Wandering Mazes Lost: Investigating Arguments over the Problem of Existence.

This research will address arguably the most fundamental problem in philosophy: the problem of why existence, of why there is something rather than nothing. Humans have developed stories to answer this question for as long as recorded history and this surely reflects our deep instinctual search for meaning, a need to feel at home in the cosmos. We require meaning for our very psychological well-being, lest we feel alienated from reality. This project seeks a better understanding of this basic universal problem, not by answering it directly, but by examining how it has been posed and answered from the earliest texts to the present day. We interweave philosophy with our historical analysis to discover common threads (as well as differences) running throughout different historical periods and cultural contexts. In addition to impacting ongoing debates in philosophy, physics, and theology, the research will lead to some benefits in the wider community, especially in terms of better understanding the human condition, the common links holding together diverse groups, and humanity's grand quest to understand our place in the universe. The project will lead to a monograph covering ancient to medieval ideas through to the enlightenment era and on to the present. This will be the first work of its kind and will provide a thorough map of the problem of existence and a new way of thinking about of the problem and its limits. A pair of conferences will also promote the project and expand knowledge.