![Existential quantifier](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Existential_quantifier.svg)
Existence is the state of being real or participating in
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...
. The terms "being", "reality", and "actuality" are often used as close synonyms. Existence contrasts with nonexistence,
nothingness
Nothing, the complete absence of anything, has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BC. Early Greek philosophers argued that it was impossible for ''nothing'' to exist. The atomists allowed ''nothing'' but only i ...
, and
nonbeing. A common distinction is between the existence of an entity and its
essence, which refers to the entity's nature or essential qualities.
The main philosophical discipline studying existence is called
ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
. The orthodox view is that it is a second-order
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
or a property of properties. According to this view, to say that a thing exists means that its properties are instantiated. A different view holds that existence is a first-order property or a property of
individuals
An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own need ...
. This means that existence has the same ontological status as other properties of individuals, like color and shape.
Meinongians accept this idea and hold that not all individuals have this property: they state that there are some individuals that do not exist. This view is rejected by universalists, who see existence as a universal property of every individual.
Various types of existence are discussed in the academic literature. Singular existence is the existence of individual entities while general existence refers to the existence of
concept
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...
s or
universals
In metaphysics, a universal is what particular things have in common, namely characteristics or qualities. In other words, universals are repeatable or recurrent entities that can be instantiated or exemplified by many particular things. For exa ...
. Other distinctions are between
abstract and concrete
In metaphysics, the distinction between abstract and concrete refers to a divide between two types of entities. Many philosophers hold that this difference has fundamental metaphysical significance. Examples of concrete objects include plants, hum ...
existence, between possible,
contingent
Contingency or Contingent may refer to:
* Contingency (philosophy), in philosophy and logic
* Contingency plan, in planning
* Contingency table, in statistics
* Contingency theory, in organizational theory
* Contingency theory (biology) in evoluti ...
, and
necessary existence, and between
physical
Physical may refer to:
*Physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...
and
mental
Mental may refer to:
* of or relating to the mind
Films
* ''Mental'' (2012 film), an Australian comedy-drama
* ''Mental'' (2016 film), a Bangladeshi romantic-action movie
* ''Mental'', a 2008 documentary by Kazuhiro Soda
* ''Mental'', a 2014 O ...
existence. A closely related issue is whether different types of entities exist in different ways or to different degrees.
A key question in ontology is whether there is a reason for existence in general or
why anything at all exists. The concept of existence is relevant to various fields, including
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...
,
epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Episte ...
,
philosophy of mind
Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology and nature of the mind and its relationship with the body. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are addre ...
,
philosophy of language
In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, ...
, and
existentialism
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
.
Definition and related terms
Existence is the state of being real. To exist means to have being or to participate in
reality
Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...
. Existence is what sets real entities apart from imaginary ones. It can refer both to individual entities or to the totality of reality. The word "existence" entered the English language in the late 14th century from
old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
. It has its roots in the
medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...
term , which means to stand forth, to appear, and to arise. Existence is studied by the subdiscipline of
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
known as
ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
.
The terms "being", "reality", and "actuality" are closely related to existence. They are usually used as synonyms of "existence" but their meanings as technical terms may come apart. According to metaphysicist
Alexius Meinong, for example, all entities have being but not all have existence. He argues that merely possible objects, like Santa Claus, have being but lack existence. Ontologist Takashi Yagisawa contrasts existence with reality. He sees "reality" as the more fundamental term since it characterizes all entities equally. He defines existence as a relative term that connects an entity to the world that it inhabits. According to
Gottlob Frege
Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege (; ; 8 November 1848 – 26 July 1925) was a German philosopher, logician, and mathematician. He was a mathematics professor at the University of Jena, and is understood by many to be the father of analytic phil ...
, actuality is more narrow than existence. He holds that actual entities can produce and undergo changes. He states that some existing entities are non-actual, like numbers and
sets.
Existence contrasts with nonexistence, which refers to a lack of reality. It is controversial whether objects can be divided into existent and nonexistent objects. This distinction is sometimes used to explain how it is possible to think of fictional objects, like dragons and unicorns. But the concept of nonexistent objects is not generally accepted. Closely related contrasting terms are
nothingness
Nothing, the complete absence of anything, has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BC. Early Greek philosophers argued that it was impossible for ''nothing'' to exist. The atomists allowed ''nothing'' but only i ...
and nonbeing.
Another contrast is between existence and
essence. Essence refers to the intrinsic nature or defining qualities of an entity. The essence of something determines what kind of entity it is and how it differs from other kinds of entities. Essence corresponds to what an entity is while existence corresponds to the fact that it is. For instance, it is possible to understand what an
object
Object may refer to:
General meanings
* Object (philosophy), a thing, being, or concept
** Object (abstract), an object which does not exist at any particular time or place
** Physical object, an identifiable collection of matter
* Goal, an ai ...
is and grasp its nature even if one does not know whether this object exists.
