Am I What I Am or Not?

The French philosopher Descartes once said,  "I THINK THEREFORE I AM." and the world decided that this was proof enough to explain and justify mankind's existence.  However, some later explained that Descartes comments continued with the words that he believes this thinking is always done in the capacity of doubt...  therefore, one could say that proof of existence is in doubt as well...  and we are back to the proverbial first square.

Why do we even care about our own existence in the first place which to me is the first square?

We live...

We die...

and in between the two we accomplish stuff or we do not...  it is just as simple as that.

But, there are those of us who still want to know what we really do not need to know...  and, the concept of philosophy was created...  with each global culture having their own unique and different sets of philosophical beliefs.

There are four major branches of philosophy:

• Metaphysics
• Epistemology
• Axiology
• Logic

But, only three schools of thought:

• Classic
• Religious 
• Modern

Currently, the major educational philosophies are:

1. Existentialism
2. Essentialism
3. Perennialism
4. Progressivism
5. Social Reconstruction
6. Behaviorism
7. Constructivism
8. Conservatism
9. Humanism

So...  where does this actually take us to an understanding of our own existence and the proof that we even exist at all?

Sadly...  it does not take us anywhere other than to explain why we may or may not do what we do...  which revolves around purpose.

Birth is not proof of existence

Life is not proof of existence

Death is not proof of existence

Yet...  we are here nonetheless...  and, for a certain amount of years continue to life until that life is taken away from us by some explained or unexplained methodology...

HOWEVER, no one can explain why we were given life and actually experienced birth in the first place, other than the male sperm fertilizing a female egg.

But, why me?

and not someone else?

and why am I who I am and not another?

and, am I real or a figment of one's imagination?

or, am I simply a computer program operating in a galactic computer system?

and, why are there UFO's?

and, why is there evidence of alien extraterrestrials?

and, why is it recorded that Jesus declared his kingdom to be not of this world?

and, why do I possess a consciousness?

and, is there a cosmic consciousness?

A Purposeful Existence

                Why are we here?

                    Do we exist?

                        What is our purpose?

                            What is life's meaning?                         

  All of these questions have been asked only because no one knows the answers to them...  we can guess at the answers, speculate on the answers, and even logically theorized about the answers almost to the point where we sound convincing...  but, we simply do not know...  and, may never know until we, ourselves, are no longer alive.

the great physicist John Wheeler (who coined the word "black hole") said, "No phenomenon is a real phenomenon until it is an observed phenomenon."  So...  perhaps we exist so that we can observe and absorb  that observation into our consciousness in order to formulize understanding, then knowledge, then wisdom so that we can mentally evolve as we physically and biologically evolve...

AND IF...  that is our purpose...  then we are the result of some sort of intelligent design.

WE...   that is to say MANKIND...  is the only species here on earth with a consciousness...  and, the fact that this consciousness cannot be adequately explained by science is remarkable...

AND YET...  here we are with a consciousness...  and, this consciousness is used to absorb observation and extrapolate from that observation so that we can grow and evolve...   

So...  consciousness is not only necessary for observation...  it is also necessary for our very survival in order that we may continue to observe.

OUR CONSCIOUSNESS IS OUR ULTIMATE REALITY AND 

PROOF THEREFORE THAT EXISTENCE IS OURS...  without a consciousness, there would be no reason to exist and no reason to survive and no reason to procreate...

Life's Purpose:  Observe and Survive

Life's Purpose: Do We Exist?

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the fundamental nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, between substance and attribute, and between potentiality and actuality.  The word "metaphysics" comes from two Greek words that, together, literally mean "after or behind or among [the study of] the natural". It has been suggested that the term might have been coined by a first century CE editor who assembled various small selections of Aristotle’s works into the treatise we now know by the name Metaphysics (ta meta ta phusika, 'after the Physics ', another of Aristotle's works).

Metaphysics studies questions related to what it is for something to exist and what types of existence there are. Metaphysics seeks to answer, in an abstract and fully general manner, the questions:

• What is there?
• What is it like?

Topics of metaphysical investigation include existence, objects and their properties, space and time, cause and effect, and possibility. Metaphysics is considered one of the four main branches of philosophy, along with epistemology, logic, and ethics.

EXISTENCE

Existence as defined by the dictionary is:  the fact or state of living or having objective reality.

Objective reality means that something is actual (so it exists) independent of the mind. For example: while no one is nearby, a meteor crashes into a car, putting it on flames, leaving only a pile of ashes.

But, now does one prove that one exists simply because one perceives that one is living in some sort of reality? like an illusion... like a dream... like a fantasy...

The French philosopher Descartes believed that we exist because: "I think therefore I am."
but Descartes was a devout doubter in everything; in fact, his complete philosophical approach was based upon DOUBTING. So, if one thinks, one thinks in the context of doubt... so one would have to doubt that I AM.

So, this does not really help us much... even though DESCARTES' statement is still used today to prove that we exist.

The Movie THE MATRIX perceived existence in a another manner as if we were all in some illusionary dream world that was controlled by some sort of gigantic super computer and a variety of super program applications.

Without proof of existence... Life's Purpose is rather meaningless... wouldn't you say?