Simple question. When your best friend leaves the room (out of site and you cannot see them on camera or hear them, etc) do they still exist? Think about it. There is nothing to say that they do.
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Exist?40% Voted for by mprinz, Life-Unknown.
It depends what you mean by exist. This is a loaded word. It is the root of the word existential and matters that are existential usually deal with subjective individual perception. Ontologically, we have reality, epistemically we have knowledge, and existentially we have meaning. These three are not necessarily always the same. In reality it is hard to say if the friend is still there, because the only way we seem to declare something as real, is if we have optic/sensual evidence (which in this case we don't - no camera, etc). Epistemically, we know that just because the person is out of sight they will be able to return into sight. This we learn at an early age. As babies we believe something is gone when it is out of sight, but experience tells us otherwise. Then of course we have the existential part. Do you believe your friend is still there? This can go both ways. For instance, your friend leaves the room and somehow dies. You may still believe your friend exists (life after death, or maybe deny yourself that he did die). Just some thoughts... To answer your big question: Do we exist? I would have to say it is a matter of belief. Many believe we are simply an aggregate of materials, whereas others attribute an immortal soul to our being or even say we are an agglomerate of living materials that join in one symbiotic whole at the atomic level. I like to join hands with Berkley who said "to be is to believe"
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Yes we do...Voted for by Launcelot.
This was a historical question and it was "answered" by Kant I belive. Or maybe Hume? Either way, they said the same thing, that if we stop acknowledging something, that it does not exist. God can never tunr away however and thusly everthing must exist at all times.
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Who Cares?Voted for by Bob the Elder.
as far as we know, they do. it would be pointless to consider otherwise. it would serve no purpose (as you said. nothing can say either way. so we couldn't prove anything)
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if we dont no sumone or thay dont no us...Voted for by frost993.
if we dont no sumone or thay dont no us... do we exist to them or are we just passers by?
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