Before addressing the highlight, I have the following comments:
- I think it's unfortunate that Dr Hawking felt philosophy had nothing to offer, and I agree with your position on that point. Actually, I view science as a subset of philosophical enquiry, and I think science can be much enriched if more scientists made use of a larger part of that base.
- Even within the context of the scientific method, we never know anything. We can only establish plausibility based on some (yes, ultimately sense-based) experiments and a-priori assumptions. Nowadays, experimental discoveries in physics are declared when certain probability thresholds are exceeded. There is never certainty. Even our most accurate theories, relativity and quantum, are known to be flawed. All we can say is that given a certain context, then a given theory is able to match observations up to a certain level of experimental accuracy and confidence.
- Any discussion rests on some assumptions or basic axioms. Those may be beyond the assumptions of what even the most imaginative philosophical propositions have dealt with. As Heisenber said: "Not only is the Universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think". For example, quantum theory (roughly) describes the world as interacting probability waves. Particles are certain patterns of probability waves. 'Groking' that is beyond humans.
Addressing the highlight, I can only speculate:
Perhaps there are no rules and no laws at all. That can be conceived to mean that all sort of rules can haphazardly apply in infinite combinations. What if some of those haphazard rules get randomly 'bundled' in a way that provide the meta-rules that are needed for something close to quantum mechanics. From there, Dr Hawking indicated that all of our reality follows. As some quantum theory models show, absolute or true vacuum is unstable and will necessarily lead to space, time and the rest of our known universe and perhaps a multiverse too. So the universe would be a creation of a random 'bundle' of rules which together necessitate a universe or even a multi-verse consisting of probability waves which, at our level, we see as 'stuff in space and time'. And it all 'starts' from having not just nothing but no rules or laws to start with.
Of course, it's speculation and most likely it is completely off. However, I see it as a plausible alternative to having a creator. In the end, all we can say is we don't know but the creator theory is not the necessary endgame.
