Philosophy of cosmology is an expanding discipline, directed to the conceptual foundations of cosmology and the philosophical contemplation of the universe as a totality. It draws on the fundamental theories of physics — thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, quantum field theory, and special and general relativity — and on several branches of philosophy – philosophy of physics, philosophy of science, metaphysics, philosophy of mathematics, and epistemology.
Central questions concern limits to explanation, physical infinity, laws, especially laws, if any, of initial conditions, selection effects and the anthropic principle, objective probability, the nature of space, time, and spacetime, the arrow of time, the measurement problem of quantum mechanics, dark energy and quantum fluctuations, scale, the origins of structure formation, the origins and fate of the universe, and the place of life and intelligence within it.