Rushd tries to shed light upon the question of the egg before the chicken question.  Is there existence from non-existence?  How by using God’s “agents” he who created all things creates different agents that are “natural” and “voluntary”?  A natural agent does their task automatically never questioning the process, yet a voluntary agent does the act when it feels like it.  Rushd questions, why do these agents do what they must to continue the world as we know it?  He quotes Aristotle, “And He exists, making what He wants out of nothing.  And this is only astonishing through this imperfection which is in us” (Rushd).  If the agents did not continue to do what they are made to do it would reflect a type of weakness in God a type of “blasphemous theory” that if his agents stop doing their jobs then this reflects on God a type of weakness since his creations do not continue. 

Does the agent create product from non-existence?   Non-existence must come from God because he can only be the entity that creates life from nothing because an agent “cannot exert influence upon non-existence” (Rushd) product can be created and used by agents but non-existence cannot be connected with agent.  My take on what Rushd grapples with is that agents create meaning for these products but God ultimately creates product from non-existence He is the only one with this power.

How do you create existence from non-existence?  Why does God create from non-existence what motivates Him?  Does the agent create the relationship between non-existence and God wanting to make it into existence?  “The act of the agent is not connected with non-existence, because non-existence is not actual; nor is it connected with existence which is not linked together with non-existence” but, “existence which is linked up with non-existence only exists as long as the producer exists”(Rushd).  As long as the agent is in the act of using what exists then what was non-existent becomes real through God’s power.  I’m going to go back to my analogy about the egg before the chicken.  If we see the chicken as an agent while the agent is voluntary because the chicken doesn’t just pop eggs out all the time but voluntarily the egg process occurs.  The egg is not real until the agent needs to produce it and the egg is non-existent until God creates it for the chicken to produce.  “Here lies the difference between the created and the artificial, for the artificial product, once produced, is not tied up with non-existence which would be in need of an agent for the continued sustenance of the product” (Rushd).  Artificial items can be made and not be needed but we did not have eggs until they were needed.  All things are created by God and supplied by how much agents are in need of the items to become real from non-existence.  Thus, the egg did not come before the chicken because we needed the chicken first to supply the egg.