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Questions tagged [existence]

Ontological and metaphysical questions about the study of existence, being and the structure of reality.

1 vote
7 answers
209 views

Did Descartes make assumptions in his "I think therefore I exist"?

Didn't Descartes assume the act of doubting, before "proving" that "I think therefore I exist". Its possible to "feel uncertain about feeling uncertain" i.e. doubt the ...
Fraser Pye's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
267 views

Can the existence of space be in the absence of matter/energy and time? [closed]

This question has potentially a long answer or ironically a very short answer if the question is a load of nonsense, however, I'm going to ask it anyhow. I propose there are three fundamental ...
8Mad0Manc8's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
53 views

Can ontic vagueness not exist?

As far as I can tell, I am going to buy a book on ontic vagueness to work out what it is, but I'm fairly sure it occurs when a vague term refers to something that itself is indeterminate, which may be ...
user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
83 views

In analytic philosophy, what's the difference between something existing and being real?

In analytic philosophy, the dominant view has it that things are real iff they exist mind independently (i.e. they exist apart from our beliefs, concepts, cultural practices etc.). So there are two ...
Hal's user avatar
  • 1,230
3 votes
4 answers
240 views

How void and time originates matter?

- I'm a layman so i may seem confused and not even know what I’m talking about, but that’s why I’m here asking. Please explain this to me, it captivates me so much. If something exists it's affected ...
LAPOdes's user avatar
  • 31
0 votes
2 answers
96 views

What kinds of physical things exist mind independently?

Generally, it's said that a thing exists mind independently if it exists apart from our beliefs, concepts, cultural practices, etc. Do door knobs exist mind independently? They're collections of ...
Hal's user avatar
  • 1,230
3 votes
7 answers
1k views

What are the ontological implications of that “the universe is not locally real” in quantum mechanics?

Quantum mechanics is said to indicate that the universe is not “locally real”, because a particle is not in a defined state before measurement. But if a particle is not in a defined state, what is it ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
106 views

What is the origin of the idea of `set of everything`?

Recently I have come to an idea. It is not hard to come to so it should have been talked about by others before. But after some digging in Wikiepedia it soon become out of my reach with zero ...
jw_'s user avatar
  • 121
0 votes
4 answers
101 views

What is the lack of anything (including nothing)? [closed]

To clarify my question, I am not asking what is nothing, I am asking a more complex question, what is the lack of anything, which includes the absence of nothing (not anything), while assuming that ...
One Similarity Many Difference's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
116 views

Existence as a Predicate

In Predicate logic if I wanna say, Atoms exist, I don't/*can't (?) use Ex = x exists (make existence a predicate) and state Ea, where a = Atoms. The correct way to express Atoms exist is Ex(Ax), Ax = ...
Hudjefa's user avatar
  • 4,351
0 votes
4 answers
85 views

Question about Differences in Existential Quantification [closed]

Existent objects don't exist. There are no existent object. It seems 1 is inconsistent and 2 consistent. Both propositions seem to declare something exists, but is there a difference in these claims? ...
user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
91 views

Does position imply existence? [closed]

People in that room don't exist. Is it contradictory because "people in that room" mean the people exist? Does "in the room", "in the school", etc all imply the existence?...
user avatar
14 votes
7 answers
3k views

What does "everything" mean?

For starter, I'm not a student in philosophy, but mathematics. I only have a general knowledge in logic and set theory, all in the context of mathematics. My question comes from a doubt I got while ...
Alessandro Nanto's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
47 views

Could something prevent us from ever existing?

There are several ideas regarding the creation of our universe that suggest that our universe emerged from another one (eternal inflation suggesting our universe is the byproduct of an inflationary ...
polarsmh's user avatar
3 votes
5 answers
302 views

Circularity in definition of Real

I'm having a hard time understanding the adjective 'real'. In some sense, we get that x is real iff x is in reality. So to say that y is a real boy, is to say that y is a boy, and y is in the ...
Mani's user avatar
  • 261

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