Questions tagged [cosmology]
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What should a rational person accept as a miracle?
I was reading through this collection of short essays from theologians, scientists and thinkers each responding to the question "Does the Universe have a purpose?" which was suggested to me in a ...
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What is the purpose of the universe? [closed]
There are two extremes known as creationism vs evolutionism. Let's consider creationism for a moment, and imagine that God exists, and he/she has created us. The question that obsesses my mind after ...
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Is the universe isomorphic to a universal turing machine?
I often think about problems that require an understanding of the very essence of computation and its inherent limitations. So, my questions are as followed:
Is the universe isomorphic to a universal ...
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Does refuting the fine-tuning argument for the existence of God necessarily require belief in a Multiverse?
The fine-tuning argument for the existence of God is based on the fact that certain physical constants can only have very specific values for life to exist in the universe. If there was even the ...
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What is the best scientific argumentation against the Dust Theory?
The "Dust Theory", by Greg Egan, states that...
... there is no difference, even in principle, between
physics and mathematics, and that all mathematically possible
structures exist, among ...
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How could our universe suddenly appear out of nothingness?
How could our universe suddenly appear out of nothingness? I understand that the big bang created all things but how could it when nothingness is purely the absence of everything?
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What is nothing?
In Lawrence Krauss' book A Universe From Nothing he portrays "nothing" as a physical state. He says that nothing is found by removing all of what we know to be things (particles, electrons etc). I've ...
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Has religion adapted to modern cosmology and if so how?
I wonder how existing major religions follow modern cosmology. Is God a god of the planet Earth, or of the whole solar system, or of the entire universe? If he is the god of the whole universe, is he ...
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How do proponents of the Cosmological argument respond to the nature of time?
How do proponents of the Cosmological argument respond to the nature of time?
Is asking what occurred before the Big Bang like asking what is north of the North Pole?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
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What is a miracle, and why should it influence our metaphysical beliefs?
There's a question on this site regarding what a rational person should accept as a miracle, but the question and its answers seem to take the definition and categorization (as well as consequence) of ...
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Is topology used outside of cosmology in philosophy?
It seems like topology is used to model spacetime, but outside of cosmology, it seems like topology has absolutely no use in philosophy. Is topology used to create models that relate to abstract and ...
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What role does "counting histories" play in Deutsch's critique of the "simulation argument"?
In his book The Beginning of Infinity, David Deutsch argues that there is a problematic assumption behind the simulation argument that "virtually all instances of us are in ... simulations and not in ...
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Can there be Creation Ex Nihilo?
In Christian & Islamic Theology, one could argue that there can't be Creation Ex Nihilo since 'before' Creation there was God.
In Philosophical Naturalism (which is not Physicalism - it subsumes ...
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Are uncomputable numbers/things a problem for Wheeler's "it from bit"?
I have some questions related to Wheeler's ideas of "It from bit" and "Law without law"
In summary, these both theories postulate that there was an initial universe with no laws from which laws of ...
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How can God be temporal if he never began?
I was reading through this article and it says:
What may be the dominant view of philosophers today is that he is temporal but everlasting; that is, God never began to exist and he never will go ...
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Flawed argument involving anthropic principle?
In his book Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe theoretical physicist Lee Smolin takes a shot at the anthropic principle. He is not in favor, because the principle ...
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How is concept of Nature different from a concept like God?
I have regularly noticed people using words "Nature, Natural" to describe events, objects etc. Sometimes to denote contrast from "Artificial" origin, sometimes by atheists to refute "Intelligent ...
user2411
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Can the fine-tuning problem be finessed out of existence via the multi-verse?
The standard model has a number of constants whose specific values are under scrutiny. The fine-tuning problem is that these constants must be a very narrow range for the universe to exist in a real ...
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Should Time and Space Serve as Necessary or Contingent modalities of Division in Cosmology?
In the introduction to Process and Reality, Whitehead criticizes the tendency to posit logical or ontological necessity as the primary modes of cosmological explanation. For Whitehead time is a ...
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Book about presocratic cosmology
Is there any book focusing on presocratic cosmological ideas?
Such as Heraclitus: The Cosmic Fragments, but covering all of the presocratics.
My main motivation is that I would like to give a lecture ...
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GUT and TOE as Fallacies of Misplaced Concreteness?
A.N. Whitehead warns in the introduction to Process and Reality, that the “chief error” of Western philosophy is “overstatement.” He states: “the aim at generalization is sound, but the estimate of ...
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Can we ever know the origin of universe? [closed]
For sake of argument, let's assume that everything has to come from something. In this case, our universe must have come from something, lets call it 'thing 1'. 'Thing 1' in turn must have come from '...
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Are there any non-scientific non-religious cosmology theories proposed in recent times?
Are there any non-scientific non-religious cosmological theories proposed in recent times? I looked at various cosmological theories proposed and I only see scientific ones (ex: Machian universe), and ...
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Is a theory of physics possible with no constants?
The Standard Model of Physics has a number of constants. Obviously the fewer the better - simply in terms of there being less fundamentally inexplicable constants to explain.
It seems to me, in as ...
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Can Something Exist in Nothing (Outside the bounds of our Universe)?
I have always been intrigued by cosmology and the idea that there is a possibility that absolutely nothing exists beyond our universe.
