RE: Exist vs. Real
July 13, 2009 at 10:56 pm
(This post was last modified: July 13, 2009 at 10:59 pm by Demonaura.)
I can see what you are saying but, this is where I dislike philosophy. I borrwed from Dictionary.com here.
EDIT: For the record, I went into this post thinking "here we go again with pointless philosophy questions" but, while trying to form an appropriate answer I agree it is a good question. It is important to clearly define the words we use so that we may communicate clearly using those words. I had assumed the words interchangable but, with a bit of research and some thought my mind is changed. Well done.
the word 'exist' defined as 'To have actual being.' This does not mean always physical, someone can have a bad attitude and that attitude exists I figure.
'Real' is defined as:
1. true; not merely ostensible, nominal, or apparent: the real reason for an act.
2. existing or occurring as fact; actual rather than imaginary, ideal, or fictitious: a story taken from real life.
3. being an actual thing; having objective existence; not imaginary: The events you will see in the film are real and not just made up.
Exist seems to be a more broad term to describe anything we can observe. If you can observe it with any of your 5 senses it exists but, it may or may not be real. A hallucination exists but only as a hallucination, it is not real.
So my answer is this: to be real something MUST exist but, just because it exists does not mean it is real. The definition of the word existence does not assume reality, only subjective reality that may or may not be part of the actual, real world.
EDIT: For the record, I went into this post thinking "here we go again with pointless philosophy questions" but, while trying to form an appropriate answer I agree it is a good question. It is important to clearly define the words we use so that we may communicate clearly using those words. I had assumed the words interchangable but, with a bit of research and some thought my mind is changed. Well done.
the word 'exist' defined as 'To have actual being.' This does not mean always physical, someone can have a bad attitude and that attitude exists I figure.
'Real' is defined as:
1. true; not merely ostensible, nominal, or apparent: the real reason for an act.
2. existing or occurring as fact; actual rather than imaginary, ideal, or fictitious: a story taken from real life.
3. being an actual thing; having objective existence; not imaginary: The events you will see in the film are real and not just made up.
Exist seems to be a more broad term to describe anything we can observe. If you can observe it with any of your 5 senses it exists but, it may or may not be real. A hallucination exists but only as a hallucination, it is not real.
So my answer is this: to be real something MUST exist but, just because it exists does not mean it is real. The definition of the word existence does not assume reality, only subjective reality that may or may not be part of the actual, real world.
