newstalk

Before there was time

If timespace came into being with the moment of the Singularity (to give the Big Bang a more dignified name), then what was the condition of the universe (if there was a universe) before this point? Was it the collapse of a previous universe that, in some almost Hinduistic endless cycle, was somehow the same as our current universe? Was it a nothingness? If there was no time, how could there have been an event, such as the event, whatever it was, which gave rise to the first instant of the universe? If the Singularity was the first cause of all events in the universe, what caused the first cause?

He identifies this problem as a very old one, going back to the Greek philosophers, and has some suggestions for those of us who like to contemplate or argue about these questions:

My only point here is that the inquiries as to what Providence did before creation, or what the Big Bang did before it Banged were contemplated by serious men in times long past, and no doubt will be contemplated by men equally serious in times to come.

Those who venture into these deepest and murkiest areas of thought are forewarned that the mysteries are not likely to be resolved by simple answers. Simply to assume that one side or the other has not thought rationally about the argument would be a simple answer.

Read the whole thing!

Possibly related:

None Found

Share this: