Reddit reviews The Mystery of Existence: Why Is There Anything At All?

Two very recent books on this very question, with essays by philosophers:

The Mystery of Existence

The Puzzle of Existence

SECTION | CONTENT
:--|:--
Title | Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered? (Closer to Truth - Season 4, Episode 9)
Description | Mathematics describes the real world of atoms and acorns, stars and stairs, with remarkable precision. So is mathematics invented by humans-like chisels and hammers and pieces of music? Or is mathematics discovered-always out there, somewhere, like mysterious islands waiting to be found? Robert's Book: The Mystery of Existence: Why Is There Anything At All? https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Existence-Why-There-Anything/dp/0470673559
Length | 0:26:47






****

^(I am a bot, this is an auto-generated reply | )^Info ^| ^Feedback ^| ^(Reply STOP to opt out permanently)

You should have posted a trigger warning! ;o)

I remember freaking out the first time the all-encompassing self-negating vastness of this question hit me. Nothing is what one should expect, in a manner of speaking. It's the simplest of all possible realities and the only one requiring no explanation. Why anything exists requires an explanation. G‑d's absolute and unparalleled unity is key. The oneness of HaShem means that His existence and essence are the same thing:

> So, whatever else we say about the ultimate cause, source, or explanation of things ... we are going to have to regard it as absolutely simple or non-composite, as pure actuality devoid of potentiality, and as being itself rather than something that merely instantiates being. We are also going to have to regard it as immutable and uncaused, because only what has potentiality capable of being actualized, or parts capable of being combined, can be caused or undergo change, and the source or cause of all things must be devoid of potentiality or parts. Feser, standing on the shoulders of Maimonides

This is a wonderful book on the subject. (No, he doesn't "get" classical theism, but Holt's interviews with different thinkers gives this an existential gonzo feel.)

This one, too, is recommended. (But again, there's an almost a priori dismissal of a straw man version of theism.)

The boy's final question is addressed here. Notice how he starts out with a Cosmological inquiry and shifts to a Teleological (or anthropic) one. I agree with the Rabbi that the latter is harder. Luke Barnes' blog is essential. Fortunately, if the Cosmological Argument works (and it does) you don't need the Teleological one. Thank G-d.

Geez, I was just having a quiet evening until I read a simple comic.