FallentoReason 2.0

[SpecUVdust]

Nihilism ( /ˈnaɪ.ɨlɪzəm/ or /ˈniː.ɨlɪzəm/; from the Latin nihil, nothing) is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value.

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This remains one possibility, though there is little in the way of observational evidence to support it, and it does not appear that there is sufficient mass density to cause it to happen. Some unknown mechanism could exist, of course - similar to the inflation/expansion transition, which as far as I know also has no known cause (if the models are correct). The case for that is stronger as it appears that it did occur (even if we don't know the cause). The "big crunch" doesn't appear to be necessary (though it remains an unknown).

I sincerely hope that we learn a great deal more about this in what remains of my lifetime - we certainly have since I was born.

I could not agree more. There are many theories that (if proven correct) could provide all the answers we seek that do not involve and deity. There are so many to ponder. So why do some people focus on the theory which involves a deity?