Mantus

Hey folks, haven’t been here in a while.

Roadkill. It’s quite simple.

You exist because you are self-aware.

The mistake is thinking that flawed perception equals lack of existence. The fact that one cannot know the true state of one's existence doesn’t mean one does not exist. In the end you are obviously something because you are aware of something.

Lets say you are part of a dream. If you discover this fact, you will not stop being real, you will simply change your state of self-perception.

Other people are just as real. I may be human, A.I., demon or a part of your imagination. On this forum I exist simply as a “poster”. My “true” nature is irrelevant unless we interact in other ways. If we were to meet and you all found out I was an A.I. running from a desktop then I would not cease to exist but your perception of me would change.

SuperJay

It proves that B "me" was not a figment of A's imagination. Now, since you said that C does not know about A or B then I cannot be a figment of his imagination, so I must exist.

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Round and round the shutter'd Square
I stroll'd with the Devil's Arm in mine
No sound but the scrape of his hoofs was there,
And the ring of his laughter and mine.

losthellhound

Hey, and you didnt die, so you're happy

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"Life is possible only with illusions. And so, the question for the science of mental health must become an absolutely new and revolutionary one, yet one that reflects the essence of the human condition: On what level of illusion does one live?"
-- Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death

Bentley Little

If I am me, and you say you are me, and I say you are they and you say I am here and we agree that we are both here how can we counteract two non-existential agreements to say we are not here thus proving we exist.

Or something like that.

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That is my 2 cents.

Nafter

What is existence, what is real? If i read your post you only exist to me as a poster, with the assumption that you are a human sitting at a computer behind it. I think therefore i am, if i perceive things, they exist, even if only in my mind. So even if i dreamt you up and you where never in this thread, you still existed as a thought of mine.

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I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

raeanna74

Courtesy of Merriam-Webster "a: to have real being whether material or spiritual <did unicorns exist> <the largest galaxy known to exist> b : to have being in a specified place or with respect to understood limitations or conditions <strange ideas existed in his mind>
"

In this context I do not need to prove my "existence". I percieve my own thoughts and actions in my mind. If nothing else I exist in my mind which I realize could simply become a mirror within a mirror but at that point the discussion is completely pointless. Even if I'm only shadows on the cave wall I still exist as a shadow, a representation of something else, either an idea or a physical reality. Either way, I exist, other exist in the same way. I can interact and respond to them if only in my mind. I will continue to do so until my physical being or shadow is destroyed.

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"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

skyscan

Would it be correct to say that the problem lies in the language itself and not in the actual question?

How about, "Everything exists, nothing is real"

"Exist:To be as a fact and not as a mode; to have an actual being, whether material or spiritual."

"Real: True; genuine; not artificial."

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Media Stew

Phage

The question "Can you prove your existence?" should always have a positive answer. Yes, I can prove I exist. I don't have to provide the proof, because it is by definition correct. If I was wrong and I did not exist, then I could not be wrong because I never existed.

ManWithAPlan

For you to think, there must be substance that you link up with, therefore you exist.

to prove that others exist they must effect your life in some way.

for all i know i could be sitting here talking to myself on my computer as long as it does not affect anything i do, like go to the movies tonight with my girlfriend.

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In the end we are but wisps

mcovey

My old french teacher told us one of her stories from college, told us that her friend was taking a psychology class and the final exam had one essay question: Prove you exist.

Her friend wrote:
"By grading this paper you verify my existence".

She got an A+

crow_daw

Frankly I don't care about proving my existence, as long as I'm moving onward through "life" in a way that makes me happy and content, I won't worry on whether or not proving my existence is possible, for it's not necessary.

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"We each have a star, all we have to do is find it. Once you do, everyone who sees it will be blinded." - Earl Simmons

braindamage351

You should read the whole Descartes essay (Is it an essay?).

"I think therefore I am" is just the tip of the iceberg.

Mantus

"I think, therefore I am" is such a flawed statment.

I never understood why people dont use "thought, therefore existance" as a translation for Descartes' "cogito ergo sum".

asaris

Because cogito is a verb conjugated for the first person singular, rather than a noun, and latin allows for understood subjects, which English does not.

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"Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht."

"The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm."

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

sw1pe

i think there for i am, but if i dont think, am i not?

bushidomaster

if you have a dream, and in this dream you are another person, does this person exist; is this person real? how can you prove that you are not simply someone else's thoughts, and exist only as long as this greater form of existence makes you exist. Any thought you have could be attributed to whatever it is that is dreaming you.

