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Do not fill this in! === Existence and categories of being === {{main|Existence|Theory of categories}} Metaphysicians often see existence or being as one of the most basic and general concepts.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Lowe|2005|p=[https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199264797.001.0001/acref-9780199264797-e-828 277]}} | {{harvnb|White|2019|pp=135, 200}} | {{harvnb|Gibson|1998|pp=1–2}} | {{harvnb|Jubien|2004|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uoCh8mpbZO4C&pg=PA47 47–48]}} | {{harvnb|Vallicella|2010|p=16}} }}</ref> To exist means to form part of [[reality]] and existence marks the difference between real entities and imaginary ones.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Lowe|2005|p=[https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199264797.001.0001/acref-9780199264797-e-828 277]}} | {{harvnb|AHD staff|2022}} }}</ref> According to the orthodox view, existence is a second-order property or a property of properties: if an entity exists then its properties are instantiated.<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|Casati|Fujikawa|loc=Lead Section, §1. Existence as a Second-Order Property and Its Relation to Quantification}} |2={{harvnb|Blackburn|2008|loc=[https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095804522;jsessionid=AEB41DBFF0B3EBCDCCB8A1E0DAFD4EB0 existence]}} }}</ref> A different position states that existence is a first-order property, meaning that it is similar to other properties of entities, such as shape or size.<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|Casati|Fujikawa|loc=Lead Section, §2. Existence as a First-Order Property and Its Relation to Quantification}} |2={{harvnb|Blackburn|2008|loc=[https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095804522;jsessionid=AEB41DBFF0B3EBCDCCB8A1E0DAFD4EB0 existence]}} }}</ref> It is controversial whether all entities have this property. According to [[Alexius Meinong]], there are some objects that do not exist, including merely possible objects like [[Santa Claus]] and [[Pegasus]].<ref name="auto">{{multiref |1={{harvnb|Van Inwagen|2023}} |2={{harvnb|Nelson|2022|loc=Lead Section, §2. Meinongianism}} |3={{harvnb|Jubien|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uoCh8mpbZO4C&pg=PA49 49]}} }}</ref>{{efn|According to Meinong, existence is not a synonym of being: all entities have being but not all entities have existence.<ref name="auto"/>}} A related question is whether existence is the same for all entities or whether there are different modes or degrees of existence.<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|Casati|Fujikawa|loc=Lead Section, §3. How Many Ways of Being Existent?}} |2={{harvnb|McDaniel|2017|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8F0vDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT89 77]}} }}</ref> For instance, Plato held that [[Platonic forms]], which are perfect and immutable ideas, have a higher degree of existence than matter, which is only able to imperfectly mirror Platonic forms.<ref>{{multiref |1={{harvnb|Poidevin|Peter|Andrew|Cameron|2009|pp=227–228}} |2={{harvnb|Van Inwagen|2023}} }}</ref> Another key concern in metaphysics is the division of entities into different groups based on underlying features they have in common. Theories of categories provide a system of the most fundamental kinds or the highest genera of being by establishing a comprehensive inventory of everything.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Thomasson|2022|loc=Lead Section}} | {{harvnb|Loux|Crisp|2017|pp=11–12}} | {{harvnb|Wardy|1998|loc=Lead Section}} }}</ref> One of the earliest theories of categories was provided by Aristotle, who proposed a [[Categories_(Aristotle)#The_praedicamenta|system of 10 categories]]. [[Substance theory|Substances]] (e.g. man and horse), are the most important category since all other categories like [[quantity]] (e.g. four), [[Quality (philosophy)|quality]] (e.g. white), and place (e.g. in Athens) are said of substances and depend on them.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Thomasson|2022|loc=§ 1.1 Aristotelian Realism}} | {{harvnb|Studtmann|2024|loc=§ 2. The Ten-Fold Division}} | {{harvnb|Wardy|1998|loc=§ 1. Categories in Aristotle}} }}</ref> Kant understood categories as fundamental principles underlying human understanding and developed a [[Category (Kant)|system of 12 categories]], which are divided into the four classes quantity, quality, relation, and modality.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Thomasson|2022|loc=§ 1.2 Kantian Conceptualism}} | {{harvnb|Wardy|1998|loc=§ 1. Categories in Kant}} }}</ref> More recent theories of categories were proposed by [[Edmund Husserl]], [[Samuel Alexander]], [[Roderick Chisholm]], and [[E. J. Lowe (philosopher)|E. J. Lowe]].<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Thomasson|2022|loc=§ 1.3 Husserlian Descriptivism, § 1.4 Contemporary Category Systems}} | {{harvnb|Grim|Rescher|2023|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=KgPPEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT39 39]}} }}</ref> Many philosophers rely on the contrast between [[Abstract and concrete|concrete and abstract objects]]. According to a common view, concrete objects, like rocks, trees, and human beings, exist in space and time, undergo changes, and impact each other as cause and effect, while abstract objects, like [[number]]s and [[Set (mathematics)|sets]], exist outside space and time, are immutable, and do not enter into causal relations.<ref>{{multiref | {{harvnb|Falguera|Martínez-Vidal|Rosen|2022|loc=Lead Section, § 1. Introduction, § 3.5 The Ways of Negation}} | {{harvnb|Erasmus|2018|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ze5FDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA93 93]}} | {{harvnb|Macnamara|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pvKD5fvyLXIC&pg=PA94 94]}} }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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