Why is there something rather than nothing? (Humans)

by David Turell , Friday, April 08, 2011, 05:26 (4977 days ago) @ xeno6696


> It's clear neither of you read the relevant article, fine, pronoun they both are, I don't care--at its core you're both wrong! Colors are my preference.
> 
> 1. Nothing is beyond the Universe.
> 2. Average Joe is beyond nothing .
> 3. Therefore Average Joe is beyond the Universe.-You are wrong. I read the article. Average Joe is just word play in my mind.
> 
> The error in the conclusion stems from equating nothing-as-a-thing with nothing-as-absence-of-a-thing, which is invalid logic. -The above is true of course. I still consider it playing with words. There are non sequitor syllogisms, but obvious to everyone. I still think this is word play. Of course Joe is illogical.
> 
> Clauses can often be restated to avoid the appearance that "nothing" possesses an attribute. For example, the sentence "There is nothing in the basement" can be restated as "There is not one thing in the basement". "Nothing is missing" can be restated as "everything is present".-Agreed. -Conversely, many fallacious conclusions follow from treating "nothing" as a noun.-Really?-
> 
> Modern logic made it possible to articulate these points coherently as intended, and many philosophers hold that the word "nothing" does not function as a noun, as there is no object to which it refers. There remain various opposing views, however—for example, that our understanding of the world rests essentially on noticing absences and lacks as well as presences, and that "nothing" and related words serve to indicate these." -Again, agreed. First on one hand and then on the other hand.-Stimulate, stimulate litle philosopher
How I wonder, from afar, 
What you hope to teach this crew, 
When it seems quite clear to me, 
Logically we all think things thru.