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Re:Nothingness (2017) by liberal_098 on Wednesday July 22, 2020 @02:22AM (#23914451)
The question can be reformulated as whether non-existence (nothingness) exists which is obviously a contradiction. Nothingness is the opposite of existence and hence it does not exist by definition.
Re:Nothingness (2017) by stareatgoats on Wednesday July 22, 2020 @04:24AM (#23915012)
Very clever. A whole article (book?) could no doubt be devoted to that logical trick; how a seemingly reasonable argument can lead to such absurd conclusions.

Maybe it was covered in the article, which I didn't read yet (either?). I might have to though, because it touches on a subject which interests me more and more; that of language, perception and meaning vs reality. For example, in the case of "nothing" I would propose that it has a meaning in everyday language that doesn't make it into the dictionaries or thesauri: that it partly means (or can mean) that which has not been discovered yet.

This type of definition differs from a strict logical definition (in which nothing would mean absolutely nothing, void, emptiness, non-existence). Much confusion can be had from mixing the logic of language (terms that are logical/mathematical in nature if you will), with meaning, which is has to be the essence of language.

Re:Nothingness (2017) by barrenko on Wednesday July 22, 2020 @03:45AM (#23914849)
Yup, you may as well say how can unicorn exist. First prove they do.