(May 5, 2016 at 2:26 am)robvalue Wrote: I thought that "X is physical" and "X (literally) exists" mean exactly the same thing.
If something is non-physical, then it can only exist abstractly at best (a concept).
What exactly does it mean for something to exist but not be physical? Unless I'm getting the definition wrong, it seems to be a contradiction in terms.
If people want to put supernatural stuff alongside abstract concepts, then I have no argument with that. But a concept has no power to do anything in of itself.
You are talking about natural vs supernatural. In discussion on the scientific method and its effectiveness, it cannot comment on the existence or the nonexistence of the supernatural. To make a statement like "only natural things exist" would be a metaphysical statement/discussion.