Why is there anything at all? Early modern and contemporary perspectives

Thesis

The question of why there is anything at all is perhaps the most mysterious question that human beings can ask. Chapter One argues that the question is legitimate regardless of the particular form it takes, and that certain Humean-inspired attempts to dismiss the question as a spurious one fail.

Chapter Two commends Leibniz for providing a substantial solution to the question of existence before critiquing this solution. In particular, Leibniz argues that all contingent things are grounded in a being, namely God, that necessarily exists. Moreover, Leibniz contends that God’s necessary existence is not subject to further explanation. This latter contention is what makes Leibniz’s answer unsuccessful, and its downfall entails that satisfactorily answering the question is impossible. The chapter concludes by claiming that, contra Derek Parfit, making any progress towards a solution is impossible.

Chapter Three contains Nietzsche’s reflections about the fact that the question of existence is unanswerable. In recognizing that existence will forever remain a mystery, Nietzsche inquires as to why we ask the question of existence in the first place. In providing a critical genealogy of the philosophical tradition in which the question has been raised, Nietzsche argues that the question has been asked due to the conviction that it would have been better if there had been nothing. Nietzsche then sketches out the possibility of a vindicatory genealogy that affirms that the question may be raised from a positive emotive outlook. The chapter concludes by claiming that asking the question from a place of love and gratitude for the totality of existence, which begins with loving oneself, is an approach that encourages us to contemplate the mystery of existence without becoming overwhelmed by its mysteriousness.

Authors: Custer, SM

• Type of award: BPhil
• Level of award: Bachelors
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: mystery of existence; love; dogmatic philosophy; theism; infinite regress; Leibniz; fundamental question; Hume-Edwards Principle; hypercategorematic infinite; autonomous facts; Hume; self-explanation; nihilism; Nietzsche; explanatory demand; question of existence; perspectivism
• Subjects: Philosophy; Metaphysics--History; Mysticism; Metaphysics