Nothing has troubled philosophers more over time than the definition of "nothing", other than maybe a definition of "time" itself!
Someone once said that "time is an elusion".
We have a misguided idea that nothing means a vacuum.
A vacuum is an absence of everything,
a space without anything.
a space with nothing in it,
perhaps just space itself.
Unfortunately that statement can be pulled apart by science.
A space that may seem empty,
isn't.
What about the many fluctuating energy fields,
and virtual particles?
No - I don't understand that either!
I can't imagine somewhere with nothing in it,
the absence of everthing,
a state where nothing exists,
it's hard to get your head 'round!
But,
can "nothing" be thought of as existing
or just as the absence of something,
as a concept
but not as a physical thing - maybe?
What if "nothing" is just another "something"
isn't "nothing" proof of an existence in itself?
Isn't "nothing" - just another "something"
like the vacuum is "something",
it exists,
it is a vacuum - empty, albeit not completely empty!
Even the concept of "nothing" implies there's "something" - doesn't it?
So can there ever be "nothing"
or do we have to say it's an absence of absence
still doesn't that make it "something"
it doesn't make sense,
does it!
In the absence of absence
of a specific event say,
we can assume if it did not occur
or, if the event was not missing
it must have happened,
mustn't it?
And when nothing is missing
there's got to be a "something" - hasn't there?
so metaphorically
I suggest that an object seemingly empty - a cup or a bottle
still holds "something" - that being "nothing"
anyway
a seemingly empty cup or bottle is never empty - on earth it is full of air.
Can you hear silence?
Absolute silence is impossible
So no! - but as silence is the absence of sound
and the brain perceives silence in a way that is similar to how it perceives sound,
then, yes!
But does it exist then?
Yes, silence exists,
that is, what we humans call silence,
ie, a very quiet state,
but a complete absence of sound?
Complete silence is a myth!
Tearing all that apart,
there is nothing that makes something what it is
There's nothing that makes something intrinsically exist.
"form is empty' and 'emptiness is form",
the Buddhists say...
In the "time" it has taken you to read this,
you have learnt
..."Nothing"
