Does Non-Existence Exist?

[r0ckyreed]

Does Non-Existence exist? Does Nothingness really exist? If Existence/Consciousness is the foundation of reality, then what is Nothingness or Non-Existence?

We cannot talk about non-existence or Nothingness without first discussing what Existence is. What I mean by existence is everything that you experience within your consciousness. If you cannot see it, hear it, smell it, feel it, taste it, or think it, it does not exist.

I would say that Nothingness and Non-existence are different. Non-Existence points to something that no longer exists or has never existed and Nothingness points to something that exists but has either no attributes or infinite attributes -- Think of a blank canvas or the emptiness of space. With non-existence, there is not even blankness or emptiness of space. Space = Nothingness and Space = Non-existent are two different ideas.

Here are some examples of Non-Existence:

1. Being a virgin (sex is non-existent for you, you have had 0 sex)

2. Your dead great-great-grandparents (they are literally physically non-existent)

3. A Purple Elephant native to Earth (maybe there is one on a different planet but none native to earth).

4. Santa Clause (Santa is an idea in your mind that points to something that does not actually exist)

5. Bertrand Russell's Celestial Teapot

6. A memory/dream that you forgotten

7. Your childhood/youth (your health/vitality will one day be non-existent)

8. Death (this is a tricky one depending on how you look at it. Death can be seen as Non-existent or as Nothingness.)

Here are some examples of Nothingness:

1. Empty Consciousness (no thought, no mind)

2. Ego (The ego's reality is nothingness, it is made out of thought made out of nothing, it's not made out of anything)

3. Thought (its not made out of anything)

4. The empty space that holds all objects in existence

5. The substance of anything is made out of Nothingness. Even science tells us that objects are made out of emptiness.

6. State of Consciousness during sleep and during pre-birth.

6. Death (this is a tricky one depending on how you look at it. Death can be seen as Non-existent or as Nothingness.)

 

What are your thoughts? Does Nothingness and Non-existence exist? When we say Consciousness or Existence is the foundation of reality, do we mean that the foundation of Infinity/Existence is Nothingness? How does Existence relate to Non-Existence?

Edited 6 hours ago by r0ckyreed

[Leo Gura]

Nothingness is not non-existence. It is existence. Empy existence.

Non-existence does not exist.

Do not confuse Nothingness with non-existence. That is a major mistake.

Edited 7 hours ago by Leo Gura

[r0ckyreed]

30 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Nothingness is not non-existence. It is existence. Empy existence.

Non-existence does not exist.

Do not confuse Nothingness with non-existence. That is a major mistake.

Yes. I got that. But there appears to be non-existent things such as Santa and Death. These are existent ideas that point to things that do not exist. The reality of Santa and Death is non-existent. If Santa and Death are not non-existent, then what reality do they have?

Edited 6 hours ago by r0ckyreed

[Leo Gura]

There is existence vs non-existence as a relative matter. But then there is Existence as an Absolute. The Absolute doesn't have an opposite.

Santa only does not exist in a relative way. It does not exist for you right now. But in the Absolute sense Santa exists as much as anything else.

Remember, humans judge and define existence to suit their needs. Not as it really is.

Edited 6 hours ago by Leo Gura

[LastThursday]

The gift of Santa is that it tells you that some types of existence are pure constructions. Nearly everything you think exists is a construction. Santa is no different from a chair or an electron. All objects are constructions, all actions are constructions. Your sense of self is a construction. Your dead great-grandmother is a construction.

That isn't to say that these things are conscious deliberate constructions, a lot of it is automatic and unconscious. 

What isn't a construction? Raw, direct perception. That's a different type of existence.

Then, by extension non-existence is also a construction - which exists.

Edited 6 hours ago by LastThursday

[Someone here]

@r0ckyreed i think this video answers most of your concerns.

 

[r0ckyreed]

3 hours ago, LastThursday said:

What isn't a construction? Raw, direct perception. That's a different type of existence.

Yes, good.

[r0ckyreed]

3 hours ago, Someone here said:

@r0ckyreed i think this video answers most of your concerns.

 

Great share!