Topics Existence

Question If every thing has being then how can non-being, as a concept, not have being? Wouldn't it have being by virtue of its distinction from being? I.e. in being 'non-being'- it 'is' that which is 'not being' (the conceptual complement of being) and as it 'is' non-being - distinct from being, it is 'being' no? And so if this is the case, and being is thus a characteristic of all things - then what of being itself?

Accepted:
February 19, 2015

Comments

...how can non-being, as a concept, not have being?

I see no reason why it can't. I see no reason to think that the concept of non-being (or non-existence, or related concepts) fails to exist. Not every concept must instantiate itself. Indeed, typically concepts don't instantiate themselves: the concept of tree isn't a tree, etc.

It's more controversial whether being (or existence) is a characteristic (or property) of things. You'll find detailed discussion of this issue in the SEP entry linked here. I myself favor the widely held view that all (and only) things exist. It's not clear to me that this view implies that existence is a property, nor is it clear to me that anything of importance turns on whether existence is a property.