How can you have physical laws/forces where there is no universe, i.e. nothing?
Virtual particles (cassini effect) come into existence from "nothing," i.e. not from pre-existing matter/energy.
Even virtual particles do not literally come into existence spontaneously out of nothing. They are the product, however briefly, of energy fluctuations in the quantum vacuum, and so they show nothing about the causality or acausality of absolute beginnings, of beginnings of the existence of particles, and so do not constitute an exception to the principle that whatever begins to exist has a cause.
Cordially,
Why can't you? Although it would be moot in practice with nothing for the laws to act upon.
But, imagine this: Assume you create a perfect vacuum in a container. Into this container you then put oxygen, heat and fuel. A fire results.
You did not put the physical laws into the container. The choices we have are that the laws are contained in the atoms – a problematic reiterative problem I think – or that the laws exist everywhere in the universe even where matter doesn't.
I didn't say there wasn't a cause. We can discuss differing definitions and names for that cause. I suggested the laws of the universe. I also like "the creative process of the universe" as general and specific enough.