All Questions
Tagged with epistemology existence
12
questions
91
votes
22
answers
56k
views
Could 'cogito ergo sum' possibly be false?
I've heard it postulated by some people that "we can't truly know anything". While that does seem to apply to the vast majority of things, I can't see how 'cogito ergo sum' can possibly be false.
...
- 2,039
8
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What are the counterexamples to Kant's argument that existence is not a predicate?
Kant argued that considering existence as a predicate is wrong. A predicate is a feature or characteristic of an object. But logically, existence adds nothing to the characteristics of that object, ...
15
votes
8
answers
4k
views
Can one prove a negative existential claim?
A major concern in epistemology is just what we can know about existential claims, that is, claims about the existence (or lack of) something.
Suppose for example that I assert the following:
The ...
- 7,399
7
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Descartes' Demon
This week I've been given to study from my highschool teacher Descartes' Demon argument but I have several doubts I fully understand it ,but let me put this in clear order :
1) I understand that ...
- 149
15
votes
15
answers
2k
views
Can we know that something exists even if we can't explain or define it?
Can a person know that something like "free will" must exist even though an exact definition in words, using language, cannot be provided, and in the absence of a complete theory that ...
user66156
12
votes
16
answers
8k
views
Can we logically prove that anything exists?
Suppose I want to prove that negative numbers exist. Well, I could easily do that using a mathematical proof. However, all I would be doing is adding another logical object to a list of known logical ...
- 121
7
votes
4
answers
636
views
Could a philosophical zombie conclude "cogito ergo sum"?
Could a philosophical zombie conclude "cogito ergo sum"?
Assume a philosophical zombie which is a hypothetical being that is indistinguishable from a normal human being except in that it lacks ...
- 4,997
4
votes
1
answer
419
views
Does Valberg's "personal horizon" entail life after death?
The personal horizon is, Valberg contends, the subject matter whose
center each of us occupies, and which for each of us ceases with
death. This ceasing to be presents itself solipsistically not ...
- 2,483
2
votes
1
answer
875
views
"cogito ergo sum" and then...?
After his ever so famous "cogito ergo sum", Rene Descartes' second (deep?) thought was something like "God exists" (according to my literature). I think he brought this up mainly due to historical ...
- 768
1
vote
2
answers
243
views
Why do some philosophers argue that we do not know, a priori, that something thinks?
The Cartesian argument seems to explicate the fact that I necessarily know that something thinks, and that I necessarily know that something thinks even if I don't checking the world to verify whether ...
- 1,230
1
vote
2
answers
404
views
How does mind discover its own existence?
By mind I mean the observer, the self, something that perceives. I hope that you understand because I can't find the right word.
So, your mind can observe the external existence, and can observe its ...
- 19
0
votes
2
answers
168
views
Has any philosophy in history coherently disambiguated the state of being “real” from being “existent”? Such that it’s broadly applicable to thoughts?
I suspect that things which simply exist are not bound by limits and are hence unlimited. According to economic thinking, real things are those which are scarce or limited by constraints of physical ...
- 47