egg. There were eggs before there were even chickens.

Answer 9

It depends upon whether you are a creationist, or an evolutionist. If a creationist you'd see the sense in that God would have made the hen first to incubate the egg.
If an evolutionist, neither. A rock came first

oh bother, several others are similar to mine. Oh well, this is an original. I answered other like this nearly a year ago.

Answer 10

i think the egg was a by-product of the chicken. i can't see God creating the egg first.