Some philosophers, like
Edmund Husserl
, thesis1_title = Beiträge zur Variationsrechnung (Contributions to the Calculus of Variations)
, thesis1_url = https://fedora.phaidra.univie.ac.at/fedora/get/o:58535/bdef:Book/view
, thesis1_year = 1883
, thesis2_title ...
and Quentin Boyce Gibson, hold that ''existence'' is an elementary concept. This means that it cannot be defined in other terms without involving circularity. This would imply that it may be difficult or impossible to characterize existence or to talk about its nature in a non-trivial manner.
A closely related issue concerns the distinction between thin and thick concepts of existence. Thin concepts understand existence as a logical property that every existing thing shares. It does not include any substantial content about the metaphysical implications of having existence. An example of a thin concept of existence is to state that existence is the same as the logical property of
self-identity
In the psychology of self, one's self-concept (also called self-construction, self-identity, self-perspective or self-structure) is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question ''"Who am I? ...
. Thick concepts of existence encompass a metaphysical analysis of what it means that something exists and what essential features existence implies. For example,
George Berkeley
George Berkeley (; 12 March 168514 January 1753) – known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland) – was an Anglo-Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immate ...
's claim that ''esse est percipi'' presents a thick concept of existence. It can be translated as "to be is to be perceived" and highlights the mental nature of all existence.
Some philosophers emphasize that there is a difference between entities and what fundamentally makes them the entities they are. This distinction was introduced by
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
, who calls it the
ontological difference and contrasts individual beings with being, the latter of which he presents as the horizon against which beings become the specific beings that they are.
Theories of the nature of existence
Theories of the nature of existence aim to explain what it means for something to exist. The central dispute regarding the nature of existence is whether it should be understood as a
property
Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...
of
individuals
An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own need ...
.
The two main theories of existence are first-order theories and second-order theories. First-order theories understand existence as a property of individuals. Some first-order theories see it as a property of all individuals while others hold that there are some individuals that do not exist. Second-order theories hold that existence is a second-order property, that is, a property of properties.
A central challenge for the different theories of the nature of existence is to understand how it is possible to coherently deny the existence of something. An example is the sentence "Santa Claus does not exist". One difficulty consists in explaining how the name "Santa Claus" can be meaningful even though there is no Santa Claus.
Second-order theories
Second-order theories are often seen as the orthodox position. They understand existence as a second-order property rather than a first-order property. For instance, the
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
is an individual object and ''being 443.2 meters tall'' is a first-order property of it. ''Being instantiated'' is a property of ''being 443.2 meters tall'' and therefore a second-order property. According to second-order theories, to talk about existence is to talk about which properties have instances. For example, this view states that the sentence "God exists" does not claim that God has the property of existing. Instead, it means "Godhood is instantiated".
A key motivation of second-order theories is that existence is in important ways different from regular properties like ''being a building'' and ''being 443.2 meters tall'': regular properties express what an object is like but existence does not. According to this view, existence is more fundamental than regular properties since, without it, objects cannot instantiate any properties.
Second-order theorists usually hold that
quantifiers rather than predicates express existence. Quantifiers are terms that talk about the quantity of objects that have certain properties. Existential quantifiers express that there is at least one object. Examples are expressions like "some" and "there exists", as in "some cows eat grass" and "there exists an even prime number". In this regard, existence is closely related to counting since to claim that something exists is to claim that the corresponding concept has one or more instances.
Second-order views imply that a sentence like "
egg-laying mammals exist" is misleading since the word "exist" is used as a
predicate
Predicate or predication may refer to:
* Predicate (grammar), in linguistics
* Predication (philosophy)
* several closely related uses in mathematics and formal logic:
**Predicate (mathematical logic)
**Propositional function
**Finitary relation, o ...
in them. They hold instead that their true logical form is better expressed in reformulations like "there exist entities that are egg-laying mammals". This way, ''existence'' has the role of a quantifier while ''egg-laying mammals'' is the predicate. Quantifier constructions can also be used to express negative existential statements. For instance, the sentence "talking tigers do not exist" can be expressed as "it is not the case that there exist talking tigers".
![Bertrand_Russell_photo_(cropped2)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Bertrand_Russell_photo_%28cropped2%29.jpg)
Many ontologists accept that second-order theories provide a correct analysis of many types of existential sentences. However, it is controversial whether it is correct for all cases. One difficulty is caused by so-called negative singular existentials. Negative singular existentials are statements that deny that a particular object exists. An example is the sentence "
Ronald McDonald does not exist".
Singular terms, like Ronald McDonald, seem to refer to individuals. This poses a difficulty since negative singular existentials deny that this individual exists. This makes it unclear how the singular term can refer to the individual in the first place. One influential solution to this problem was proposed by
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
. He holds that singular terms do not directly refer to individuals but are instead
descriptions of individuals. Positive singular existentials affirm that an object matching the descriptions exists while negative singular existentials deny that an object matching the descriptions exists. According to this view, the sentence "Ronald McDonald does not exist" expresses the idea that "it is not the case that there is a unique happy hamburger clown".
