Ben Shapiro's Multi-Fallacy
Shapiro "critiques" the multiverse. Sort of.
Ben Shapiro posted on Facebook:
I responded:
First, nothing about the multiverse theory implies moral relativism. That is what Bill Vallicella would call a “howling” non-sequitur. After all, moral truths (as philosophers generally take them to be) are necessary truths, thus not something variable across physical universes, however many there may be.
Second, is just what I responded with. The notion that all possibilities are actualized at once is contradictory. After all, here’s a possibility: there is just one atom *and nothing else*. Clearly, *and there is nothing else* excludes there being something else — that is, any other possibility. So, not all possibilities can be actualized at once without implosion.
Finally, “all possibilities” is almost never what proponents of the multiverse are talking about. Multiverse theories (there ain’t just one — see my conversation with physicist Luke Barnes on this) come with considerable restriction and specification. So, unless Ben simply has Marvel movies in mind, as opposed to what actual physicists are talking about, then his post not only commits the non-sequitur fallacy, but the straw-man fallacy as well.
Often as I appreciate what Shapiro has to say on many political and cultural issues, his comment about the multiverse and moral relativism was poorly thought out.
Infinity is a non-starter. It leads to self-contradictions. Easily shown. We tend to compare qualities with the same word with wildly different definitions as if they are the same idea. We use infinity of time and space with infinity of knowledge and power as if they are the same.
I’m unsure what Shapiro is saying, but a universe of one atom is most definitely possible if one accepts the multiverse hypothesis. Why is such a universe not possible? The answer is there is no reason why such a universe would not be likely. There could be other universes with any finite number of particles besides our own. What is impossible is an infinite universe or an infinite number of such universes.
Once infinite is out of the way, the path to a creator is straightforward.