KFunk said:
Scientific objections to (1) are often fielded from a perspective which endorses non-deterministic, or properly random, interpretations of quantum mechanics. If particles can spontaneously emerge in a non-deterministic way then causes may not be necessary in order for things to exist (though, I think one would be right to ask 'what kind of underlying fabric allows for such spontaneous existence in the first place?').
Yeah I actually expected that to come up, but to be honest I find it very problematic. The statement I made "whatever begins to exist must have a cause" stems from the first principle of causality and can be expressed as "from nothing, nothing comes". Any proof (or disproof) would surely rely on premises less obvious than this first.
I find the whole quantum fluctuations and virtual particles argument wholly unconvincing (probably for the same reason that you seem to be suggesting). For virtual particles do not come from nothing at all, they rely on quantum foam (a sea of fluctuating energy) which
is something isn't it?
If things could truly begin to exist without cause, I don't see how we should expect any less or be surprised in real life if this happened. After all, if the whole universe can come from nothing for no reason, why can't any object pop into existence for no reason?
Oh and by the way Kfunk, this isn't really a rebuttal of what you have said. It's just a way of summarizing my response to your thoughts and those who posted before you