First-order theories
First-order theories claim that existence is a property of individuals. They are less widely accepted than second-order theories but also have some influential proponents. There are two types of first-order theories. According to Meinongianism, existence is a property of some but not all entities. This view implies that there are nonexistent entities. According to universalism, existence is a universal property instantiated by every entity.
Meinongianism
![Meinong](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Meinong.jpg)
Meinongianism is a view about existence defended by Meinong and his followers. Its main claim is that there are some entities that do not exist. This means that
objecthood is independent of existence. Proposed examples of nonexistent objects are merely possible objects, like flying pigs, as well as fictional and mythical objects, like
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
and
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
. According to this view, these objects are real and have being even though they do not exist. Meinong states that there is an object for any combination of properties. For example, there is an object that only has the single property of ''being a singer'' without any additional properties. This means that neither the attribute of ''wearing a dress'' nor the absence of it applies to this object. Meinong also includes impossible objects, like round squares.
Meinongians state that sentences describing what Sherlock Holmes and Zeus are like refer to nonexisting objects. They are true or false depending on whether these objects have the properties ascribed to them. For instance, the sentence "Pegasus has wings" is true because ''having wings'' is a property of Pegasus, even though Pegasus lacks the property of existing.
One key motivation of Meinongianism is to explain how negative singular existentials, like "Ronald McDonald does not exist", can be true. Meinongians accept the idea that singular terms, like "Ronald McDonald" refer to individuals. For them, a negative singular existential is true if the individual it refers to does not exist.
Meinongianism has important implications for how to understand quantification. According to an influential view defended by
Willard Van Orman Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine (; known to his friends as "Van"; June 25, 1908 – December 25, 2000) was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition, recognized as "one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century". ...
, the domain of quantification is restricted to existing objects. This view implies that quantifiers carry
ontological commitments
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
about what exists and what does not exist. Meinongianism differs from this view by holding that the widest domain of quantification includes both existing and nonexisting objects.
Some aspects of Meinongianism are controversial and have received substantial criticism. According to one objection, one cannot distinguish between being an object and being an existing object. A closely related criticism rests on the idea that objects cannot have properties if they do not exist. A further objection is that Meinongianism leads to an "overpopulated universe" since there is an object corresponding to any combination of properties. A more specific criticism rejects the idea that there are incomplete and impossible objects.
Universalism
Universalists agree with Meinongians that existence is a property of individuals. But they deny that there are nonexistent entities. They state instead that existence is a universal property: all entities have it, meaning that everything exists. One approach is to hold that existence is the same as self-identity. According to the
law of identity
In logic, the law of identity states that each thing is identical with itself. It is the first of the historical three laws of thought, along with the law of noncontradiction, and the law of excluded middle. However, few systems of logic are bui ...
, every object is identical to itself or has the property of self-identity. This can be expressed in
predicate logic as
.
An influential argument in favor of universalism rests on the claim that to deny the existence of something is contradictory. This conclusion follows from the premises that one can only deny the existence of something by referring to that entity and that one can only refer to entities that exist.
Universalists have proposed different ways of interpreting negative singular existentials. According to one view, names of fictional entities like "Ronald McDonald" refer to
abstract objects. Abstract objects exist even though they do not exist in space and time. This means that, when understood in a strict sense, all negative singular existentials are false, including the claim that "Ronald McDonald does not exist". However, universalists can interpret such sentences slightly differently in relation to the context. In everyday life, for example, people use sentences like "Ronald McDonald does not exist" to express the idea that Ronald McDonald does not exist as a concrete object, which is true. A different approach is to claim that negative singular existentials lack a
truth value
In logic and mathematics, a truth value, sometimes called a logical value, is a value indicating the relation of a proposition to truth, which in classical logic has only two possible values (''true'' or '' false'').
Computing
In some progr ...
since their singular terms do not refer to anything. According to this view, they are neither true nor false but
meaningless.
Types of existing entities
Different
types of existing entities are discussed in the academic literature. Many discussions revolve around the questions of what those types are, whether entities of a specific type exist, how entities of different types are related to each other, and whether some types are more fundamental than others. Examples are questions like whether
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
s exist, whether there are abstract, fictional, and universal entities, and whether besides the actual world and its objects, there are also
possible world
A possible world is a complete and consistent way the world is or could have been. Possible worlds are widely used as a formal device in logic, philosophy, and linguistics in order to provide a semantics for intensional logic, intensional and mod ...
s and objects.
Singular and general
One distinction is between singular and general existence. Singular existence is the existence of individual entities. For example, the sentence "Angela Merkel exists" expresses the existence of one particular person. General existence pertains to general
concept
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs.
