Existence

Lore & Background

Existence is the state of having being or reality, setting real entities apart from imaginary ones. The word entered English in the late 14th century from Old French, rooted in medieval Latin ex(s)istere, meaning 'to stand forth', 'to appear', and 'to arise'. It is studied by ontology, a subdiscipline of metaphysics. The terms being, reality, and actuality are often used as synonyms, but their exact definitions are disputed. Alexius Meinong argued all entities have being but not all have existence, citing Santa Claus as having being without existence. Takashi Yagisawa contrasted existence with reality, seeing reality as more fundamental. Gottlob Frege held actuality narrower than existence, as only actual entities produce and undergo changes. Edmund Husserl considered existence an elementary concept that cannot be defined without circularity.

Reader's Guide

The concept of existence has been central to ontology, with disputes over whether it is a second-order property (a property of properties) or a first-order property (a property of individuals). The orthodox position treats existence as second-order: to say lions exist means the property of being a lion is possessed by at least one entity. Alexius Meinong and his followers treat existence as a first-order property, arguing some individuals, like Santa Claus, do not exist. Universalists reject this, seeing existence as a universal property of every individual. Distinctions include singular versus general existence, concrete versus abstract existence, and possible, contingent, and necessary existence. The common view is that an entity either exists or not, but some philosophers propose degrees of existence. Existence contrasts with essence, where essence is what an entity is and existence is that it is. Martin Heidegger introduced the ontological difference, contrasting individual beings with being itself. These debates affect fields such as logic, mathematics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and existentialism.

Did You Know?

• Existence is contrasted with essence: the essence of an entity can be understood even without knowing whether it exists.
• The orthodox position in ontology holds that existence is a second-order property, a property of properties.
• Alexius Meinong argued that merely possible objects like Santa Claus have being but lack existence.
• Martin Heidegger introduced the ontological difference, contrasting individual beings with being itself.