Why Does Anything Exist? In Search of the Best Possible Answer
Rasmussen develops a new answer to the question, "Why does anything exist?" He begins by describing a puzzle about how anything can exist. The puzzle motivates the quest to explain things as far as one can. To solve the puzzle, Rasmussen describes a sequence of scenes in a story about exis...
Subtitles: | "Essays in Honour of Dean Zimmerman" |
---|---|
Main Author: | |
Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Presses Universitaires de Louvain, Université Catholique de Louvain
2024
|
In: |
TheoLogica
Year: 2024, Volume: 8, Issue: 2, Pages: 1-14 |
IxTheo Classification: | FA Theology VA Philosophy |
Further subjects: | B
Principle of sufficient reason
B Puzzle of existence B Naturalism B Absolute perfection B Argument from contingency |
Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
Summary: | Rasmussen develops a new answer to the question, "Why does anything exist?" He begins by describing a puzzle about how anything can exist. The puzzle motivates the quest to explain things as far as one can. To solve the puzzle, Rasmussen describes a sequence of scenes in a story about existence. The story brings to light a three-pronged explanation of existence: (i) things exist because it is impossible for nothing to have existed, (ii) it is impossible for nothing to have existed because there is a foundational reality that cannot not exist, and (iii) such a foundation would have a certain nature—to be specified—that allows it to be foundational. Rasmussen considers how this theory of fundamental reality can incorporate other large scale theories, including Platonism, axiarchism, and naturalism. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 2593-0265 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: TheoLogica
|
Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.14428/thl.v8i2.77433 |