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Single Idea 3942
[filed under theme 7. Existence / A. Nature of Existence / 5. Reason for Existence
]
Full Idea
It is to me a sufficient reason not to believe the existence of anything, if I see no reason for believing it.
Gist of Idea
I do not believe in the existence of anything, if I see no reason to believe it
Source
George Berkeley (Three Dialogues of Hylas and Philonous [1713], II p.205)
Book Ref
Berkeley,George: 'The Principles of Human Knowledge etc.', ed/tr. Warnock,G.J. [Fontana 1962], p.205
A Reaction
This may just be a reasonable application of Ockham's Razor, but I fear that Berkeley painted himself into corner by demanding too many 'reasons' for everything.
The
18 ideas
with the same theme
[why do things (or anything at all) exist?]:
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458
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Nothing could come out of nothing, and existence could never completely cease
[Empedocles]
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1707
|
Maybe necessity and non-necessity are the first principles of ontology
[Aristotle]
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17179
|
There must always be a reason or cause why some triangle does or does not exist
[Spinoza]
|
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19400
|
Possibles demand existence, so as many of them as possible must actually exist
[Leibniz]
|
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19401
|
God's sufficient reason for choosing reality is in the fitness or perfection of possibilities
[Leibniz]
|
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5062
|
First: there must be reasons; Second: why anything at all?; Third: why this?
[Leibniz]
|
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7696
|
Leibniz first asked 'why is there something rather than nothing?'
[Leibniz, by Jacquette]
|
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19341
|
There must be a straining towards existence in the essence of all possible things
[Leibniz]
|
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19428
|
Because something does exist, there must be a drive in possible things towards existence
[Leibniz]
|
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3942
|
I do not believe in the existence of anything, if I see no reason to believe it
[Berkeley]
|
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5646
|
Hegel gives an ontological proof of the existence of everything
[Hegel, by Scruton]
|
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16007
|
I assume existence, rather than reasoning towards it
[Kierkegaard]
|
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7687
|
Existence is completeness and consistency
[Jacquette]
|
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7692
|
Being is maximal consistency
[Jacquette]
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19662
|
It is necessarily contingent that there is one thing rather than another - so something must exist
[Meillassoux]
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17320
|
Either p is true or not-p is true, so something is true, so something exists
[Liggins]
|
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19482
|
Current physics says matter and antimatter should have reduced to light at the big bang
[New Sci.]
|
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19483
|
CP violation shows a decay imbalance in matter and antimatter, leading to matter's dominance
[New Sci.]
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