They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...
s, properties, or
universals
In metaphysics, a universal is what particular things have in common, namely characteristics or qualities. In other words, universals are repeatable or recurrent entities that can be instantiated or exemplified by many particular things. For exa ...
. For instance, the sentence "politicians exist" states that the general term "politician" has instances without referring to any one politician in particular.
Singular and general existence are closely related to each other and some philosophers have tried to explain one as a special case of the other. For example, Frege held that general existence is more basic. One argument in favor of this position is that general existence can be expressed in terms of singular existence. For instance, the sentence "Angela Merkel exists" can be expressed as "entities exist that are identical to Angela Merkel", where the expression "being identical to Angela Merkel" is understood as a general term. A different position is defended by Quine, who gives primacy to singular existence. A related question is whether there can be general existence without singular existence. According to philosophers like Henry S. Leonard, a property only has general existence if there is at least one actual object that instantiates it. A different view, defended by Nicholas Rescher, holds that properties can even exist if they have no actual instances, like the property of ''being a unicorn''.
This question has a long philosophical tradition in relation to the existence of universals.
Platonists claim that universals have general existence as
Platonic forms independently of the particulars that instantiate them. According to this view, the universal of redness exists independent of whether there are any red objects.
Aristotelianism also accepts that universals exist. However, it holds that their existence depends on particulars that instantiate them and that they are unable to exist by themselves. According to this view, a universal that has no instances in the spacio-temporal world does not exist.
Nominalists
In metaphysics, nominalism is the view that universals and abstract objects do not actually exist other than being merely names or labels. There are at least two main versions of nominalism. One version denies the existence of universalsthings th ...
claim that only particulars have existence and deny that universals exist.
Concrete and abstract
Another influential distinction in ontology is between
concrete and abstract objects. Many concrete objects are encountered in regular everyday life, like rocks, plants, and other people. They exist in space and time and influence each other: they have
causal powers and are affected by other concrete objects. Abstract objects exist outside space and time and lack causal powers. Examples of abstract objects are numbers, sets, and types. The distinction between concrete and abstract objects is sometimes treated as the most general division of being.
There is wide agreement that concrete objects exist but opinions are divided in regard to abstract objects.
Realists accept the idea that abstract objects have independent existence. Some of them claim that abstract objects have the same mode of existence as concrete objects while others maintain that they exist but in a different way.
Antirealists state that abstract objects do not exist. This is often combined with the view that existence requires a location in space and time or the ability to causally interact.
Fictional objects, like dragons and centaurs, are closely related to abstract objects and pose similar problems. However, the two terms are not identical. For example, the expression "the integer between two and three" refers to a fictional abstract object while the expression "integer between two and four" refers to a non-fictional abstract object. In a similar sense, there are also concrete fictional objects besides abstract fictional objects, like
the winged horse of Bellerophon.
Possible, contingent, and necessary
A further distinction is between merely possible,
contingent
Contingency or Contingent may refer to:
* Contingency (philosophy), in philosophy and logic
* Contingency plan, in planning
* Contingency table, in statistics
* Contingency theory, in organizational theory
* Contingency theory (biology) in evoluti ...
, and
necessary existence. An entity has necessary existence if it must exist or could not fail to exist. Entities that exist but could fail to exist are contingent. Merely possible entities are entities that do not exist but could exist.
Most entities encountered in ordinary experience, like telephones, sticks, and flowers, have contingent existence. It is an open question whether any entities have necessary existence. According to one view, all concrete objects have contingent existence while all abstract objects have necessary existence. According to some theorists, one or several necessary beings are required as the explanatory foundation of the cosmos. For instance, philosophers like
Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
and
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
follow this idea and claim that God has necessary existence.
There are many academic debates about whether there are merely possible objects. According to
actualism
In analytic philosophy, actualism is the view that everything there ''is'' (i.e., everything that has ''being'', in the broadest sense) is actual. Another phrasing of the thesis is that the domain of unrestricted quantification ranges over al ...
, only actual entities have being. This includes both contingent and necessary entities. But it excludes merely possible entities. This view is rejected by possibilists, who state that there are also merely possible objects besides actual objects. For example,
David Lewis argues that possible objects exist in the same way as actual objects. According to him, possible objects exist in possible worlds while actual objects exist in the actual world. Lewis holds that the only difference between possible worlds and the actual world is the location of the speaker: the term "actual" refers to the world of the speaker, similar to how the terms "here" and "now" refer to the spatial and temporal location of the speaker.
Physical and mental
A further distinction is between entities that exist on a
physical
Physical may refer to:
*Physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...
level in contrast to
mental
Mental may refer to:
* of or relating to the mind
Films
* ''Mental'' (2012 film), an Australian comedy-drama
* ''Mental'' (2016 film), a Bangladeshi romantic-action movie
* ''Mental'', a 2008 documentary by Kazuhiro Soda
* ''Mental'', a 2014 O ...
entities. Physical entities include objects of regular perception, like stones, trees, and human bodies as well as entities discussed in
modern physics
Modern physics is a branch of physics that developed in the early 20th century and onward or branches greatly influenced by early 20th century physics. Notable branches of modern physics include quantum mechanics, special relativity and general ...
