Why does Existence Exist?

Discuss any topics related to metaphysics (the philosophical study of the principles of reality) or epistemology (the philosophical study of knowledge) in this forum.
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Socraticpupil
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by Socraticpupil »

Existence exists because it is more probable that it would exist rather than not exist. Existence comes in degrees of preeminence. Large objects exist more fully than small objects. Imagine all the ways the universe could have been. It could have been nothing, or it could have been the fullest possible universe. Every universe in between has elements that exist. Only one possible universe exists that consists of nothing. Therefore, existence exists because its most probable that it exists. (This statistical method was aided by Jim Holt's "Why does the Universe Exist"- recommended reading).
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Rr6
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by Rr6 »

The question is moot because existence cannot be any other format then the way it exists.

1} "U"niverse

....1a} metaphysical-1, mind/intellect/concepts ex concepts of Universe, Space, Dogs Existence etc....and includes spirit-of-intent....

-------------line of demarcation--------------------------------------------------------

....1b} metaphysical-2, macro-infinite non-occupied space, that, embraces the following,

....1c} finite, occupied space Universe aka Uni-V-erse

.........1c2} fermions, bosons and any aggregate collection thereof ergo physical/energy/spirit/time/reality,

.........1c3} metaphysical-3{ spirit-3 } gravity ( ) ----positive shaped Space ( ),

..........1c4} metaphysical-4{ spirit-4 } dark energy )( ----negative shaped Space )(.

123, ABC, thats how easy Universe can be...sung to M.. Jackson tune.

r6
Socraticpupil wrote:Existence exists because it is more probable that it would exist rather than not exist. Existence comes in degrees of preeminence. Large objects exist more fully than small objects. Imagine all the ways the universe could have been. It could have been nothing, or it could have been the fullest possible universe. Every universe in between has elements that exist. Only one possible universe exists that consists of nothing. Therefore, existence exists because its most probable that it exists. (This statistical method was aided by Jim Holt's "Why does the Universe Exist"- recommended reading).
"U"niverse > UniVerse > universe > I-verse < you-verse < we-verse < them-verse
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UniversalAlien
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by UniversalAlien »

So I like at i another way - Remember I asked the question {OP}

But how do I know that existence exists? - I know I exist, at least for now.......But existence??? - Nobody really knows what existence is - Or even if it exists! - What we have here is a bunch of 'so-called' philosophers {including me}
postulating something that can not even be proven - Isn't that like the theist saying god must exist because they need a prime cause? - And why do they need a prime cause?

So I'm going to change my view by stating that first you must prove that existence actually exists in order to ask why it exists - My former statements saying existence exists becuase non-existence can not exist, does not stand up - How can I say non-existence can not exist when I can't prove that existence exists in the first place?

At times like this that I go the late {just died recently at 102] Professor Irwin Corey " The World's Foremost Authority" - who made the profound statement: "Wherever you go - There you are!"

Hard to argue with the truth - All else is speculation - AlienView
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by Steve3007 »

From the OP:
Can we question the reason for existence itself :?: Or is it a totally impossible question with no hope of even a vague answer?
My answer: We can do whatever we like, but in this case it will just be an exercise in the circular definition of various terminology. Since it's not possible to consider a question without having some notion of what we mean by its constituent words, we can't get around this problem.

One of those words is "reason". It is a word that is used in the above quote from the OP, so it must be addressed. What does it mean to find the reason for something?

Sometimes the word is used to mean something like "underlying mechanism". That is a definition which is linked to the concept of causality. It means the invention of a general rule which successfully describes a wide set of possible observations, one of which is the thing for which we're trying to find the reason. The larger the set of other observations that fit this rule we've invented, the greater the sense in which we think we've found this "reason" thing.

But we often think of "reason" as being more than that - more than just a relatively simply description (a rule) of a relatively large set of possible observations.

And so on.
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UniversalAlien
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by UniversalAlien »

We have no right to assume that any physical laws exist, or if they have existed up until now, that they will continue to exist in a similar manner in the future.
-Max Planck

"Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) is the originator of modern quantum theories and one of the most important German physicists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918"
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Rr6
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by Rr6 »

None have offerred any rational, logical common sense that would add to, or invalidate my given hierarchy, as stated, and none ever will. imho. The questions is moot.

Humans know of existence via their ego and nervous system. I cant speak to those critters that are not animals or a biological life. Ex virus and atom.

r6
Rr6 wrote:The question is moot because existence cannot be any other format then the way it exists.

1} "U"niverse

....1a} metaphysical-1, mind/intellect/concepts ex concepts of Universe, Space, Dogs Existence etc....and includes spirit-of-intent....

-------------line of demarcation--------------------------------------------------------

....1b} metaphysical-2, macro-infinite non-occupied space, that, embraces the following,

....1c} finite, occupied space Universe aka Uni-V-erse

.........1c2} fermions, bosons and any aggregate collection thereof ergo physical/energy/spirit/time/reality,

.........1c3} metaphysical-3{ spirit-3 } gravity ( ) ----positive shaped Space ( ),

..........1c4} metaphysical-4{ spirit-4 } dark energy )( ----negative shaped Space )(.

