title: The origins of the universe: why is there something rather than nothing?
abstract: Perhaps the greatest mystery is why the universe exists in the first place. How is it possible for something to emerge from nothing, or has a universe in some form always existed? This question of origins-both of the universe as a whole and of the fundamental laws of physics-raises profound scientific, philosophical, and religious questions, culminating in the most basic existential question of all: Why are we here? Discussion of this and related questions is presented in this paper.
authors.affiliation: Wisconsin Public Radio, Madison, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paulson
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy, Columbia University, New York, New York.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.affiliation: holt1789@aol.com.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Holt
authors.affiliation: The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Turok
mesh_terms: D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D005582:Foundations / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D010684:Philosophy; D010825:Physics / Q000639:trends*; D011789:Quantum Theory
keywords: physics; quantum mechanics; universe