, like
electron
The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family,
and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no kn ...
s and
proton
A proton is a stable subatomic particle, symbol , H+, or 1H+ with a positive electric charge of +1 ''e'' elementary charge. Its mass is slightly less than that of a neutron and 1,836 times the mass of an electron (the proton–electron mass ...
s. Physical entities can be observed and measured. They possess
mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
and a location in space and time. Mental entities belong to the realm of the mind, like perceptions, experiences of pleasure and pain as well as beliefs, desires, and emotions. They are primarily associated with conscious experiences but also include unconscious states, like unconscious beliefs, desires, and memories.
The ontological status of physical and mental entities is a frequent topic in metaphysics and
philosophy of mind
Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology and nature of the mind and its relationship with the body. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are addre ...
. According to
materialists
Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialis ...
, only physical entities exist on the most fundamental level. Materialists usually explain mental entities in terms of physical processes, for example, as brain states or as patterns of neural activation.
Idealists
In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...
reject this view and state that mind is the ultimate foundation of existence. They hold that physical entities have a derivative form of existence, for instance, that they are mental representations or products of consciousness.
Dualists believe that both physical and mental entities exist on the most fundamental level. They state that they are connected to one another in various ways but that one cannot be reduced to the other.
Modes and degrees of existence
Closely related to the problem of different types of entities is the question of whether they differ also concerning their mode of existence. This is the case according to ontological pluralism. In this view, entities belonging to different types do not just differ in their essential features but also in the way they exist.
This position is sometimes found in theology. It states that God is radically different from his creation and emphasizes his uniqueness by holding that the difference affects not just God's features but also God's mode of existence.
Another form of ontological pluralism distinguishes the existence of material objects from the existence of spacetime. This view holds that material objects have relative existence since they exist in spacetime. It further states that the existence of spacetime itself is not relative in this sense since it just exists without existing within another spacetime.
The topic of degrees of existence is closely related to the issue of modes of existence. This topic is based on the idea that some entities exist to a higher degree or have more being than other entities. It is similar to how some properties have degrees, like
heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
and mass. According to Plato, for example, unchangeable
Platonic forms have a higher degree of existence than physical objects.
While the view that there are different types of entities is common in metaphysics, the idea they differ from each other concerning their modes or degrees of existence is not generally accepted. For instance, philosopher Quentin Gibson maintains that a thing either exists or does not exist. This means that there is no alternative in between and that there are no degrees of existence.
Peter van Inwagen
Peter van Inwagen (; born September 21, 1942) is an American analytic philosopher and the John Cardinal O'Hara Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or N ...
uses the idea that there is an intimate relation between existence and quantification to argue against different modes of existence. Quantification is related to how people count objects. Inwagen argues that if there were different modes of entities then people would need different types of numbers to count them. Since the same numbers can be used to count different types of entities, he concludes that all entities have the same mode of existence.
Why anything exists at all
A central question in ontology is why anything exists at all or why there is something rather than
nothing
Nothing, the complete absence of anything, has been a matter of philosophical debate since at least the 5th century BC. Early Greek philosophers argued that it was impossible for ''nothing'' to exist. The atomists allowed ''nothing'' but only i ...
. Similar questions are "why is there a world?" and "why are there individual things?". These questions focus on the idea that many things that exist are
contingent
Contingency or Contingent may refer to:
* Contingency (philosophy), in philosophy and logic
* Contingency plan, in planning
* Contingency table, in statistics
* Contingency theory, in organizational theory
* Contingency theory (biology) in evoluti ...
, meaning they could have failed to exist. It asks whether this applies to existence as a whole as well or whether there is a reason why something exists instead of nothing.
This question is different from scientific questions that seek to explain the existence of one thing, like
life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
, in relation to the existence of another thing, like the
primordial soup which may have been its origin. It is also different from most religious
creation myth
A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop ...
s that explain the existence of the material world in relation to a god or gods that created it. The difference lies in the fact that these theories explain the existence of one thing in terms of the existence of another thing instead of trying to explain existence in general. The additional difficulty of the ontological question lies in the fact that one cannot refer to any other existing entity without engaging in
circular reasoning
Circular may refer to:
* The shape of a circle
* ''Circular'' (album), a 2006 album by Spanish singer Vega
* Circular letter (disambiguation)
** Flyer (pamphlet), a form of advertisement
* Circular reasoning, a type of logical fallacy
* Circular ...
.
