1. I think a thing has various forms of existence. A thing can exist physically –which is the strongest form of existence. Secondly this thing can exist mentally. Thirdly, it can exist in a written form on a paper (or digitally). Fourthly, it can exist as utterance through vocal waves (or digitized recordings). These four different forms comes to my mind and there could be more forms as well.

2. The above classification is relevant to the perception of us: human being. This perception is not so powerful and varies from one person to other. For example, an object could be mental to a blind person but physical to another who can see it, or an illiterate person will not be able to capture the written existence of this object. Also, through discovery of scientific tools (like telescopes and microscopes) many objects became physical to us all in a sudden which used to exist as physical objects from time immemorial.

3. Our reason can tell us that there could be things which we can utter and write but can not exist neither in physical world nor in our mental perception. For example, “Round triangle” is something we can always say and write, but can not imagine or find in our world.

4. There could be some physical entity but we yet lack the capability to comprehend it. God might be such an entity. So our inability to physically prove His existence does not mean His non-existence.

5. We can create fictional entities resembling a real physical entity. Tom and Jerry are mental characters (available in the form of paper drawings displayed as cartoons), and they would never exist if our world had no animals called cat and mouse. Moreover, an author can create whatever entity s/he wants and formulate it in various forms except the physical form (which is the strongest form), like Super Man, Spider Man, etc.

Hope to continue the thinking process as proceeding with the rest of the paper..

Abdul

SOME RESPONSES

ONE

Hi Abdul,

1. Don't some of these forms of existence overlap a bit? If something has written existence, then surely it has physical existence (as ink marks on paper)? Or do you mean something different by 'written existence'? Do you think that something exists 'over and above' the ink marks when a sentence is written down?

2. I find the idea that an object can be physical for one person and mental for another difficult. Physicality is surely a fundamental feature of an object - it's hard to see how it could be context-dependent whether something is physical. Isn't the object still physical for the blind man, but merely invisible?

3. So you think that there could be a round triangle? Because we can say it? (Personally, I can't imagine one - but maybe you can!) This kind of view is mentioned along with Quine's criticism of it in the reading for this week (Quines comment on Wyman).

4. Our inability to physically prove God's existence certainly does not logically prove his non-existence, I agree.

5. When does the author create the character? When they first imagine him? When they have finished imagining all his features? When they have drawn the first comic featuring him? Different answers to this question will involve different meanings for your statement 'an author can create whatever entity s/he wants'

Best,

MY RESPONSE

suppose Doyle had S.H in his head and never told anybody but had written it in paper and kept it secret, which was later revealed after his death. Now S.H. has a "written existence"..I am not referring to the physical existence of ink, paper, etc. I am talking about this fictional character S.H.

The issue of context-dependent existence is interesting. Someone who does not know the nature of iceberg would see the tip and think that is the total size of this berg, so the existence of this iceberg -in the head of this person- is different from the actual size. I think we human being always discuss the existence or non-existence depending on our comprehension, so we always talk about context-dependence (or rather human-understanding-dependence). Since nobody has seen a Pegasus, we tend to say it is non-existent.

When does the author create the character?
the character gets created in the mind at the time of imagination, then in the "written form" when first goes on page as comics.

Abdul

TWO

Thanks, Abdul. You say that the existence of the iceberg in the head of this person' is different from the actual size. Isn't this just to say that the iceberg actually has a particular kind of existence (it is the size that it genuinely is) but that the iceberg-ignorant person is wrong about it?

Are you suggesting that somebody being wrong about an iceberg gives the iceberg extra existence? Why couldn't some ideas in our heads just not have anything at all corresponding to them in reality?

MY RESPONSE

The Problem, Alastair, is to find an entity who would give verdict on the "actual" reality of things. We all know that a blind can not be such a source of verdict because he lacks the tool (i.e., sight). But can a healthy average human being be such a source of verdict on reality of things. Answer is NO. We always tend to think ourselves as the ultimate source of knowledge and straight away accept or deny things like Pegasus, etc. If there were an omniscient being, then I would accept his verdict to be final.

Abdul

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