--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "PaliGap" <compost...@...> wrote: > > <anatol_zinc@> wrote: > > >> Existence itself is your own direct experience in the > >> here and now. > > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > It is a concept, a conclusion we draw from our actual > > perceptions and sensations and mental awareness. It is not > > a self supporting ontological identity like matter. > > ..."a self supporting ontological identity". That puzzles me! > What does that mean? And how does matter get to have this > property?
Ontology deals with what exists. Epistemology deals with how we know and how we can be confident about our knowledge and ethics deals with how we should act with each other. With existence the question is "where do we start?" What are your first principles of experience. I have chosen matter as my starting place and by kicking a stone or skipping 13 consecutive meals you might join me. Now there is a position in philosophy that is used as a thought exercise called extreme skepticism which says that since we only experience the outside world through our own minds and not directly, we have reason to doubt that anything exists as separate from our consciousness. (my apologies to all Western philosophy for squeezing these concepts into my tiny brain and presenting them this way!) Anyhooo...I am not an extreme skeptic. Starting with the physical world suites me fine. If it is all illusion, how would I know? Plus there are really wonderful things to eat in this world once you take matter seriously as a first principle and prepare them well! In our discussion I was making a different distinction between the concept of "existence" which contains different qualities for the absolute skeptic (serves shitty luncheons, I suggest you bring your own) and myself. (Bring a bottle of inexpensive wine if you care to but leave the food to me), and stuff like rocks and trees and our bodies, which is only conceptual for people who play too many video games. >
