Do we exist?

Question

Why do you think we exist, if we exist?

Answer 1

no, you emo kid, this is all a big dream (that doesn't exist either, by the way)



lol

Answer 2

All those answers and only two of them actually answered the "why" question. The cogito is only the sidelight here. Asking "why" is, I feel, the right question because it leads outside of ourselves. The self-existent entity--the entity whose existence begins and ends with the cogito--must be very sad, having no knowledge beyond knowing that the entity itself exists. Hegel would take this question into the dialectic of becoming, but there are other routes to an answer. Note I say "an" answer, not the answer. There is THE question, but no single answer.



I'm not an Aristotelian, but it can't be denied that Ari worked up the concept of cause and effect that lies at the root of Western thinking to this day.



There are four kinds of causes. First, there is the material cause, the "stuff" that the effect is made out of. Ecce statue. The material cause of the statue is the marble or clay or elephant dung or whatever other material the statue is made of. Second, there is the efficient cause. In the case of a marble statue, the efficient cause is the chisel in the artist's hand, and the mallet with which the chisel is struck. Third is the formal cause, the plan. IN the case of the statue, the formal cause is the plan or image that the artist is creating. Fourth is the final cause, the object of the game. The statue may be intended to grace an altar, or a wealthy person's estate, or to edify a public monument.



What is the final cause of humanity?



The purpose behind the existence is what we're reaching for. The Baltimore Catechism says,



3. Why did God make us?

God made us to show forth His goodness and to share with us His everlasting happiness in heaven.



So very simple, but sometimes the simple truths are the most profound.

Answer 3

If we think we exist then we exist, if we don't exist then we are not existing. If we never existed how can we exist. And if we do exist then maybe we think we exist, but really don't exist. .



We are here so who cares. If you know you exist, that's great, If you don't know you know that you exist that's also great. Whether you do or you don't. At this point I am so confused. I forgot if I am existing, living, or extinct. Do you or don't you exist??????Does the world exist??? Do people exist??? Existance may be an illusion? Does illusions exist?



What the hecks, you are reading this so you are here. Does that prove that you or I exist??



I am so mixed up did you ask or answer the question while you were existing, or not existing.

Answer 4

This moment exists, I exist, I exist in this moment.

This analogy can be considered the sense "I am." Can anyone say anything else with certainty? You are neither this thing or that thing. All the conditions placed on you from a worldly level are handicaps to your ultimate state. This false presumption leads you away from the real. The sense "I am," is a pointer to this reality or the absolute. The mind and body are transient, and have been changing endlessly since the awareness of "I am" dawned on you as a very young child. Therefore, this can be considered unreal as opposed to the permanent, eternal now. Your mommy told you that you are a boy, a girl, gave you a name, etc. People mistakenly identify themselves by the work they do, the sports they play, etc. Throughout this life you developed likes and dislikes, desires and opinions that constantly change. Underlying this transitory, impermanent body/mind is the eternal witness of this Divine play. That is the true identity that will always exist. We are presented in this form the knowledge "I am," so we can understand this consciousness and go beyond to the Absolute state which gives light to "I am." This knowlege will not be gained through the impermanent mind/body, but through a deeper cellular level.

Answer 5

silly,



quesiton=why, not how do we know



ive throught about this for a while. if you look into creation science you will find that there is a very small possibility that humans, animals, life can be created by chance.



then i consider how many other ways could a universe be constructed. we live in 3 spatial dimensions, one continual dimension of time, and we all have conciousness, an estimation dimension within our mind that is similar to the real one.



it seems to me that there is a god or something 'steering' creation. this is the best possible explination if you agree to the size of the possiblility of our existence is as small as it seems.



my friends showed me the profoundness that is life.

regardless of how we came to be, we still are complex chemical reactions, made up of the materials of the planet, the materials of the universe. we are just matter, but we realize this. "The universe becomes concious of itself" becomes aware of itself, understands itself. we are talking rocks.



before animals and life there was th universe,

then the universe became concious.



if someone were to mix some antimatter and detonate it to make a universe, it is possible that they were aiming to distill some conciousness. or possibly whatever we create with our conciousness; creativity, or other answers.



thats by best attempt at an answer.



circular reasoning is a logical fallacy (stupidity) where the question is used as part of the answer. exemplified with life, in that: most everything we do is to become better at what we do, and to create and preserve life so that life may keep continuing.......existence doesnt make sense. exept for trying to find it anyway

Answer 6

We surely do exist.... but only if we feel alive enough... because sometimes in life u even face moments in wich u feel as though u r dead.... so the real secret of knowing if u exist or not is by evaluating whether u feel alive n are content with what u hav got... otherwise u must b under some sort of depression wich makes u feel non-existent.... live life to the fullest n do not think much... cos that gives rise to more thoughts n worries... chill n enjoy!

Answer 7

Existence is Identity.



"Existence exists - and the act of grasping that statement implies two corollary axioms: that something exists which one perceives and that one exists possessing consciousness, consciousness being the faculty of perceiving that which exists.



If nothing exists, there can be no consciousness: a consciousness with nothing to be conscious of is a contradiction in terms. A consciousness conscious of nothing but itself is a contradiction in terms: before it could identify itself as conscious, it had to be conscious of something. If that which you claim to perceive does not exist, what you posses is not consciousness.



Whatever the degree of your knowledge, these two - existence and consciousness - are axioms you cannot escape, these two are the irreducible primaries implied in any action you undertake, in any part of your knowledge and in its sum, from the first ray of light you perceive at the start of your life to the widest erudition you might acquire at its end. Whether you know the shape of a pebble or the structure of a solar system, the axioms remain the same: that it exists and that you know it.



