Language and Reality (Humans)

by dhw, Wednesday, April 13, 2011, 10:57 (4972 days ago) @ dhw

MATT (under "Why is there something..."?): Have you ever studied the roots of the word "exist?"
Ex, meaning "outside of," and sistere meaning "to stand."
"To stand outside of." If I declare I exist, that I am not "nothing," what do I "stand outside of?" Do we have any accurate terms even [f]or existence?-Oxford, Encarta, Chambers plus David's Collegiate: exist: from ex(s)istere, meaning to emerge, appear, come into being, become visible (ex = from/out of, not outside). He who knoweth not his adjective from his noun from his pronoun messeth at his peril with etymology.-In any case, derivation does not = definition, and I really don't know what your derivation is meant to prove. Perhaps you're referring to my gallant attempt to bridge the gap between philosophy and common sense in the debate over the 'reality' of nothing/time/darkness. I defined reality (now slightly revised) as "whatever is believed by each individual to exist (a) independently of humans or (b) because of humans". So when you ask about "accurate terms", are you actually asking for a definition of "exist", and when you get that, will you go on asking for definitions of definitions ad infinitum? Incidentally, no-one has yet responded to my suggestion, but I suppose one can always ignore definitions "to avoid hard questions", as you put it.-You ask: "how different is this from cosmology?" I don't understand the question, but I don't want to be accused of avoiding it, so I'll make the effort. The Encarta definition of existence is "the state of being real, actual, or current, rather than imagined, invented, or obsolete", which I would settle for. I believe I exist (am real), I emerged from the fusion of an egg and a sperm which I believe existed (were real back in the past, during the flow of what I believe is the reality of time), but if Mummy and Daddy had looked for me under a gooseberry bush I believe they would have found nothing ... a pronoun in this case meaning no dhw ... and my absence would have been painfully real for them. I also believe the cosmos exists (is real), I have no idea what reality it emerged from in the past (during the flow...etc.), but some people say that all its matter sprang from nothing, a pronoun which I take to mean an absence of matter ... a state which I believe would be just as real as a presence of matter. And so I see no difference between my state of existence and that of the cosmos.-MATT (to David): I think I'm going to start posting Koans for you and dhw... all my attempts at a frame shift have been futile...-Matt, in all seriousness they are far from futile. You have introduced us to some fascinating ideas, we have discussed them at length, and I for one will be grateful if you continue to provide us with insights from the East. None of it is "claptrap", and much of it strikes an answering chord when it comes to the spiritual experiences that many of us have in common. But I think it's unfair of you to expect me (I can't speak for David) to totally abandon commonsense realities in favour of philosophical mysticism without at least putting up a fight. In any case, it takes two to stage a conflict!