Existence

When we talk about the word "existence" hay nako, napakaraming meaning for a single word. It really depends on what school of philosophy you belong to give a good meaning for this word. OK let's start with the very basic - the dictionary meaning. According to Mr. Webster

ex·is·tence \ig-'zis-tən(t)s\  n (14c)

1 a obs: reality as opposed to appearance b : reality as presented in experience c  (1): the totality of existent things (2): a particular being ‹all the fair ~s of heaven —John Keats› d : sentient or living being : life

2 a : the state or fact of having being esp. independently of human consciousness and as contrasted with nonexistence ‹the ~ of other worlds› b : the manner of being that is common to every mode of being c : being with respect to a limiting condition or under a particular aspect

3 : actual or present occurrence 

So, sa dictionary pa nga lang marami ka ng pag-pipilian.  Some people define existence as the fact or state of living or having objective reality. But the definition would be unfair to god believers since it is hard to prove god existence without including personal feelings or opinions.

When defining the word existence we tend to insert our world view. Aristotle (384-322 BCE) tried to fix this when he suggested that there is a difference between existence "to be A" and existence "to be." To say Sherlock Homes is a detective it doesn't follow na ibig kong sabihin eh eksistido si Sherlock Homes in the outside world pero eksistido sya sa world of ideas. Get's mo? 

Lalo pa itong pinagulo ng Scholastic philosopher na si St. Anselm (1033-1109 CE) on his ontological argument. According to Anselm, when we "think" about a god- which is suppose to be the "greatest," that automatically makes god existing (He exist in our minds) but since greatest nga sya, then he must exist outside our minds (para nga maging greatest sya). So, iba daw yung "exist" sa mind lang sa "exist outside the mind" at para nga maging "greatest" eh dapat automatically existing ka na both inside the mind at outside the mind. The Benedictine monk Gaunilo find this argument faulty. Tanong nya, pag nag-isip ba ako ng "greatest of all island" automatic na mag-eexist yun "island" na yun outside my mind? 

So now we say na may mga bagay na existing sa mind lang at mga bagay na existing sa outside world.

According to David Hume (1711-1776) and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), existance is not a predicate. So? Anong ibig sabihin nyan? Ganito yan. A predicate state something to a subject. Example: Maria is beautiful. Yung "is beautiful" eh ang predicate. Maria is the subject. The word "beautiful" describes Maria.  

Now...

Maria exists. Yung salitang "exists" kay Maria doesn't say something about Maria. It's redundant - be—“X is Y” amounts to “XY is” and “X is not Y.  The word "exists" according to Hume is a nugatory notion -  Wala syang value.

Sabi naman ng Scottish philosopher na si Thomas Reid (1710-1796), ideas (existing sa mind lang) doesn't really exist. Kasi galing daw yan sa mga bagay na nikikita mo na outside your mind. For example - the idea of a manananggal doesn't exist kasi combination lang ito ng tao at paniki which exists outside the mind. 

On the other question: Pwede bang mag-exist ang isang bagay na walang dahilan? 

Sure!

OK, OK...

Doon muna tayo sa theistic view. Mamaya sabihin na atheist/existentialist ako kaya bias ako. Hahaha! 

The Islamic philosopher Avicenna (980-1037 CE) argued that existence is preceded by essence, in that everything that exists only comes into existence because it is brought into existence by something else, except for the ultimate existent, God, the necessary being. Ibig sabihin, nauna muna na ginawa  ang lahat-lahat ng bagay ng isang "necessary being" kaya nauna ang existance. 

Also, the idea of essence before existence contradicts the concept of free-will. Kung may nauna ng dahilan bago tayo nabuo, then ang ating buhay, kilos at isipan ay nakabase na at naka-program na sa ating dahilan (purpose, meaning, whatever) - thus, walang free-will.

In the existence of an idea for example (kung naniniwala ka na ang idea ay existing din), pwede tayong mag-isip ng isang bagay (na ideya lang) na walang dahilan. Sa mga manunulat for example, pwede tayong gumawa ng tinatawag na "unused character" o isang sub-story na walang koneksyon na main na story. Trip ko lang eh. Bakit mo ako hahanapan ng dahilan aber?

Sa kabuuhan, ang idea of essence precedes existence is true kung god-believer ka. Sa mga atheists/existentialist this is meaningless. Since wala namang gumawa na nag-isip ng essence, unlike man-made objects like cars, DVD, flat-screen TV and pizza, we  exist first at habang nabubuhay tayo - dahil sentient tayo, we create our essence. 

You might say na ang upuan ay hindi magiging isang upuan dahil  kailangan muna na may mag-isip kung para saan ang upuan - but remember that an "upuan" o chair is man-made. A rock or a tree stump for example can be a chair if someone na pagod na sa kakalakad have seen the rock or the tree stump at umupo sya doon. But the rock or the tree stump being there doesn't have a purpose - it's just there until someone sits on it. That is what "existence precedes essence" means.