# What is the Name for Everything? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 12, 2007, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794 "2007-04-12T13:34:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/1 "2007-04-12T13:34:40Z")
The scope of the word _everything_ is usually understood in everyday conversation. If you order “a pizza with everything” you have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Taken more literally, _everything_ might result in a pretty strange pie. Taken most literally, your pie is the entire Universe including you. There’s that other word, _Universe_. For me, that is the name for everything that exists. That is, if it is not in the Universe, it does not exist in any sense. I might also use _Nature_ as a synonym since, for me, there is nothing supernatural. However, if we were to talk about things supernatural existing, what would be the word for everything then? Is it still _universe_ and my earlier scope becomes just the _Physical Universe_? Is there a clearer word that names everything? If there is a creator of the Universe, what’s a label for everything including the creator? (Though I’m looking more for wordsmiths than philosophers, I suspect philosophizing will be unavoidable. MPSIMS or GD? \ GD wins.) ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/2 "2007-04-12T14:03:43Z")
I would use “universal set”. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/3 "2007-04-12T14:11:50Z")
The full bag of tricks ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/4 "2007-04-12T14:13:22Z")
I offer “[Combined Whole](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=237843)” - _both_ the physical and metaphysical. Then, one can go about suggesting ways in which what was previously considered metaphysical might actually be physical after all. Once acheived, we can translate “Combined Whole” into Greek. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/5 "2007-04-12T14:23:25Z")
The Universe is generally taken to mean the set of all existent things, including anything supernatural if it does in fact exist – at which point that part of the Universe accessible (actually or potentially) to the senses and instruments becomes “the Physical Universe.” In discussing metaphysical or cosmological theories that postulate a sheaf of universes differing slightly or grossly as a result of quantum indeterminacy being resolved in both directions, each in a different universe, the term “Multiverse” has been coined to name the multiplicity of universes so postulated. The only place I could see this being used in the plural is in essays examining the pros and cons of various “multiple world” theories, or someone doing literary criticism of science fiction that postulates the potential of transitioning between them. (“Heinlein’s ‘Number of the Beast’ multiverse is significantly more complex and disparate than Piper’s Crosstime and Barnes’ Time Wars multiverses.”) ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/6 "2007-04-12T14:26:30Z")
[QUOTE=SentientMeat] I offer “[Combined Whole](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=237843)” - _both_ the physical and metaphysical. Then, one can go about suggesting ways in which what was previously considered metaphysical might actually be physical after all. Once acheived, we can translate “Combined Whole” into Greek. 🙂 [/QUOTE] 😉 It’s a strangely unexplored concept when more than physical existence is considered. I wonder why that is - why a simple unambiguous term never developed. ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/7 "2007-04-12T14:33:51Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] The Universe is generally taken to mean the set of all existent things, including anything supernatural if it does in fact exist – at which point that part of the Universe accessible (actually or potentially) to the senses and instruments becomes “the Physical Universe.” [/QUOTE] So “creator of the universe” is inexact and we should say “creator of the phyisical universe”? I can see where that prevents some sticky debates. I was hoping to come up with a term that didn’t suffer from ambiguity in everyday use. Such a word may not be in the Universe. (yet) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/8 "2007-04-12T14:34:13Z")
I’ve got a copy of a medieval book of riddles – **The exeter Book of Riddles**. They’re those rhyming kind, like in The Hobbit. The poem gives you clues about some object, usually in a punning and misleading way, and you’ve got to guess what it is. Some of them are obscene, sort of like that “Turtles” test. (And this book was written by monks!) Several of the riddles seem to describe things that have so many characteristics that no one thing seems to have them all. You flip to the back of the book, where the answers (known or conjectured) are, and in each of these omnibus cases the answer is: Creation! That’s the medieval answer you’re looking for. I have this mental picture of some really annoyed King, having gotten this as the answer one time too many, ordering his guards to drag off the jester and shorten him by a head. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/9 "2007-04-12T14:35:23Z")
