Topics Existence

Question Most people would probably think that when we say something is 'real' we mean this in a physical sense (e.g., this table is real) and we contrast it to imaginary things (e.g., unicorns, Elvis being alive). Is it, however, also possible to claim that all things are real in different ways, and that something that might ordinarily be considered 'not real' only 'exists in a different way'?

Accepted:
January 17, 2006

Comments

You might not want to withhold the term "real" from all entities that don't exist in the physical world. For instance, you might want to say that the number 17 is real or that the thought that 17 is prime is real -- though you might be reluctant to say that that number or that thought exists in the same way that the Empire State Building does. But then, you ask, what about the natural number that is between 17 and 18? Might we say that it too is real, except not in the sense that 17 is? No. That would be to court confusion. To say that something isn't real or doesn't exist, isn't to say that it really does exist though in some especially attenuated way. See also Question 49.