One answer to the question of why there is anything at all is called the statistical argument. It is based on the idea that besides the actual world, there are many possible worlds. They differ from the actual world in various respects. For example, the
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "'' ...
exists in the actual world but there are possible worlds without the Eiffel Tower. There are countless variations of possible worlds but there is only one possible world that is empty, i.e., that does not contain any entities. This means that, if it was up to chance which possible world becomes actual, the chance that there is nothing is exceedingly small. A closely related argument in physics explains the existence of the world as the result of random
quantum fluctuations.
Another response is to deny that a reason or an explanation for existence in general can be found. According to this view, existence as a whole is
absurd since it is there without a reason for being there.
Not all theorists accept this question as a valid or philosophically interesting question. Some philosophers, like
Graham Priest and Kris McDaniel, have suggested that the term ''nothing'' refers to a global absence, which can itself be understood as a form of existence. According to this view, the answer to the question is trivial, since there is always something, even if this something is just a global absence. A closely related response is to claim that an empty world is metaphysically impossible. According to this view, there is something rather than nothing because it is necessary for some things to exist.
History
Western philosophy
Western philosophy
Western philosophy encompasses the philosophical thought and work of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the pre-Socratics. The word ' ...
originated with the
Presocratic philosophers, who explored the foundational principles of all existence. Some, like
Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
and
Heraclitus
Heraclitus of Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειτος , "Glory of Hera"; ) was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Persian Empire.
Little is known of Heraclitus's life. He wrote ...
, suggested that concrete principles, like water or fire, are the root of existence. This position was opposed by
Anaximander
Anaximander (; grc-gre, Ἀναξίμανδρος ''Anaximandros''; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who lived in Miletus,"Anaximander" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 1, p. 403. a city of Ionia (in moder ...
, who held that the source must lie in an abstract principle beyond the world of human perception.
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
argued that different types of entities have different degrees of existence. He held that shadows and images exist in a weaker sense than regular material objects. He claimed that the unchangeable
Platonic forms have the highest type of existence. He saw material objects as imperfect and impermanent copies of Platonic forms.
![Aristotle Altemps Inv8575](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Aristotle_Altemps_Inv8575.jpg)
While
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
accepted Plato's idea that forms are different from matter, he challenged the idea that forms have a higher type of existence. Instead, he held that forms cannot exist without matter. Aristotle further claimed that different entities have different modes of existence. For example, he distinguished between
substances and their
accidents
An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...
and between
potentiality and actuality.
Neoplatonists
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ide ...
, like
Plotinus, suggested that reality has a hierarchical structure. They held that a transcendent entity called "the One" or "the Good" is responsible for all existence. From it emerges ''the intellect'', which in turn gives rise to ''the soul'' and the material world.
![Anselm of Canterbury2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Anselm_of_Canterbury2.png)
In
medieval philosophy,
Anselm of Canterbury
Anselm of Canterbury, OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also called ( it, Anselmo d'Aosta, link=no) after his birthplace and (french: Anselme du Bec, link=no) after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of th ...
formulated the influential
ontological argument
An ontological argument is a philosophical argument, made from an ontological basis, that is advanced in support of the existence of God. Such arguments tend to refer to the state of being or existing. More specifically, ontological arguments ...
. This argument aims to deduce the
existence of God from the concept of God. Anselm defined God as the greatest conceivable being. He reasoned that an entity that did not exist outside his mind would not be the greatest conceivable being. This led him to the conclusion that God exists.
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
distinguished between the essence of a thing and its existence. According to him, the essence of a thing constitutes its fundamental nature. He argued that it is possible to understand what an object is and grasp its essence even if one does not know whether this object exists. He concluded from this observation that existence is not part of the qualities of an object and should instead be understood as a separate property. Aquinas also considered the problem of
creation from nothing. He claimed that only God has the power to truly bring new entities into existence. These ideas later inspired
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...
's theory of creation. He held that to create is to confer actual existence to possible objects.
Both
David Hume
David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...
and
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
rejected the idea that existence is a property. According to Hume, objects are
bundles of qualities. He held that existence is not a property since there is no impression of existence besides the bundled qualities. Kant came to a similar conclusion in his criticism of the ontological argument. According to him, this proof fails because one cannot deduce from the definition of a concept whether entities described by this concept exist. He held that existence does not add anything to the concept of the object, it only indicates that this concept is instantiated.
Franz Brentano
Franz Clemens Honoratus Hermann Josef Brentano (; ; 16 January 1838 – 17 March 1917) was an influential German philosopher, psychologist, and former Catholic priest (withdrawn in 1873 due to the definition of papal infallibility in matters of F ...
agreed with Kant's criticism and his claim that existence is not a real predicate. He used this idea to develop his theory of judgments. According to him, all judgments are existential judgments: they either affirm or deny the existence of something. He stated that judgments like "some zebras are striped" have the logical form "there is a striped zebra" while judgments like "all zebras are striped" have the logical form "there is not a non-striped zebra".
