"Some physicists over the last 40 years, including Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, Frank Wilczek, and Laurence Krauss, have gleefully claimed that the vacuum is, in fact, not empty but full of quantum fluctuations. Therefore, they argue, the age-old question: "why is there something instead of nothing?" that has beguiled philosophers since the time of the ancient Greeks has its answer in quantum physics. There is no such thing as nothing and never has been."
"Krauss argues that the physicist's question and answer are superior and that the philosopher is arguing over poorly defined terms that ought to be swept away by the physicist's rigor. I argue that Krauss and others have merely led us further astray from the path to enlightenment because they base their explanations on physical concepts that are themselves ill-defined. What modern physicists fail to understand, ancient and medieval philosophers understood well."
Some physicists claim the vacuum contains quantum fluctuations, asserting that 'nothing' never existed because the quantum vacuum is something. That claim answers a version of 'why is there something instead of nothing?' where 'something' denotes material objects like particles. Philosophers identify a category error: quantum fluctuations are themselves something, so the deeper question asks why any fluctuations exist at all. Philosophers emphasize semantic distinctions and the need for precise definitions. Critics contend that relying on ill-defined physical concepts fails to resolve the philosophical problem of ultimate existence and may mislead rather than clarify.
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