Surely the simple “all” needs to be considered. It lacks punch and pizzazz but it does the trick in the same sense that “none” and “some” take care of things less than “all.” I know there have been other threads, even if they didn’t really go anywhere, where the notion of supplying something (anything) with a name brings it into existence at least as far as being able to discuss it goes. I suppose the term being sought would have to include those things that have yet to be named. Whether they exist after they have been named is yet another matter. FWIW, I regard the term “Universe” as relating to the physical realm and things material. Non-material things somehow occupy another realm that’s not connected to the Universe. I don’t have a name for that other place, but I do think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/10 "2007-04-12T14:38:10Z")
> [@The PCApeman](#): > > If you order “a pizza with everything” you have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Taken more literally, everything might result in a pretty strange pie. Taken most literally, your pie is the entire Universe including you. On a lighter note than the serious comments made so far (which are fascinating), I have to steal Spider Robinson’s joke about the Buddhist Hot Dog Stand, where they’ll gladly make you one with everything. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/11 "2007-04-12T14:44:17Z")
[QUOTE=Polycarp] On a lighter note than the serious comments made so far (which are fascinating), I have to steal Spider Robinson’s joke about the Buddhist Hot Dog Stand, where they’ll gladly make you one with everything. 😃 [/QUOTE] They don’t give you change, though. Change comes from within. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/12 "2007-04-12T14:52:31Z")
Reality? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/13 "2007-04-12T15:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=the PC apeman] The scope of the word _everything_ is usually understood in everyday conversation. If you order “a pizza with everything” you have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Taken more literally, _everything_ might result in a pretty strange pie. Taken most literally, your pie is the entire Universe including you. There’s that other word, _Universe_. For me, that is the name for everything that exists. That is, if it is not in the Universe, it does not exist in any sense. I might also use _Nature_ as a synonym since, for me, there is nothing supernatural. However, if we were to talk about things supernatural existing, what would be the word for everything then? Is it still _universe_ and my earlier scope becomes just the _Physical Universe_? Is there a clearer word that names everything? If there is a creator of the Universe, what’s a label for everything including the creator? (Though I’m looking more for wordsmiths than philosophers, I suspect philosophizing will be unavoidable. MPSIMS or GD? \ GD wins.) [/QUOTE] The word you are looking for is spiritual – God or Oneness. Either would work fine. The spiritual definition of God is All-That-Is. ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/14 "2007-04-12T15:04:08Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] Surely the simple “all” needs to be considered. It lacks punch and pizzazz but it does the trick in the same sense that “none” and “some” take care of things less than “all.” [/QUOTE] “All” as a noun a good contender. It suffers from having the same form when used as an adverb or adjective though. ---
**Author:** ![the\_PC\_apeman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac8455/32.png) [@the\_PC\_apeman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_PC_apeman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/15 "2007-04-12T15:17:12Z")
[QUOTE=lekatt] The word you are looking for is spiritual – God or Oneness. Either would work fine. The spiritual definition of God is All-That-Is. [/QUOTE] I could go along with that if it weren’t for the wide variety of baggage associated with the word _God_. _Oneness_ might work better. Maybe a philosophically neutral term isn’t possible. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/16 "2007-04-12T15:32:02Z")
[QUOTE=the PC apeman] MPSIMS or GD? \ GD wins.) [/QUOTE] This is _winning_? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/17 "2007-04-12T15:39:52Z")
Does the possibility of multiple/parallel/whatever universe **s** affect the semantics at hand? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/18 "2007-04-12T15:45:02Z")
[QUOTE=the PC apeman] I could go along with that if it weren’t for the wide variety of baggage associated with the word _God_. _Oneness_ might work better. Maybe a philosophically neutral term isn’t possible. [/QUOTE] I agree. Once you begin to speculate on the _existence_ on non-material things, the philosophical talk must appear. Lacking evidence for such things being part of _The Universe_ splits the conversation’s advocates into the “believers” vs. the “non-believers” and then all Hell breaks loose. BTW, _Hell_ itself would need to be included, wouldn’t it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/19 "2007-04-12T16:35:18Z")
[QUOTE=Alessan] They don’t give you change, though. Change comes from within. [/QUOTE] The ultimate cause of all change, though, is breaking a dollar 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794/20 "2007-04-12T16:37:53Z")
Anything and everything? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-for-everything/399794.md?page=2)