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- Existence, a philosophical concept in metaphysics and ontology.
Existence is the ontological property of being, with reference to the ability of an entity to, directly or indirectly, interact with the physical or, especially in idealistic worldviews, mental reality.
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the fundamental nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, between substance and attribute, and between possibility and actuality. The word "metaphysics" comes from two Greek words that, together, literally mean "after or behind or among the [study of] the natural". It has been suggested that the term might have been coined by a first century CE editor who assembled various small selections of Aristotle’s works into the treatise we now know by the name Metaphysics.
Ontology is the philosophical study of being. More broadly, it studies concepts that directly relate to being, in particular becoming, existence, reality, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations. Traditionally listed as a part of the major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics, ontology often deals with questions concerning what entities exist or may be said to exist and how such entities may be grouped, related within a hierarchy, and subdivided according to similarities and differences.
Existence may also refer to:
- Existence (Dark Suns album)
- Existence (Beto Vázquez Infinity album)
- "Existence" (The X-Files), a 2001 television episode
- eXistenZ , a 1999 horror science-fiction film
- The Existence , a 2004 EP release by Forever Changed
- Existence , David Brin novel
- The 14 , a 1973 British film also released as Existence and The Wild Little Bunch
- Existence , is the name of a music project founded by Margot Reisinger
Existence is the second album by the German progressive metal band, Dark Suns. For this release, the band dropped the harsh vocals that were used for the band's previous album Swanlike.
Existence is the fourth full-length album by Beto Vázquez Infinity, released on November 2010.
"Existence" is the twenty-first episode and eighth-season finale of the science fiction television series The X-Files and 182nd episode overall. The episode first premiered on Fox in the United States on May 20, 2001, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2001 on Sky1. It was written by executive producer Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners. "Existence" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.4 and was watched by 8.58 million households and 14 million viewers, overall. The episode received largely positive reviews from television critics.
Existential can mean "relating to existence" or "relating to existentialism ". It is used in particular to refer to:
Existentialism is the philosophical study that begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual. It is associated mainly with certain 19th and 20th-century European philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief in that beginning of philosophical thinking.
- Existential quantification, in logic and mathematics (symbolized by ∃)
- Existential clause, in linguistics
- Existential crisis
- Existential fallacy
- Existential humanism
- Existential forgery
- Existential risk
- Existential therapy
- Existential graph
- Existential phenomenology
In predicate logic, an existential quantification is a type of quantifier, a logical constant which is interpreted as "there exists", "there is at least one", or "for some". Some sources use the term existentialization to refer to existential quantification. It is usually denoted by the logical operator symbol ∃, which, when used together with a predicate variable, is called an existential quantifier. Existential quantification is distinct from universal quantification, which asserts that the property or relation holds for all members of the domain.
An existential clause is a clause that refers to the existence or presence of something. Examples in English include the sentences "There is a God" and "There are boys in the yard". The use of such clauses can be considered analogous to existential quantification in predicate logic.
An existential crisis is a moment at which an individual questions if their life has meaning, purpose, or value. It may be commonly, but not necessarily, tied to depression or inevitably negative speculations on purpose in life. This issue of the meaning and purpose of human existence is a major focus of the philosophical tradition of existentialism.
