On Creation

For purposes of discussion, I will use a somewhat broader definition of creation than is usually used when considering the origin of the Universe. Here, creation is the coming into existence of something as a result of some cause, either the actions of a supremely powerful being or some physical process outside our Universe, e.g. whatever may have existed prior to this Universe. The alternative, that the Universe was not created, implies that it has always existed and will always do so.

If the Universe was created, there must have existed something prior to or outside of the Universe that is the cause of its creation, some creational precursor. The question then arises, "Was the precursor created?" If we say "yes", we are led down an infinitely long path of precursors, never to find the ultimate creator. This seems highly unsatisfactory. If we say "no", we make a distinction about the kind of existence that the Universe has versus its precursor. While the Universe had to be created, the precursor did not. It has always existed and always will. But why allow this asymmetry?

There is no particular reason to assume that the Universe was created if you're willing to believe that a possible precursor needed no creation. In fact, there doesn't seem to be any compelling reason to think that if the Universe must have precursors, the number would be one. Why not 10? Or 49? No, it's much simpler and satisfying to Occam's Razor to make the Universe the thing that doesn't need to be created. That it has always been, in either a cyclical fashion or a linear one, and that there is no compelling reason to insist that it must have a precursor.