That things must have a beginning and end is indeed a fallacy and limitation of human thought, but that does not exclude the possibility that things might have a beginning and end. As for the laws of thermodynamics, people far to often use them too broadly. They apply to closed systems and focus on the properties of energy within said system. We can assume the universe is a closed system, but this is by no means certain, and thus the laws of thermodynamics cannot be definitively applied in this context.
I can imagine that the reason not many people hang their hat on the answer that things always existed and always will is because the universe is expanding, and as far as we know there was a time when it all "began", if such a word can be used in the context of the big bang. We can postulate as much as we want in relation to what happened "before" the big bang, again not really the right word to use, but until further scientific advances are made we cannot say for certain. What we can say is that the universe did not exist in it's current state at the time of the singularity, and as such that can be said to be the beginning of the universe.
The simplest answer is often the right one, but not always, and sometimes what seems the simplest isn't.
I can imagine that the reason not many people hang their hat on the answer that things always existed and always will is because the universe is expanding, and as far as we know there was a time when it all "began", if such a word can be used in the context of the big bang. We can postulate as much as we want in relation to what happened "before" the big bang, again not really the right word to use, but until further scientific advances are made we cannot say for certain. What we can say is that the universe did not exist in it's current state at the time of the singularity, and as such that can be said to be the beginning of the universe.
The simplest answer is often the right one, but not always, and sometimes what seems the simplest isn't.
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