Steven Hawkin thinks that ultimate, primal question is "Why is there something instead of nothing."?

"Existence is a self-sufficient primary. It is not a product of a supernatural dimension, or of anything else. There is nothing antecedent to existence, nothing apart from it—and no alternative to it. Existence exists—and only existence exists. Its existence and its nature are irreducible and unalterable." Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology; Leonard Peikoff

"Grünbaum addressed a famous and simple question: “Why is there something rather than nothing?” He called it the Primordial Existential Question, or PEQ for short. (Philosophers are up there with NASA officials when it comes to a weakness for acronyms.) Stated in that form, the question can be traced at least back to Leibniz in his 1697 essay “On the Ultimate Origin of Things,” although it’s been recently championed by Oxford philosopher Richard Swinburne.

"The correct answer to this question is stated right off the bat in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Well, why not?” http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2...

Well, even "Why not?" is not the correct answer. Rather it lies in metaphysics, specifically in language.

1. Nothingness cannot exist, or it would be 'somethingness'. That which exists is 'something'.

2. Nothingness cannot be the original state of the universe because "universe" implies "something". "Existence" implies "something".

3. Therefore; "something" must always at all times "exist" because if "nothing" existed that would be what exists, creating a contradiction which cannot be defended.

That means that "Existence is a self-sufficient primary."

The Void Is~

"That Which Goes On And On Forever And Never Changes"...

That Is To Say "The Void" Is

"That Which Never Was And Never Will Be~"

We Are Here

There Is A Fountain Of Form Alive !

An Active Side Of Infinity...

All My Life I Have Ponderd This Question

"Where Did Anything Come From"??????

The Way I See It Is Simple...

One Could Say God, The Great Spirit , The Source.... Is:

"Nothingness, Aware..."

Or Saying It Another Way Would Be:

"Everything That Is ~

Is Merely A Dream Of The Void"

8th Grade Science Tells Us That,

"Nothing In The Universe Ever Was Solid Or Ever Will Be Solid"

There Simply Are No Solids!

Are There Solids In Your Dreams?

(In That Matrix That Is Your Dream You Might Very Well Feel Solids)

All This Matter...

Solids, Liquids , Gases, Plasmas

Are Nothing More Than A "Matrix Of Light"

Bending~looping~ Weavings Of Sub Light Speed Space...

As It Has Been Said:

"We Are All Prisoners Of This Snap Shot Of Eternity"

So The Question Stands Where Did This Light Come From?

The Way I See It Is,

Light Is A Manifestation Of Awareness

(Imho I Feel This Is Simply Self Evident)

From What I Understand If All The Atoms In The World Were Condensed They Would All Fit On The Tip Of Your Tongue...

These Atoms Are Traces,

Like Finger Prints Of Intent...

Awareness’s Silent Intent Of Creation...

The Stars Are Torches To Witness

The Beauty Of The Void

Atoms Are What Is In The "Box" So To Speak...

Awareness Does Not Have Atoms, Awareness Is Outside The Box...

This Awareness Could Be Call "Love"

This Awareness Could Be Called "God"

This Awareness Could Be Called "Freedom"

This Awareness Could Be Called "Silence"

Maybe It Was Love That Dreamed The Dream

Maybe It Was Hate

Or Maybe It Was Both

But We Would Hope It Was Love....

That Is What We Would Hope...

Personally, I Feel This Power Is Impersonal

So I Simply Call It "POWER"

I feel that Benedict Spinoza (more or less) addressed this question. First, there is God. And what quality could God have that is more essential than existence? It is a necessary quality of a perfect being that it must exist. Otherwise, God would not be perfect. Theistic nonsense? Not if there is a God. First principles? Since ancient times there have been sages and wise men who have believed in an Almighty, Supernatural Being whom we commonly refer to as God. There is one point these men have tended to agree on from diverse religions and from diverse lands and cultures. That God is inconceivable to humans. That is my answer with regard to first principles. God is beyond being and nothingness. He is not only the quintessential being but the very source of being. Why? If we could answer that we would not be mere humans. I think we will know someday, but at this time we are incapable of grasping it.

Hawkin's own response to this question was that there has to be something in the first place for such a question to be asked.

For instance, like many things, maybe there's a probability that a universe can be created. It could be incredibly small, a trillion trillion to one, it doesn't matter. Only in the one universe that was created can we even ask the question.

I do believe we have a lot to learn about our universe. With the acceleration of modern Science, 2000AD to 2100AD will be 1000AD to 1900AD.

You could say that these are the only two options, ie, that something exists, or nothing exists, there is no go-between. However, if there really was nothing, then even the idea of existence would not itself exist, so it wouldn't in fact be possible for nothing to exist, because there would be no universe for it to not exist in. Therefore, it seems that the presence of something is the only possible thing that could happen.

I'd start by saying, "In the absence of anything, anything is something."

More simply put, perhaps Hawking's definition of "something" is too concise. All matter in the universe is actually just energy condensed at varying levels. If nothing ever existed, there would be at least the potential for something to exist. Perhaps this "potential energy" condensed in the universe and gives us what we see all around us.

Who is Steven Hawkin?

There is currently no mathematical answer to such a question. Maybe in the next 10000 years we might come up with san answer but I highly doubt it.

To observe there must be something ... As observing nothing 'IS' in fact something ...

Something is better than nothing.