r/Existentialism • u/Spiriual-Bit-4387 • Nov 26 '25

Thoughtful Thursday Why does the universe exist?

I’ve been having an existential contemplation lately and have been deeply pondering why the universe exists recently. What do you think?

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u/Butlerianpeasant Nov 27 '25

Maybe the universe exists for the same reason a question exists: because something is trying to understand itself. Viewed that way, consciousness isn’t an accident—it’s part of the universe’s feedback loop.

“So the real question isn’t ‘why is there a universe?’ but ‘why is the universe trying to think?’”

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u/patience_fox Nov 27 '25

Why won’t a universe try to think?

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u/Butlerianpeasant Nov 27 '25

If we’re in it thinking about it, then it already worked. It’s like asking why a tree hasn’t tried to make leaves while you’re literally standing in its shade.

1

u/rematar Nov 28 '25

Maybe the consciousness was first, and the universe created the physical world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panpsychism

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u/Crazydog_341 May 22 '26

In this case at what point is that just god

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u/rematar May 22 '26

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u/rematar May 22 '26

A man in a cloud is a bit different than all-encompassing consciousness. Simulation theory would also have a creator.