Gottlob Frege
Friedrich Ludwig Gottlob Frege (; ; 8 November 1848 – 26 July 1925) was a German philosopher, logician, and mathematician. He was a mathematics professor at the University of Jena, and is understood by many to be the father of analytic phil ...
and
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
aimed to refine the idea of what it means that existence is not a regular property. They distinguished between regular first-order properties of individuals and second-order properties of other properties. According to this view, to talk about existence is to talk about the second-order property of ''being instantiated''. For instance, to deny that dinosaurs exist means that the property of being a dinosaur has the property of not being instantiated. According to Russell, the fundamental form of predication happens by applying a predicate to the proper name of an individual. An example of this type of atomic proposition is "
Laika is a dog". Russell held that talk of existence in the form of sentences like "dogs exist" is less fundamental since it means that there is an individual to which this predicate applies without naming this individual.
Willard Van Orman Quine
Willard Van Orman Quine (; known to his friends as "Van"; June 25, 1908 – December 25, 2000) was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition, recognized as "one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century". ...
followed Frege and Russell in accepting that existence is a second-order property. He drew a close link between existence and the role of quantification in formal logic. He applied this idea to scientific theories and stated that a scientific theory is committed to the existence of an entity if the theory quantifies over this entity. For example, if a theory in biology claims that "there are populations with genetic diversity" then this theory has an ontological commitment to the existence of populations with genetic diversity.
Despite the influence of second-order theories, this view was not universally accepted.
Alexius Meinong rejected it and claimed that existence is a property of individuals and that not all individuals have this property. This led him to the thesis that there is a difference between being and existence: all individuals have being but only some of them also exist. This implies that there are some things that do not exist, like merely possible objects and impossible objects.
Eastern philosophy
![Adi Shankara](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Adi_shankara.jpg)
Many schools of thought in Eastern philosophy discuss the problem of existence and its implications. For instance, the ancient
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
school of
Samkhya
''Samkhya'' or ''Sankya'' (; Sanskrit सांख्य), IAST: ') is a Dualism (Indian philosophy), dualistic Āstika and nāstika, school of Indian philosophy. It views reality as composed of two independent principles, ''purusha, puruṣa' ...
developed a metaphysical dualism. According to this view, there are two types of existence: pure consciousness (
Purusha) and matter (
Prakriti). Samkhya explains the manifestation of the universe as the interaction between these two principles. A different approach was developed by
Adi Shankara
Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...
in his school of
Advaita Vedanta
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hinduism, Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the Āstika and nāstika, orthodox Hindu school Ved ...
. He defended a metaphysical monism by claiming that the divine (
Brahman
In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...
) is the ultimate reality and the only existent. According to this view, the impression that there is a universe consisting of many distinct entities is an illusion (
Maya). The essential features of ultimate reality are described as
Sat Chit Ananda
( sa, सच्चिदानन्द, IAST: ; also Sat-cit-ananda or ) is an epithet and description for the subjective experience of the ultimate unchanging reality, called Brahman,Devadutta Kali (2005), Devimahatmyam: In Praise of the Godde ...
, meaning existence, consciousness, and bliss.
A central doctrine in
Buddhist philosophy is called the ''
three marks of existence
In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (Pali: tilakkhaṇa; Sanskrit: त्रिलक्षण trilakṣaṇa) of all existence and beings, namely ''Impermanence#Buddhism, aniccā'' (impermanence), ''Duḥkha, dukkh ...
''. The three marks are
aniccā (impermanence),
anattā
In Buddhism, the term ''anattā'' (Pali: अनत्ता) or ''anātman'' (Sanskrit: अनात्मन्) refers to the doctrine of "non-self" – that no unchanging, permanent self or essence can be found in any phenomenon. While often ...
(absence of a permanent self), and
dukkha (suffering). Aniccā is the doctrine that all of existence is subject to change. This means everything transforms at some point and nothing lasts forever. Anattā expresses a similar state in relation to persons. It is the claim that people do not have a permanent identity or a separate self. Ignorance about aniccā and anattā is seen as the main cause of dukkha by leading people to form attachments that cause suffering.
A central idea in many schools of
Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period () and Warring States period (), during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural developmen ...
, like
Laozi
Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state
...
's
Daoism, is that a fundamental principle known as
dao
Dao, Dão or DAO may refer to:
* Tao (Chinese: "The Way" 道), a philosophical concept
* Dao (Chinese sword) (刀), a type of Chinese sword
* Dao (Naga sword), a weapon and a tool of Naga people
People and language
* Yao people, a minority ethnic ...
is the source of all existence. The term is often translated as "the Way" and is understood as a cosmic force that governs the natural order of the world. One position in Chinese metaphysics holds that dao is itself a form of being while another contends that it is non-being that gives rise to being.
The concept of existence played a central role in
Arabic-Persian philosophy.
Avicenna
Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
and
Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...
discussed the relation between existence and essence. According to them, the essence of an entity is prior to its existence. The additional step of instantiating the essence is required for the entity to come into existence.