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what are the clouds, but an excuse for the sky
what is life, but an excuse for death

The Phenomenon

What is meant with "I think thereforefore i am" is that he is human because of his ability to reason, and to think.

What sets us as humans apart from animals is our ability to think. We are the only creatures on earth with a concept of ourselves. We know we are human and we think about being human.

tingly

i exist therefore i think in circles.

roadkill

But it doesn't prove that A was a figment of your imagination, and since C was illreavent to A or B then C didn't affect any of it.

basmoq

I can prove mine, I just can't prove yours...

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"There's someone out there for everyone - even if you need
a pickaxe, a compass, and night goggles to find them."

noctypair

You seem to be stuck in a position one step beyond solipsism. I have not seen this one before.

Simply put, you know you exist because your ability to actually question that demands it.

Proving that anything outside your own awareness exists is somewhat tougher but I suggest we get you out of this one and into solipsism/radical skepticism first

Fireshiru1

To the people in the future that you will meet, you are non-existant. If someone were to show you or anyone the name of their future spouse, that's all they would be, a name, not a person, not anything. People become real as you encounter them for all your lives' intents and pourposes.

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No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize a cat.

CSflim

"A implies B, therefore not A implies not B" is faulty logic.

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pedro padilla

i drink therefore i am drunk

roadkill

if i think you don't exist then you don't correct?

roboshark

I don't think I exist. But the IRS disagrees.

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I want no escape.

Unright

Bravo!

As much as I love philosophy, the question of how to prove one's existence is a silly one. Anybody who claims they can't figure out whether or not they exist needs a slap in the face as their only answer. No need to mess around with Descartes (mis-)quotes.

Of course, the question is mostly posed to escape from the paranoid exceptions. "What if I'm just a part of someone else's dream?" or "What if I'm in a giant computer simulated reality (like The Matrix)?" What does it matter? Does your reality change after asking the question?

No, it doesn't. Even if you were part of someone's dream or imagination you still wouldn't be able to fly. You still have to pay your bills or else your power gets shut-off. Murderes won't get freed because their victims didn't technically exist.

There are many more interesting ethical & moral questions to ponder about that actually may make a difference in your life.

Great_White

The only way i could prove it to myself is. When I step into traffic, people honk and avoid me. Therefore i exist to other people.

If this is a dream state, I think the fact that I even ponder such things as this is sufficiant enough evidence to myself that I exist. If I dont actually exist, and this is a dream state, I deal with complex enough issues on a day to day basis to make myself feel whole, so either way I'm happy with where I am.

Sorry if this isnt that... on point right now.

Johnny Rotten

No, I can't prove my existence. I can establish that I am aware of my self, but I can't prove it to another self, or prove that any other self is real.

But really, it's just a lot less painful to apply Occam's Razor and assume that you and everyone else around you are tangible, distinct and contiguous. I'm with Unright.

livewirerc

What is "proof"? I leave fingerprints, I have my own DNA, I work a job, I live in a house, I pay my taxes, so, at least in the eyes of the good old US of A, I exist. I've also done my fair share of drugs, had several out of body experiences while hanging from hooks in my back and my chest, and have had visual and auditory hallucinations on several occasions, so don't take my word for it.

Honestly though, I think I exist if only for what I've experienced and endured. My body is almost completely covered in tattoos, scars, brands, piercings, implants, and modifications and I've felt and endured every one of them. I've suspended more times than I can count, and once while performing in a show I hung over 500lbs on 2 hooks in my back. I've sat through many many many hours of excruciating pain including having my tongue split and my penis filleted open (look up "subincision" or "meatotomy"). you'd think that if this existance was all a dream then I'd have woken up from it already.

Jason

ezekial@atl

i know that this post isnt real, i mean the page is dark, the letters are white, but still I know there is not yet a cure for cancer. i think i'll live here and now and leave it at that!

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"life is anything that dies........when you stomp on it." dave barry

anna1985

If i didnt exsist then what would I be and why would i be here and why would i just be some dream that goes on and you get older in your dream and its so complex, dreams arent that complex, and they dont last as long as life does. It just wouldnt make since for this to be a dream, do you think when you die you just wake up? ANd then what? I mean something has to exsist for the dream to be there right?

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denial, its cheaper then therapy
If your not living life on the edge then your taking up to much space!
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