  Many believe that the deep question of "why is there something rather than
nothing?" is unanswerable. The universe just is and no further explanation for
its existence is possible. In this paper I explain why this question must have
an answer, and why that answer must establish that physical existence is
inescapable and necessary. Based on the conclusion that if the universe is
eternal rather than having a beginning some finite time in the past, the
universe has to exist rather than not because its possible non-existence is
never an option, such an explanation is put forward. As a logical extension of
only an eternal universe being capable of providing an answer to the question
of why there is something rather than nothing, the argument necessitates that
the universe must be eternal. The consequences of this conclusion for cosmology
are then briefly discussed.