123, ABC, thats how easy Universe can be...sung to M.. Jackson tune.

r6
Socraticpupil wrote:Existence exists because it is more probable that it would exist rather than not exist. Existence comes in degrees of preeminence. Large objects exist more fully than small objects. Imagine all the ways the universe could have been. It could have been nothing, or it could have been the fullest possible universe. Every universe in between has elements that exist. Only one possible universe exists that consists of nothing. Therefore, existence exists because its most probable that it exists. (This statistical method was aided by Jim Holt's "Why does the Universe Exist"- recommended reading).
"U"niverse > UniVerse > universe > I-verse < you-verse < we-verse < them-verse
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Atreyu
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by Atreyu »

The key to understanding why something exists, rather than nothing existing, is to understand both are true. In a way, nothing does exist. Existence isn't as "solid", "absolute" or "objective" as we think it is. It's a rather tenuous concept, but, for personal reasons, we like to think it's an obvious and incontestable "truth".

In this sense, life is like a dream. ("row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. merrily merrily merrily merrily, life is but a dream"). Let's say you are dreaming of a unicorn walking towards you. Is it real? Does the unicorn exist? Well, in a way it does. It exists, but in this case, it's a dream. Just like ideas do. Do ideas actually exist? Of course they do, only their existence is not physical, it's meta-physical. The same is true of dreams. They have a metaphysical existence, just like thoughts and ideas do.

And that is exactly how the Universe is as well. It's a sort of Gigantic Dream that we, as infinitely minuscule parts of it, have to experience, whether we want to or not. And the only reason we experience some of it as real, tangible, and acute, like when we feel cold water on our face, is because of our small minuscule size in comparison with the totality of what is out there. The same would apply to the cells of your body. For you, the unicorn is a dream, and you know it when you wake up. But for some of your neurons and other cells of your body, the unicorn was as real as the cold water on your body, as acute and as tangible. If you could talk to some of the neurons in your brain and nervous system, they would tell you that, for them, there was no difference between the experience of cold water being splashed on your face and the unicorn in your dreams. Only your whole organism experiences the difference between the cold water (really existing) and the unicorn (not really existing).

And the same relationship exists between ourselves and the Universe, as does the cells of our bodies and our whole physical organism....
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Rr6
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by Rr6 »

Something exists. Ex occupied space

Nothing also exists. Ex non-occupied space

Now I know Atreyeu, if not some others do not believe space exists, however, they lack relatively simple, rational, logical common sense with their stated beliefs.

The 3 aspects of "U"niverse I listed exist and it is that simple. None have ever offered any rational, logical common sense that adds too or invalidates my comments as stated. None ever will.

Ego exists even tho it does not occupy space. Few appear to understand even the most simple, rational logical common sense truths.

I think it is ego that actually blocks many people--- if not especially philosopher types --to simple, rational logical common sense truths.

The largest perversion of ego{ I-Verse } is when the ego thinks it is "U"niverse ergo God. Obvious mental issues there. imho

r6
"U"niverse > UniVerse > universe > I-verse < you-verse < we-verse < them-verse
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by BelieveNothing »

Is reality part of a set-up designed to test awareness?

-- Updated March 23rd, 2017, 7:20 am to add the following --

There are many microcosms, maybe the cosmos itself is a microcosm?

-- Updated March 23rd, 2017, 7:29 am to add the following --
Fooloso4 wrote:
Can you prove that tomorrow you will not be a banana?
"the assumption that the future will resemble the past can never be proven"

not sure who coined that one and not sure if i got it exactly right

-- Updated March 23rd, 2017, 8:01 am to add the following --

I suspect there are higher dimensions that we can only speculate about.

-- Updated March 23rd, 2017, 8:09 am to add the following --
Socraticpupil wrote: Only one possible universe exists that consists of nothing.
I can't see why there can't be numerous possible universes that consist of nothing..? Sort of like clones, in the simplest sense of the principle.
Reality is not all in your mind.
Tamminen
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by Tamminen »

Perhaps I repeat myself here, but all the same.

Existence = my existence, the word 'I' denoting not the individual, empirical subject, eg. 'Tamminen', but the transcendental subject which is the precondition of all being.

That I am, in this sense, needs no explaining, cf. Descartes.

Therefore, existence needs no explaining.
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TimTimothy
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Re: Why does Existence Exist?

Post by TimTimothy »

Existence is the great mystery.

Existence cannot be described nor understood. To do so would require a contrast, nothingness, which by the law of non-contradiction cannot exist.

If you cannot create a contrast to something, that thing cannot be described. All things have contrast, existence has none, and is therefore not a “thing.”

Existence is.

Existence precedes and pervades all things.

All things exist. A thing exists necessarily.

Everything exists, but with different ontological status.

Ontological Status 1: Physical Existence
Ontological Status 2: Representational Existence
  1. OS 2A: Idea
    1. OS2A1: Idea of a known thing with OS1
    2. OS2A2: Idea of a possible thing with OS1
    3. OS2A3: Idea of a thing that cannot have OS1 due to the law of non-contradiction.
  2. OS 2B: Art
    1. OS2B1: Idea of a known thing with OS1
    2. OS2B2: Idea of a possible thing with OS1
    3. OS2B3: Idea of a thing that cannot have OS1 due to the law of non-contradiction.
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