A Rational Cosmology: The Impossibility of the Universe Having a Shape, Boundary, or Edge

Essay X

This is Essay X of Mr. Stolyarov's series, "A Rational Cosmology," which seeks to present objective, absolute, rationally grounded views of terms such as universe, matter, volume, space, time, motion, sound, light, forces, fields, and even the higher-order concepts of life, consciousness, and volition. See the index of all the essays in "A Rational Cosmology" here.

Recent empiricist-positivist speculations have entered the realm of whether or not the universe has a particular geometric shape, whether it is curved, or donut-shaped, or spherical, how far the "edge of the universe" lies, and what is "beyond" that "edge."

God, "parallel universes," and the possibility of "round-the-universe trips" have been invoked in empiricist-positivist theories attempting to explain these "riddles." However, there is nothing mysterious about questions such as "What shape is the universe?" or "What is beyond its edge?" These questions are simply erroneous.

"Shape" is a quality pertaining to an entity; it is a quality derived from a given entity's measurements in three spatial dimensions, such measurements being a topic for later discussion. "Boundary" is another quality derived from the quantitative extent of a given entity's measurements in three spatial dimensions. Wherever these measurements end is the entity's boundary.

These are qualities pertaining to entities, but the universe is not an entity. The universe is simply a convenient shorthand for "everything that exists," a verbal substitute for listing every specific entity by name. Thus, the universe cannot be cubic, rhombic, octahedral, cylindrical, spherical, or of any other shape. The universe is not a particular entity, and does not have any measurements pertaining to it qua universe. Lacking such measurements, it also lacks any "boundary" at which said measurements would terminate.