Could the Universe have an Infinite Past?
The Universe either has a beginning, or else it has an infinite past. This is an important consideration for understanding origins.
Given logic and science, most people agree (atheists and theists alike) that the Universe had a beginning. Still, every now and then, I run into someone who feels that scientists and astronomers are theorizing way over their heads – that these brainiacs … just might be wrong.
So, is it possible that the Universe could be infinitely old? I believe anyone one can step through these logic statements to answer this question for themselves.
Below are logic statements. See if you can agree with each one. As you reach the end, you will be able to conclude that the Universe must have had a beginning.
- Given an infinitely old universe, there must be an infinite amount of time in the past.
- In order for the Present Moment (i.e. “Now”) to have ever reached “Today”, the “Present Moment” must have progressed through the infinite amount of time in the past.
- It is impossible to traverse anything infinite. (By definition, infinity has no end. If you can reach the end of something, then you didn’t have an infinite amount of it to start with.)
- Because we have reached “Today”, we have reached an end of whatever amount of time existed in the past. Therefore, based on items (2) and (3) above, there can not be an infinite amount of time in the past.
- If there is not an infinite amount of time in the past, the Universe must have had a beginning.
“Arriving at today” (with an infinite amount of time in the past) would be like reaching the end of infinity, or counting up to the last number. Completing these kinds of infinite-tasks are simply not possible. By definition, infinity has no end; if you ever reach the end of something, then it was not an infinite “something” you progressed through. Therefore, the Universe can not be infinitely old (already) … at best, it can only be in progress of being infinitely old. Either way, it must have had a beginning point.
So, why is this important? Well, if the Universe had a beginning … the bigger question is:
What began the Universe?
Something to think about …
Well, this logic seems like a one direct path to your pre-thought conclusion. I would have constructed these statements with yes/No path alternatives to see where it takes me… What if the universe is IT and it began itself, with no aid from anything outside itself? Just food for thought. I don’t know if you are still working on this site and will see this… Though not interested particularly on this specific thought about the “infinite past of the universe” I think it is a good exercise of the mind. Not all the statements above are necessarily true!
Hi Walky …
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Before the Universe existed, we know that no Space, Time, or Matter existed. Those things are inherent to our Universe.
Whatever created the universe … we know a few things about it:
1. It has to be non-material. (If it were material, it would have to be part of the Universe. If part of the Universe existed, then we’re really talking about the same thing as creating that part, the same as what created the Universe.)
2. It has to be pretty powerful. (The whole Universe seems to have exploded into existence from on singular point – at least this is the indications of astronomical observations.)
3. Some may not like this one – but it seems to be designed.
There are critical fundamental constants … if any one of these constants were changed just ever so slightly, material-based life forms would not be possible. The is the Fine Tuned observation …
Not saying exactly that “Whatever caused the Universe was God”, but – it is worth noting that God does possess the same properties as whatever must have created the universe.
BTW … you said that not all of the statements were not necessarily true … which statements do you believe might be in error ?
This is where I don’t agree, but it is of no consequence..
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gnps4rblr7wovt6/The%20Universe.jpg?dl=0
It should be constructed this way… for clarity
https://www.dropbox.com/s/6w96q80m8ebbxot/The%20Universe%202B.jpg?dl=0
I see what you’re saying … but, I began with statement number one due to the article itself addressing people that feel the Universe has to be eternal. From there, I show that can to logical be the case. Infinity can not exist completely in the finite of the past – else you could never reach today. (Bounding the tail end of Infinity.)
Therefore I show that time has a finite amount of time in the past … meaning the Universe must have come into existence at some beginning point.
Hei,can you explain more detailed that the universe is not eternal,i am hard at mind.
Sure, Narcis. Thanks for stopping by my site.
If the Universe were eternal, then it would have to be eternal in both directions of time – in the past direction, and future direction. (If it were not eternal in the past direction, then it’s not truly eternal, is it? It would have had a beginning.)
And … if the Universe were eternal in the past direction, that would imply that “today” is at the very end of infinity (which is impossible). In other words, you can’t possibly go through all the days of the past … and then reach today … if the past had an infinite number of days. The only way to reach today from the past is if there were a beginning.
It may be a little tricky … but with a little though, you can understand that there must have been a beginning in order to reach today.
Point 4 is erroneous. The universe could have existed forever. What happens is that it is difficult to imagine because most things on earth have had a beginning. Therefore it is easier to accept that the universe has an infinite future than it is to accept that the universe has an infinite past. But both concepts are exactly identical. There are an infinite number of integers both negative and positive numbers and amongst them there is no first or last number. For example the number 17 exists in spite the fact that there are un infinite number of integers that are less than 17.
Chris, thanks for the comment.
It’s not only difficult to imagine an infinite past – it’s mathematically impossible. I’m sure with a little thought, you will be able to see this. Let me ask a question … if I allowed a special space ship to go backwards in time millions of years for each second, could you e v e r reach the beginning ? (if you say yes, they there was a definite beginning, and you just proved that the universe had a definite start. Not infinite.) You’d have to answer “No.” if the Universe is truly infinite. Well, if you can not go back in time and reach the start, what makes you think you could traverse the same distance, just going the opposite direction ? Both trips have the same problem, they can not complete the trip to the end.
Or another way to think of it … if time is infinite in both directions (past and future) … and you divide that infinite line in half buy the point called “today” … then how far is the past direction ? You’d have to say infinitely long (if the universe is truly infinite). Then, “today” would be the “end of infinity” from the perspective of the past. And, you can not have ever reached the “end” of infinity. So, you can never have ever reached “today” if the Universe was truly infinite.
Conclusion: Mathematically, the Universe must have had a start. No way around it. Even atheist understand this, and the accepted Big Bang supports a definite start of time.
So, the point, what started the universe and brought it into existence with the Big Bang ? That is the real question.