Editing Nothing (section)

{{Short description|Complete absence of anything; the opposite of everything}}
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}

'''Nothing''', '''no-thing''', or '''no thing''' is the complete absence of ''anything'', as the [[opposite]] of [[something (concept)|''something'']] and an [[antithesis]] of [[everything]]. The concept of nothing has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BCE. [[Ancient Greek philosophy|Early Greek philosophers]] argued that it was impossible for ''nothing'' to "[[Existence|exist]]". The [[atomism|atomists]] allowed ''nothing'' but only in the spaces between the invisibly small atoms. For them, all space was filled with atoms. [[Aristotle]] took the view that there exists [[matter]] and there exists [[space]], a receptacle into which matter objects can be placed. This became the paradigm for classical scientists of the modern age like [[Isaac Newton]]. Nevertheless, some philosophers, like [[René Descartes]], continued to argue against the existence of empty space until the scientific discovery of a physical [[vacuum]].

[[Existentialism|Existentialists]] like [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] and [[Martin Heidegger]] (as interpreted by Sartre) have associated ''nothing'' with [[consciousness]]. Some writers{{who?|date=January 2025}} have made connections between Heidegger's concept of ''nothing'' and the [[nirvana]] of Eastern religions.

Modern science does not equate ''vacuum'' with ''nothing''. The vacuum in [[quantum field theory]] is filled with [[virtual particle]]s.<ref name="BG-20230216" /><ref name="BG-20221222" /> The quantum vacuum is often viewed as a modern version of an [[aether theories|aether theory]].