Existence

Existence is the state of being or the condition of having actual being. In philosophy, it concerns what kinds of things there are and how they can be said to exist. The term is central to ontology, the branch of metaphysics that analyzes categories of being, and to the distinction between existence and essence.

In logic and analytic philosophy, existence is often treated with linguistic and formal tools. The existential quantifier (there exists) represents claims about the presence of at least one object satisfying a property. Some theories analyze existence as a property of objects, while others argue that existence is a feature of linguistic representation rather than a feature of reality.

Historically, debates about existence include Aristotle’s categories, the medieval realism versus nominalism dispute, and Kant’s critique of traditional metaphysics. The 19th and 20th centuries saw varied approaches: logical positivists and analytic philosophers reexamined how existence is asserted in language, while existentialists emphasized human reality and meaning, with Sartre asserting that existence precedes essence and Heidegger focusing on being-in-the-world.

Contemporary discussion covers ontological commitment, the status of universals and abstract objects, mereology and grounding, and the nature of possible worlds. Some positions defend realism about objects and properties; others advocate nominalism or fictionalism. The question of what it would mean for something to exist necessarily, contingently, or virtually remains central to metaphysics, science, and mathematics.