Everything, every-thing, or every thing is all that exists; the opposite of

nothing Nothing, the complete absence of anything, has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BC. Early Greek philosophers argued that it was impossible for ''nothing'' to exist. The atomists allowed ''nothing'' but only i ...

, or its

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-class ...

. It is the totality of things relevant to some subject matter. Without expressed or implied

limits Limit or Limits may refer to: Arts and media * ''Limit'' (manga), a manga by Keiko Suenobu * ''Limit'' (film), a South Korean film * Limit (music), a way to characterize harmony * "Limit" (song), a 2016 single by Luna Sea * "Limits", a 2019 ...

, it may refer to

anything Anything may refer to: Albums * ''Anything'' (The Cranberry Saw Us demo), by the band later named the Cranberries, 1990 * ''Anything'' (The Damned album) or the title song (see below), 1986 * ''Anything'' (Kinnie Starr album) or the title son ...

. The

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

is everything that exists theoretically, though a

multiverse The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The di ...

may exist according to theoretical cosmology predictions. It may refer to an

anthropocentric Anthropocentrism (; ) is the belief that human beings are the central or most important entity in the universe. The term can be used interchangeably with humanocentrism, and some refer to the concept as human supremacy or human exceptionalism. ...

worldview A worldview or world-view or ''Weltanschauung'' is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. A worldview can include natural p ...

, or the sum of human experience, history, and the

human condition The human condition is all of the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered and analyzed fr ...

in general."This is the excellent foppery of the world..." —

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...

'', Every

object Object may refer to: General meanings * Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept ** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place ** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter * Goal, an ai ...

and

entity An entity is something that exists as itself, as a subject or as an object, actually or potentially, concretely or abstractly, physically or not. It need not be of material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually ...

is a part of everything, including all

physical bodies In common usage and classical mechanics, a physical object or physical body (or simply an object or body) is a collection of matter within a defined contiguous boundary in three-dimensional space. The boundary must be defined and identified by t ...

and in some cases all

abstract object In metaphysics, the distinction between abstract and concrete refers to a divide between two types of entities. Many philosophers hold that this difference has fundamental metaphysical significance. Examples of concrete objects include plants, hum ...

Scope

In ordinary conversation, ''everything'' usually refers only to the totality of things relevant to the subject matter. When there is no expressed limitation, ''everything'' may refer to the

, or the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

. The universe is most commonly defined as everything that physically exists: the entirety of

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

, all forms of

matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic partic ...

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

and

momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. If is an object's mass an ...

, and the

physical law Scientific laws or laws of science are statements, based on repeated experiments or observations, that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. The term ''law'' has diverse usage in many cases (approximate, accurate, broad, or narrow) a ...

s and

constants Constant or The Constant may refer to: Mathematics * Constant (mathematics), a non-varying value * Mathematical constant, a special number that arises naturally in mathematics, such as or Other concepts * Control variable or scientific const ...

that govern them. However, the term "universe" may be used in slightly different contextual senses, denoting such concepts as the ''

cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

'', the '' world'', or '' nature''. According to some speculations, this universe may be one of many disconnected universes, which are collectively denoted as the

. In the

bubble universe theory Eternal inflation is a hypothetical inflationary universe model, which is itself an outgrowth or extension of the Big Bang theory. According to eternal inflation, the inflationary phase of the universe's expansion lasts forever throughout most of ...

, there is an infinite variety of universes, each with different

physical constant A physical constant, sometimes fundamental physical constant or universal constant, is a physical quantity that is generally believed to be both universal in nature and have constant value in time. It is contrasted with a mathematical constant, ...

s. In the

many-worlds hypothesis The many-worlds interpretation (MWI) is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that asserts that the universal wavefunction is objectively real, and that there is no wave function collapse. This implies that all possible outcomes of quantum ...

, new universes are spawned with every quantum measurement. By definition, these speculations cannot currently be tested experimentally, yet, if multiple universes do exist, they would still be part of everything. Especially in a metaphysical context, ''World'' may refer to everything that constitutes reality and the

: see World (philosophy). However, world may only refer to '' Earth'' envisioned from an

or human

, as a place by human beings.

In theoretical physics

In theoretical physics, a ''theory of everything'' (TOE) is a hypothetical theory that fully explains and links together all known physical phenomena. Initially, the term was used with an ironic connotation to refer to various overgeneralized theories. For example, a great-grandfather of Ijon Tichy—a character from a cycle of Stanisław Lem's science fiction stories of the 1960s—was known to work on the "General Theory of Everything". Over time, the term stuck in popularizations of

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...

to describe a theory that would unify or explain through a single model the theories of all fundamental interactions of nature. There have been many theories of everything proposed by theoretical physicists over the last century, but none have been confirmed experimentally. The primary problem in producing a TOE is that the accepted theories of quantum mechanics, general relativity, or special relativity are hard to combine. Theories exploring quantum mechanics and string theory are easier to combine. Based on theoretical holographic principle arguments from the 1990s, many physicists believe that 11-dimensional M-theory, which is described in many sectors by matrix string theory, and in many other sectors by perturbative string theory, is the complete theory of everything. Other physicists disagree.

In philosophy

In philosophy, a ''theory of everything'' or ''TOE'' is an ultimate, all-encompassing explanation of nature or reality.Rescher, Nicholas (2006a). "Holistic Explanation and the Idea of a Grand Unified Theory". Collected Papers IX: Studies in Metaphilosophy.Rescher, Nicholas (2006b). "The Price of an Ultimate Theory". Collected Papers IX: Studies in Metaphilosophy.Walker, Mark Alan (March 2002)
"Prolegomena to Any Future Philosophy"
Journal of Evolution and Technology Vol. 10. Adopting the term from physics, where the search for a theory of everything is ongoing, philosophers have discussed the viability of the concept and analyzed its properties and implications. Among the questions to be addressed by a

philosophical theory A philosophical theory or philosophical position''Dictionary of Theories'', Jennifer Bothamley is a view that attempts to explain or account for a particular problem in philosophy. The use of the term "theory" is a statement of colloquial English ...

of everything are: "Why is reality understandable?", "Why are the laws of nature as they are?", and " Why is there anything at all?".

References

{{reflist Perception Ontology Quantity

Scope

In theoretical physics

In philosophy

See also

References