Full Idea
Existence and nonexistence are not primarily properties of individual objects (dogs, unicorns), but of totalities. To say that some object exists is just to say that it is a constituent of the world, which is a characteristic of the world, not the object.
Gist of Idea
Existence and nonexistence are characteristics of the world, not of objects
Source
George Engelbretsen (Trees, Terms and Truth [2005], 4)
Book Reference
'The Old New Logic', ed/tr. Oderberg,David S. [MIT 2005], p.43
A Reaction
This has important implications for the problem of truthmakers for negative existential statements (like 'there are no unicorns'). It is obviously a relative of Armstrong's totality facts that do the job. Not sure about 'a characteristic of'.
Related Ideas
Idea 18916 Facts are not in the world - they are properties of the world [Engelbretsen]
Idea 14394 It is implausible that claims about non-existence are about existing things [Merricks]
Idea 18377 Negative truths have as truthmakers all states of affairs relevant to the truth [Armstrong]