Question: why does the universe and life exist?

Martin McCoustra answered on 16 Jul 2024:

That’s a very philosophical question in some respects. The simplest answer is to ignore the philosophy and simply say that the Universe exists because of the Big Bang. Without that primary creation event none of the atoms in our Universe would exist. Once the Big Bang happened and created a Universe full of hydrogen atoms, it was inevitable that stars would form and through nuclear fusion processes make heavier atoms like carbon, oxygen and sulfur that are necessary for life. Even with those atoms present, a certain level of chemical complexity had to evolve through chemical reactions among the atoms and molecules in space from which life itself could arise.