Lawrence Krauss and Roy Sorensen

Lawrence Krauss (left) and Roy Sorensen (right) on origins and nothingness.

How did our universe get to be the way it is? Has our universe always existed, or did it arise from nothing? Is it even possible for something to come from nothing? Lawrence Krauss has argued that physicists have discovered some of the answers to these ancient philosophical questions; Krauss’s ideas are controversial among certain philosophers. In this conversation, Roy Sorensen and Krauss consider the connections between Darwinian evolution and Krauss’s views (13:50), discuss whether the scientific worldview is particularly depressing (22:41), examine the meaning of questions about “something rather than nothing” (35:25), and explore the nature of nothingness (47:18).

Related works

by Krauss:

A Universe From Nothing (2012)

“The Consolation of Philosophy” (2012)

Video: Conversation between Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss

by Sorensen:

SEP entry on “Nothingness” (2003/2009)

Seeing Dark Things: The Philosophy of Shadows (2008)

Blindspots (1988)

See also:

Leiter Reports: “A Philosopher Defends Krauss”

What There Is And Why There Is Anything: “An Explanation From Nothing?”

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