The question of why something exists rather than nothing is a fundamental question of metaphysics because it doesn’t assume anything about matter, God, or the laws of physics. Russell’s answer, in a radio debate in 1948, was that the existence of our universe is just a brute fact:
“I should say that the universe is just there, and that’s all.” (see Copleston vs. Russell).
He argued that our universe just is and that’s it, so scientists at the time assumed that it always was, until evidence revealed that it actually began about fourteen billion years ago, in what was called the big bang. This unexpected discovery re-raised the question of how everything began, because it did!
Science now concludes that at a past point in time, an enormous amount of energy was injected into a small space, which then expanded into our universe, and space and time probably began then as well. It was as if a switch clicked and something began, leading to the simulation hypothesis made popular by the Matrix movie.
QR5.7.1. The Simulation Hypothesis
QR5.7.2. What Is Evolution?
QR5.7.3. Why Do Virtual Realities Exist?