Vaas, Ruediger (2004) Time before Time - Classifications of Universes in contemporary cosmology, and how to avoid the antinomy of the beginning and eternity of the world. [Preprint] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Did the universe have a beginning or does it exist forever, i.e. is it eternal at least in relation to the past? This fundamental question was a main topic in ancient philosophy of nature and the Middle Ages. Philosophically it was more or less banished then by Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. But it used to have and still has its revival in modern physical cosmology both in the controversy between the big bang and steady state models some decades ago and in the contemporary attempts to explain the big bang within a quantum cosmological framework. This paper has two main goals: First a conceptual clarification and distinction of different notions of "big bang" and "universe" is suggested, as well as a multiverse taxonomy and a classification of initial and eternal cosmologies. Second, and with the help of this analysis, it is shown how a conceptual and perhaps physical solution of the temporal aspect of Immanuel Kant's "first antinomy of pure reason" is possible, i.e. how our universe in some respect could have both a beginning and an eternal existence. Therefore, paradoxically, there might have been a time before time or a beginning of time in time. - Keywords: cosmology, big bang, big crunch, universe, multiverse, time, general relativity, quantum cosmology, loop quantum cosmology, string cosmology, world models, quantum vacuum, cosmic inflation, anthropic principle, closed timelike loops, Abhay Ashtekar, Hans-Joachim Blome, Martin Bojowald, George F. R. Ellis, Maurizio Gasperini, John Richard Gott III, Alan Guth, Jim Hartle, Stephen Hawking, Mark Israelit, Claus Kiefer, Li-Xin Li, Andrei Linde, Wolfgang Priester, Eckhard Rebhan, Paul Steinhardt, Neil Turok, Gabriele Veneziano, Alexander Vilenkin, H. Dieter Zeh. ›

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Vaas, Ruediger
Additional Information:	This is an extended and updated version of: Vaas, R.. 2003: Time before Time: How to Avoid the Antinomy of the Beginning and Eternity of the World. In: Löffler, W., Weingartner, P. (eds.): Knowledge and Belief. Papers of the 26th International Wittgenstein Symposium. Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society. Kirchberg am Wechsel, pp. 351-353. It is based on lectures givenon January 23th 2003 at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, on August 4th 2003 at the 26th International Wittgenstein Symposium in Kirchberg am Wechsel, Austria,and on September 25th 2003 at the GAP.5 Philosophy and Science conference in Bielefeld, Germany.
Keywords:	cosmology, big bang, big crunch, universe, multiverse, time, general relativity, quantum cosmology, loop quantum cosmology, string cosmology, world models, quantum vacuum, cosmic inflation, anthropic principle, closed timelike loops, Abhay Ashtekar, Hans-Joachim Blome, Martin Bojowald, George F. R. Ellis, Maurizio Gasperini, John Richard Gott III, Alan Guth, Jim Hartle, Stephen Hawking, Mark Israelit, Claus Kiefer, Li-Xin Li, Andrei Linde, Wolfgang Priester, Eckhard Rebhan, Paul Steinhardt, Neil Turok, Gabriele Veneziano, Alexander Vilenkin, H. Dieter Zeh
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology
Depositing User:	Ruediger Vaas
Date Deposited:	17 Sep 2004
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2010 15:12
Item ID:	1910
Public Domain:	No
Conference Date:	August 2003 and September 2003
Conference Location:	Kirchberg am Wechsel and Bielefeld
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology
Date:	January 2004
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/1910

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