Page updated on 25 June 2024

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The universe

This web page is my hypothesis on the origin and cessation of the universe seen from a philosophical perspective based on the latest scientific research.


Source origin

The first thing I wanted to know is whether there was a source for the origin of the universe and, if so, what this source was. That is what the following paragraphs are about.

Universe by creation

If the universe was created by a God, aliens or some other entity, who created them? You could say they have always existed. This would imply that infinity exists and is a reality. But this entails several improbabilities, as explained below.

Misconceptions infinity

People often talk about infinity, but by this they mean that it is so big that it is impossible to measure or express it in a number. This, of course, has nothing to do with infinity.
There is also often no distinction made between infinity in the abstract or concrete sense. Abstract means conceptual or in other words without reference to something real or something concrete. For example, for addition, we learn the abstraction 3 + 5 = 8. But from a concrete point of view, it is zero and therefore nothing. Because 3 of nothing plus 5 of nothing is 8 of nothing, or stated differently 3 · 0 + 5 · 0 = 8 · 0 = 0. Only if you replace the term nothing with something concrete is the above abstraction true. For example if you replace nothing by a metre then 3 of 1 metre plus 5 of 1 metre is 8 of 1 metre or 3 · m + 5 · m = 3m + 5m = 8m.
The same is true for the proposition that there are infinitely many real numbers between 0 and 1. Namely, because it refers to an abstraction and not to something concrete.

When the term infinity is used on this website, it is meant in a concrete sense. Infinity thus means that there must be an unlimited amount of something concrete. For example heat can, in an abstract sense, reach an infinite temperature. But for that you need an unlimited amount of energy, and there is no unlimited amount of energy in the universe.
But even with non-tangible phenomena, infinity seems impossible. Think of eternal existence. Concretely, this means that at some point you have experienced everything possible and end up experiencing it again in the same order. It follows that a creator cannot have existed forever and must have been created. All in all, there must be a concrete beginning and end to the existence of the universe.

Time prior to the universe

Space could not exist before the universe came into existence because there was nothing concrete as explained above. Space and time are one phenomenon. This means that time did not exist before the universe came into existence.


Energy prior to origin

Can the universe have been created from energy? Well, without time which did not exist before the creation of the universe, as explained above, energy cannot exist. This means that energy was not the source of the creation of the universe.

A singularity prior to origin

A singularity is often seen as a physical thing from which the universe emerged. But scientifically, a singularity is a phenomenon with unknown properties. So that doesn't say much about the origin of the universe. And if something already existed, who or what created it? Despite everything, a singularity is often seen as an object consisting of one dimension, but this rules out the existence of time. This and also previous paragraphs contradict the possible existence of a singularity.

Matter is fiction

We naturally assume that physical things are tangible and must come from something. But physical things are an effect. Subatomic particles are actually an excitation of fields. These fields consist of waves. If the wave of a field moves in a certain way and has a certain amount of energy, it behaves as a point-shaped thing, a 'particle'. These subatomic phenomena are the building blocks we perceive as physical things. This means that physical things themselves are fiction. So the physical thing is not created by itself, although the creation of a field is apparently possible.


The universe out of nothingness

Nothingness implies no laws

Nothingness is a concrete concept because it is a finality, and finality is a concrete concept. But nothingness cannot be defined, which implies the absence of laws, including the absence of the laws of physics. This includes those laws related to quantum mechanics and quantum field theory.

Total anarchy

If there are no laws then there is total anarchy and anything can happen. Assuming total anarchy, a small anomaly consisting of the right quantum wave may have been sufficient for the creation of the universe. In particular, if fields were created containing places that behaved like point-shaped things, particles. The quantum wave created spacetime, thus the beginning of all time. I know it sounds far-fetched, but considering all of the above, is there any other option left?


Is total nothingness universe's fate?

If you read the above and infinity in terms of concreteness, the ultimate fate of the universe is total nothingness. But there is no scientific evidence what the ultimate fate of the universe will be. This is because there is no all-encompassing theory of physics.

In recent decades, the idea has been that the universe will expand forever due to a constant unknown form of energy called dark energy. But recently there have been doubts that dark energy is not really constant and in a different form than previously thought. Perhaps it is something that changes and evolves with time and may become stronger and more negative with time. This could lead to the Big Rip and everything will be pulled apart. In that case, the quantum fields collapse and a total nothingness emerges.

But to show whether the Big Rip or some other fate of the universe will occur, much recently collected data from observations must first be analysed. It will be years before any clues about the fate of the universe emerge, if at all.