Originally posted by Stevehattan
Can something create itself?
You mean can something come from nothing? We're here, so the answer must be yes, or at least \"kinda\". 0 = 1 + -1. On the other hand I don't think something can create itself, because it can't create itself (or do anything else) before it exists. Then again, there are theories about particles or objects that don't have a start or end, they're stuck in some kind of time loop and seem to have come from nowhere. I think I remember an example that went something like this:
1. Someone gives you a watch.
2. You go back in time and give the watch back to that person so they're able to give it to you in the first place.
and then of course the cycle repeats forever. Where did the watch come from? What created it? I don't see how such a time loop could possibly form, but who knows, the entire universe might be something similar.[/b]
That would definitely be a situation with no beginning, but it would still have to have a cause. It seems that something would have to be the source of the reality of that time loop. If circumstances could exist without causes, random bizarrities would happen all the time. Fish would spontaneously jump out of walls, or houses would suddenly levitate and start raining squirrels. The universe would lack order and be full of never ending absurdity. On the other hand, any cause of existence itself would be part of existence, and something causing itself would involve the same absurd situation as lacking cause, so that's also impossible. That makes sense to me so far, but the conclusion that follows is that existence is impossible, but here it is. This is a paradox. What is the deal?