Since it is rational to demand explanations for every existing thing, it also seems rational to ask: Why is there a whole world of existing things? A causal regress cannot resolve the puzzle of existence because the questions still remain as to why the whole of that regress exists and why it proceeds in such an order. If the world has an explanation for its existence, that explanation must reside in the realm of abstract facts; many current attempts to explain existence use one such explanatory method. For example, scientists appeal to abstract features of symmetry or simplicity to explain why the natural world exists. Not being causally efficacious, an explanation of the whole concrete existence by one of its abstract features must proceed teleologically. One main candidate for an abstract explanatory feature is the world’s value: The Good is what bestows existence to the world (Plato). Leslie and Rescher argue for the Axiological explanation by contending that only through the world’s value can one provide an ultimate explanation for existence; they view Axiological facts as necessary and not apt for further explanations. However, their defense of the ultimacy of the Axiological explanation seems to be defective. Because, many necessary facts are apt for further explanations, and if that is true, one might find it hard to accept that necessary Axiological facts explain why the world exists. I propose an alternative Axiological explanation that is self-explanatory. By virtue of its explanatory power, one might prefer an ultimate Axiological explanation over other explanations of existence.
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