The Presumptions of Hawking and Mlodinow in "The Grand Design "

"Because there is a law like gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing.... Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going."

Presumptions?

1. Something can be created from nothing.
2. The whole universe can be created from nothing.
3. The universe has all possible histories.
4. The past can be changed by the present.

Foundation Presumptions in "The Grand Design"

Human free will is an illusion. There are no miracles. Material causes are the only causes. Natural systems have all possible histories.