- [[Holt 2013 why does the world exist]] # Idea Why is there something rather than nothing? We can logically prove that nothing prevents or forbids its own existence. Suppose *there were nothing*. Then there would be no laws; for laws, after all, are something. If there were no laws, then everything would be permitted. ==If everything were permitted, then *nothing would be forbidden*.== - This premise is potentially the most problematic one. So *if there were nothing*, *nothing would be forbidden*. Thus nothing is self-forbidding. Therefore, there must be something. QED. # References