First-cause

Definition

First‑cause means the original source that starts a chain of causation, with nothing before it. Cause, by contrast, means a specific event or action that directly produces an effect, but it is not necessarily the first in the chain. So, first‑cause focuses on the ultimate, uncaused origin. Cause focuses on any direct producer, which itself may have prior causes. In other words, first‑cause is the very first domino that falls, with nothing pushing it; cause is any domino that knocks down the next one, but it was itself knocked down by something earlier.

What it describes

A philosopher asks: why does anything exist at all? Every event seems to have a previous cause: the tree grows because of the seed, the seed comes from an earlier tree, and so on. But this chain cannot go back forever. There must be something that started everything — a cause that itself has no prior cause. This original cause is not pushed by anything else. It simply is. What does the philosopher call this original cause? He calls it the first‑cause.

Examples in context

• Some philosophers identify God as the first‑cause of the universe.
• The Big Bang theory describes an initial event, but it does not address what caused that event — the question of first‑cause remains.