Mulla Sadra
Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī, more commonly known as Mullā Ṣadrā ( fa, ملا صدرا; ar, صدر المتألهین) (c. 1571/2 – c. 1635/40 CE / 980 – 1050 AH), was a Persian Twelver Shi'i Islamic mystic, philosopher, the ...
rejected this priority of essence over existence. He argued that essence is only a concept used by the mind to grasp existence. Existence, by contrast, encompasses the whole of reality, according to his view.
In various disciplines
Formal logic
Formal logic studies which arguments are
deductively valid.
First-order logic is the most commonly used system of formal logic. In it, existence is expressed using the
existential quantifier (
). For example, the formula
can be used to state that horses exist. The variable ''x'' ranges over all elements in the
domain of quantification and the existential quantifier expresses that at least one element in this domain is a horse. In first-order logic, all singular terms, like names, refer to objects in the domain and imply that the object exists. Because of this, one can deduce that
(someone is honest) from
(Bill is honest).
Many logical systems that are based on first-order logic also follow this idea.
Free logic
A free logic is a logic with fewer existential presuppositions than classical logic. Free logics may allow for terms that do not denote any object. Free logics may also allow models that have an empty domain. A free logic with the latter propert ...
is an exception. It allows there to be empty names that do not refer to any object in the domain. One motivation for this modification is that reasoning is not limited to regular objects but can also be applied to fictional objects. In free logic, for instance, one can express that Pegasus is a flying horse using the formula
. One consequence of this modification is that one cannot infer from this type of statement that something exists. This means that the inference from
to
is invalid in free logic even though it would be valid in first-order logic. Free logic uses an additional existence predicate (
) to express that a singular term refers to an existing object. For example, the formula
can be used to express that
Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
exists while the formula
states that Pegasus does not exist.
Epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of language
The disciplines of
epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Episte ...
,
philosophy of mind
Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the ontology and nature of the mind and its relationship with the body. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a number of other issues are addre ...
, and
philosophy of language
In analytic philosophy, philosophy of language investigates the nature of language and the relations between language, language users, and the world. Investigations may include inquiry into the nature of meaning, intentionality, reference, ...
aim to understand the nature of
knowledge
Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...
, mind, and language. A key issue in these fields is the problem of
reference
Reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''name'' ...
. This problem concerns the question of how
mental
Mental may refer to:
* of or relating to the mind
Films
* ''Mental'' (2012 film), an Australian comedy-drama
* ''Mental'' (2016 film), a Bangladeshi romantic-action movie
* ''Mental'', a 2008 documentary by Kazuhiro Soda
* ''Mental'', a 2014 O ...
or linguistic representations can refer to existing objects. Examples of such representations are beliefs, thoughts, perceptions, words, and sentences. For instance, in the sentence "Barack Obama is a Democrat", the name "Barack Obama" refers to a particular individual. In relation to perception, the problem of reference concerns the question of whether or to what extent perceptual impressions bring the perceiver in contact with reality by presenting existing objects rather than illusions.
Closely related to the problem of reference is the relation between truth and existence. Representations can be true or false. According to
truthmaker theory
Truthmaker theory is "the branch of metaphysics that explores the relationships between what is true and what exists". The basic intuition behind truthmaker theory is that truth depends on being. For example, a perceptual experience of a green tre ...
, true representations require a truthmaker. A truthmaker of a representation is the entity whose existence is responsible for the fact that the representation is true. For example, the sentence "kangaroos live in Australia" is true because there are kangaroos in Australia: the existence of these kangaroos is the truthmaker of the sentence. Truthmaker theory states that there is a close relation between truth and existence: there exists a truthmaker for every true representation.
Existentialism
Existentialism is a school of thought that explores the nature of human existence. One of its key ideas is that
existence precedes essence
The proposition that existence precedes essence (french: l'existence précède l'essence) is a central claim of existentialism, which reverses the traditional philosophical view that the essence (the nature) of a thing is more fundamental and im ...
. This claim expresses the notion that existence is more basic than essence and that the nature and purpose of human beings are not pregiven but develop in the process of living. According to this view, humans are thrown into a world that lacks preexistent intrinsic meaning. They have to determine for themselves what their purpose is and what
meaning their life should have. Existentialists use this idea to focus on the role of
freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
and responsibility in actively shaping one's life.
See also
* ''
Cogito ergo sum
The Latin , usually translated into English as "I think, therefore I am", is the "first principle" of René Descartes's philosophy. He originally published it in French as , in his 1637 ''Discourse on the Method'', so as to reach a wider audien ...
''
*
Existence theorem
In mathematics, an existence theorem is a theorem which asserts the existence of a certain object. It might be a statement which begins with the phrase " there exist(s)", or it might be a universal statement whose last quantifier is existential ...
*
Solipsism
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External links
The Concept of Existence: History and Definitions from Leading Philosophers
{{Authority control
Metaphysical properties
Ontology
Reality