> Why is there physics at all? There are no underlying explanations of that kind. But that use of "why" is not an explanation, it's a justification or rational

> Why is there physics at all? There are no underlying explanations of that kind. But that use of "why" is not an explanation, it's a justification or rationalization. I may say that the Big Bang explains the present universe, but that explains "how", it doesn't address "why". > ... scientific theories by their nature apply to more than one instance, and therefore explain, from one instance to the next, why things continue to behave in similar ways. No, not "why," but "how". For example, natural selection is an explanation, a mechanism, a "how". Not a justification, a reason, a "why". Obviously in common usage, "why" and "how" may be seen as interchangeable, so this becomes a tempest in a teapot.