How can all events be causally related if there is no initial event?
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Determinism handles the first event very carefully. From SEP's article on causal determinism:
Determinism: The world is governed by (or is under the sway of) determinism if and only if, given a specified way things are at a time t, the way things go thereafter is fixed as a matter of natural law.
That definition is written in a form which focuses on the future state of the world given a present state, sidestepping the touchy issue of first events or uncaused events.
Obviously not everyone agrees to the same definition, but this is one reliable approach with substantial acceptance.
Cort Ammon
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