The First Cause

The First Cause refers to the fact that due to cause and effect, there must have been an initial cause that had the effect of creating the universe. I once had a lengthy and convoluted but interesting argument about the First Cause with some friends of mine that began at one in the morning and carried on into the night. I can't even remember when exactly I had it, but I think it was at my 18th birthday party.

As early as we can tell, the creation of our universe began with a sudden explosion. Not in the sense that there's this cubic bomb of matter that created everything, but that there was an insanely large expansion. Before said explosion, time and space did not exist, so it's not like there's this ball chilling and waiting to explode. If all matter was compressed into a point (or whatever), it would have to explode. That's all it could do, because an action requires time to happen.

Now, this doesn't seem to make very much sense. It's much nicer to have a big bearded guy or whatever creation myth you want pop into existence, create the universe, and do whatever. This agrees with our concepts of creation and of cause and effect. You have a cause, the deity, that exists outside of time and thus can create universes and bend rules.

Now, that's the first solution. The second solution is to sort of say, there is no first cause, there's a first effect. Boom, universe created. It either causes itself or has no cause. No creator necessary. This is the one I agree with. I do not feel that something so astounding as the creation of the universe requires anything besides itself. One theory (that seems to disagree with the evidence) is that the universe expands and compresses. Once it's compressed, time disappears, so we can't see the next explosion, but it would undergo another explosion. So the universe was always there and always will be there. However, you can imagine what you will, but with the second solution you don't have to assume anything.

My problem with the first solution is that anything is possible. We're no longer in the universe, so the cube can will itself into existence, the creator can will itself and a cube into existence, or a University of Worldbuilders can will itself and a creator and a cube into existence. You could even have a whole other universe will itself and a university and a creator and a cube into existence, but at this point you've snorted enough coke. Rather than going down this path, I'll just say there's no need for a first cause. You can have your God if you wish, but you have as much reason for your God as you would for that University, and you're still making things infinitely more complicated.

(Post partially inspired by Richard Dawkins. If you don't know the name, look him up. He's a fairly important scientist.)