Now I know that there are many theories regarding the universe (...
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Can many worlds interpretation have universes with different laws?
The Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics is classified by Max Tegmark as a level-3 multiverse hypothesis. This means that in the universes that it will predict, there could be different ...
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What would happen if the universe had no global symmetries and conservation laws?
I am asking this question in this site as it involves some philosophy of physics...
I am trying to understand what would happen to the universe if it had no global symmetries (including those that ...
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Did Stephen Hawking think that logic is contingent on physics?
According to this book*: Extrasensory Perception: Support, Skepticism, and Science, it says that Stephen Hawking thought that logic was contingent on physics, i.e that logic depends on the physics of ...
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An argument against brute physical facts
I would like to know what anybody thinks of the following argument against brute physical facts, such as the idea that the material universe as a whole is a brute fact.
A physical fact is taken to ...
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Can Schmidhuber's hypothesis reproduce all types of universes? And Wheeler's it from bit? Or Weizsäcker's ur-theory?
I found a paper that talked about paraconsistent logic systems (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraconsistent_logic) and trivialist systems (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trivialism) and the ...
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Can the Universe make sense at all?
Considering that nearly everything that exists cannot be even imagined by humans (or would it be reasonable to assume the contrary?), what is the chance of finding a scientifically coherent ...
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What makes primitive cosmology primitive?
In Mary Douglas's Purity & Danger, she reports that the anthropologist Vansina
recalled affectionately three very independent thinkers he found amongst the Bushong, who liked to expound their ...
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A small reformulation of the Cosmological Argument
I am sure the cosmological argument has been raised here by people like me who know nothing about philosophy numerous times before on this board. But I'm wondering if a slightly different approach can ...
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How is it possible for an infinite number of moments to have elapsed prior to now?
In the context of the cosmological argument: How is it possible for an infinite number of equal length moments to have elapsed prior to now?
For more context . . I have read several discussions, ...
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Luck of certainty
Title may be bit confusing but let me explain.
Our existence depends on very small possibilities as a person and as humanity.
There are billions of planets without any living thing but there is life ...
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If X cannot emerge from nothingness, must X's existence be the decision of a Creator? [closed]
Laurence Krauss wrote a book titled "A Universe from Nothing" explaining how the Universe might have began. In this book Krauss does not address why the laws of physics exist, why they have the form ...
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Can space be distorted without things that occupy the space being distorted?
Can space be distorted without things that occupy the space being distorted? I mean it is whether in reality or imagination?
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Does the Strong Anthropic Principle lead to Idealism?
I have to admit this question isn't very neatly thought out, but I've always been a bit puzzled by the Anthropic Principle. I realize there are various forms or "strengths" of the idea, and ...
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Questions about Frank Tipler's Omega Point theory?
He defends in that theory that God could become real, but that he would be limited. He wouldn't be strictly the same God as the one in classical religion. He couldn't do/know the physically and ...
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Why is aidios, aionios, and aion translated eternal in Plato's Timaeus?
Plato's Timaeus....
When the father creator saw the creature which he had made moving and living, the created image of the eternal (aidos: imperceptible) gods, he rejoiced, and in his joy ...
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Is a void where the laws of physics hold actually a void?
I don't have much background in Cosmology, but an argument I've heard is that the universe sprang into existence from the void via a quantum fluctuation. That is both spacetime & its matter/energy ...
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Does Tegmark's hypothesis include dynamical mathematical structures?
Tegmark's hypothesis is the idea that mathematical structures are physical and thus have physical existence (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_universe_hypothesis)
Zuse's thesis says that ...
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Why is there a God rather than nothing? [closed]
Theists ask, "Why is there something rather than nothing?" How would they answer the question, "Why is there a God rather than nothing?" Is this a valid objection to theism?
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Does Intelligent Design need Religion?
Is it possible to define the source of intelligent causes, which provides the foundation for the Intelligent Design theory, from a purely scientific perspective? Is yes, How? If not, why not?
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Does cosmological argument prove that anything that exists has a cause of its existence?
Does the cosmological argument "prove that anything that exists has a cause of its existence", or is that just a premise of the argument?
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Is the idea that people believed in a flat Earth in ages past grounded in historical documents? [closed]
My question about this answer was tangential, but I'm very curious to know where the idea comes from that people believed in a flat Earth. For example, were there Greek philosophers that held this ...
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Is the Kalam cosmological argument scientifically provable?
Kalam Cosmological Argument:
(1) Everything that has a beginning of its existence has a cause of its existence.
(2) The universe has a beginning of its existence.
Therefore:
(3) The universe has a ...
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Isn't anti razor as valid as Occam razor in explaining the Universe and things in it? [closed]
I give an example where this question is important:
There are 2 explanations of how the Universe came into existence:
The Universe come out of nothing or something similar to nothing like quantum ...
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Are there philosophical principles that made convincing in antiquity that the Earth was a sphere?
According to Wikipedia, there is no account of how the sphericity of the Earth was established. Though it goes on to say 'A plausible explanation is that it was "the experience of travellers that ...
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What is known of Anaximander's reasoning behind his belief that the Earth floated?
Anaximander was the first philosopher (at least that I know of) to argue that the Earth floated in space without support and without being enveloped by the cosmic ocean. I have heard his reasoning for ...
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