RE: Reality.
January 12, 2012 at 1:10 am
(This post was last modified: January 12, 2012 at 1:41 am by Perhaps.)
(January 9, 2012 at 1:54 pm)amkerman Wrote: Reality: something that is neither derivative nor dependent but exists necessarily.
Merriam webster.
Do you believe reality exists?
Do you accept the axioms of existence is perhaps a better question.
(January 9, 2012 at 1:54 pm)amkerman Wrote: Even if it couldn't be perceived, even if it could be found nowhere, even if it couldn't be proven, wouldn't it nevertheless exist by definition, because it NECESSARILY exists?
Simply use the first premise of your question: even if it couldn't be perceived it necessarily exists.
(January 9, 2012 at 1:54 pm)amkerman Wrote: By definition, too, isn't it original to itself if it is not derivative or dependent of anything?
Reality's existence is. A more direct question could be asked, such as: Does reality have a cause? or, is it possible for reality to come into existence from absolute nothing?
(January 9, 2012 at 1:54 pm)amkerman Wrote: Is everything that exists a derivative of reality?
The question does not serve your intended purpose. As was stated earlier, reality is everything that exists. You could ask: is there a cause for everything which exists? and follow with, does reality - the state of existence - itself have a cause? (a more metaphysical approach would be to exchange the word 'have' with 'necessitate').
(January 9, 2012 at 1:54 pm)amkerman Wrote: If reality contains all thought, all knowledge, is it not omnipotent?
If reality contains within it all time and all things is it not omnipresent?
If reality is dependent on nothing is it not infallible?
These were addressed earlier in the thread. Create a foundation with questions, then add supplemental questions to further strengthen your perspective. Have the person you are asking define the terms first, then build upon their own definitions.
Brevity is the soul of wit.
