The Universe as Eternal

A common error related to the primacy of consciousness is the assumption that the universe requires a cause. It is asked “what caused existence to exist?” and other such nonsense. Recall that the law of causality does not state that every entity has a cause, rather it states that every action has a cause and that all action is action of entities.

The concept of “cause” is inapplicable to the universe; by definition, there is nothing outside the totality to act as a cause. The universe simply is; it is an irreducible primary. An entity may be said to have a cause only if it is the kind of entity that is noneternal; and then what one actually explains causally is a process, the fact of its coming into being or another thing’s passing away. Action is the crux of the law of cause and effect: it is action that is caused—by entities.