To exist is to be something, as distinguished from the nothing of non-existence, it is to be an entity of a specific nature made of specific attributes."

Answer 8

Now you got me thinking!



When dreaming, the person we are in the dream thinks that the dream is reality. Then we awake and we say it was just a dream. If consciousness dictates existence, then the dream and the 'not dream' realities both have consciousness.



Therefore there could be 3 answers to your question:



YES - If we are hopeful and we value all that we are and wouldn't want everything to go to waste by saying NO.



NO - If we have lost all hope and wish our life never was. We want to shun reality by feeling non-existent.



I DON'T KNOW - which as of now is my answer after mentioning the 'dream' and 'not dream' realities.

Answer 9

I do and I am reading your question therefore there is a better than average chance you do. To ask the question is to give existence to the questioner. To answer the question is to acknowledge the existence of the questioner. To read the answer completes the circle of existence.

Answer 10

If you exist enough to ask the question, feel the sad or happy, touch the grass, hear a child's giggle or the warming hands of a loved one, does existence in any other manner truly matter?

as the age old axiom states " I think, therefor I am" does not seek to define existence, only to verify it.

Answer 11

I narrowed it down to these possibilities:



1. Everybody exists.



2. You and I exist.



3. I alone exist.

Answer 12

My Philosophy our "REAL" existence is in our minds. Our true identity is in our minds. We mostly "ACT" out our lives. Doing, and buying things for others approval. Most of us don't do or say what we feel, but when we go to sleep, often times we live out the real. Sometimes I think that our real life is the one when we are sleeping and the dream is when we are so called awake. This might sound crazy but it's just something that I've thought about.

Answer 13

what if were living in an alternate universe or a different dimension...



we exist in a way.. and we dont exist to other "things" out there. foolishness i tell u to think that we are jus here cuz we are..

everything that happen is for a reason

Answer 14

We exist in ourselves... You would be terrified to die and not exist. So I guess we do exist. All these individual lives exist in this world and we have no idea how it is for others. They ask the same questions you ask and share the same views.

Answer 15

Only each separate individual can prove themselves to exist, by consciousness. Everything else is just a guessing game. Just like this reply!

Answer 16

I believe we are here to make the most of our lives; to make decisions and learn from them what we can. Every decision we make is a test. Sometimes we get into a rut because we keep making the wrong/worst decision. God is testing us every time we turn around. We are to be kind and selfless, and many of us forget that. Nothing is about us, it's about our journey through life, trying to make the right decisions to get to heaven. It's really hard to explain with words, but this is how I feel. Thanks!

Answer 17

We exist as a soul- but not as a body SOUL is ever existing

Answer 18

Our souls drift in and out of the illusion of physical manifestation. We exist, but not anything like we think we do. This reality is nothing like real.

Answer 19

Only 4 dimensions intersect this part of reality. Given that there are 11 dimensions - We are therefore less real than we are where the other 7 intersect.



"i think therefore i am" in no way copes with the other 7 dimensions - it's limited in it's scope for answering your question

but hey that's the renaissance French for you - they were terrible bores!





Arooooooooooooooo

Buff

Answer 20

Cogito Ergo Sum

Answer 21

Consciousness

Answer 22

Eating grilled cheese sandwiches helped me to understand my existence.

Answer 23

I do but the rest of you are just siber words.



Then I guess I am to on the other end.



Do you supose we re nothing more than one of Bill Gates' operating systems. If we are then I sure am angry at him for making me keep gatting older.



Then is it or it it not and what the hell am I talking aobut.

Answer 24

I had luncheon date with God other day ... and we discussed the world. I exist because I believe I could and AM

Answer 25

Some of us do, and others care not to, so they alter their mental status with controlled substances. We exist to fill the prophesy of God.

Answer 26

Try not to eat, try not to sleep, try not to breath. Does it make any difference? If yes then you exist.

Answer 27

anything that occupies space and has mass is matter.. v fulfill these conditions.... matter isnt an illusion.. so.. v DO EXIST

Answer 28

yes we do exist,, we think of it coz we have to make sure of it with what we do to keep it up,,

Answer 29

"among the facts of the universe to be accounted for,it may be said, is mind; and it is self evident that nothing can have produced mind but mind."-John Stuart Mill.

Answer 30

That's a very interesting question.



A very famous philospher answered that question with Cogito ergo sum- I think therfore I am. That philosopher was Rene Descartes.





I think therefore I am........ do you?

Answer 31

We exist, but we only exist to experience! We exist so that we can know wut life is and experience the different aspects of life, so that we can become better understanders of it!

Answer 32

"I think, therefore I am" - Rene Descartes



Since we human beings possess the ability to process information around us and think (using our brains, in other words), we ARE, which is to say, we exist!

Answer 33

Yes. We do exist. Otherwise how can you ask this question and I answer.....???????

Answer 34

We exist because " GOD " created us.

Answer 35

The evil piece of toast

Answer 36

If you think you exist...you exist.

If you think you don't exist...you exist.

Therefore, if you think...you exist...I think?

Answer 37

If we don't, what's the point of asking the question? If we do, it's a stupid question.

Answer 38

I'm just a figment of your imagination

Answer 39

I hope so, because if not this is a really, really bad dream...

Answer 40

If we didn't, would we be be questioning and answering stupid questions?

Answer 41

Pinch yourself-if it hurts you're real-if not then you aren't.

Answer 42

it is worrying to realise how very little we actually KNOW about this "space"...sure we are advancing in a multitude of spheres and science has brought us so so far,but to realise we know nothing of wat is beyong this world-a single universe?many?..its truly belittling

Answer 43

God is testing us

Answer 44

awkward muchh?!

Answer 45

But we don't... we are in the matrix

Answer 46

we think therefore we are...