Hello Vernon I think we need to relate the existence (and of which form) to our knowledge. Many things started to exist in our knowledge before it was non-existing in our knowledge (although existing in reality), for example, the planet Pluto was there even before we human being came to know it's existence.
Similarly, due to the advancement of human knowledge many things are moving to the material camp where it used to be a mysterious non-material entity. In this group we can place many form of disease which we came to understand it's cause and used to be ignorant before. So, before knowing about a certain virus as a culprit, we could have pointed to spirits or devils or other mysterious elements as the cause of disease.
My point is to appreciate the dynamics of ontology depending on the nature of the recipient. For example, if we assume there exists an omniscient God, then to Him the ontological question is totally different than when addressed by non-omniscient like us.
Abdul
A
My point is to appreciate the dynamics of ontology depending on the nature of the recipient. For example, if we assume there exists an omniscient God, then to Him the ontological question is totally different than when addressed by non-omniscient like us.
Interesting. For Quine, this would not be the case - from a God's eye view, what exists is still what is quantified over in our best (in this case, the true) theory of everything.
V
Abdul - yes there is a long history of replacing spirits, demons and other non material entities as causes of illnesses by some kind of physical explanation. In more general terms it is sometimes claimed that the world is out there anyway ( whatever we humans do or think) and so science is actually about discovery not invention. A bit facile, I know, but it makes a point.... Regards
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Philo-Hikmah Vs Philosophy