From: "Anthony Crifasi" <crifasi-AT-hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Being & Time Part 2
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 03:38:35 +0000


Jud wrote:

>If
>looking over my shoulder we both see, touch, smell the leaf, etc., and
>apprehend its greenness we have temporal confirmation —  existential
>confirmation. All other propositions should be treated with caution 
>however.

No Jud, I'm not letting that little slight-of-hand go. Any propositions 
concerning the actual existence of the leaf that you see over your shoulder 
can also be found in a work of fiction, and therefore you cannot even 
linguistically express that. So you are left with the position that you 
cannot linguistically express that anything exists whatsoever, since 
absolutely any proposition can be found in work of fiction. Remember, this 
follows from what YOU said. I am not claiming that it is impossible to say 
(linguisticaly express) that anything exists.

>Experience is vital in this area (I am an experientialist) and as one goes
>through life one accumulates knowledge and data concerning
>what exists in what ways and what does not exist in any way or ways. My
>advice to you all is whenever you come across an IS-word in a sentence -
>treat it circumspectly - if in doubt as to the veracity of the 
>predicational
>information it attributes to the self-existentialised subject - check it 
>out

But this is non-sensical given what you said before, because even the phrase 
"self-existentialised subject" does not express what you want it to, because 
that phrase can be found in a work of fiction too, in which case the subject 
would not exist. So you cannot even make sense of your own sentences now - 
your sentence concerning some attribution to some "self-existentialised 
subject" which could equally mean a non-self-existentialised subject such as 
in a work of fiction. So now we have self-existentialised subject meaning a 
non-self-existentialised subject too. Remember this follows from what YOU 
said, so am not saying that nothing exists.

>- for the IS-word is an icon that can be clicked in order to access
>verificational information to support or reject the predicate as being a
>truthful one.

That sentence is also non-sensical, since the words "verificational" and 
"truthful" can also be found in works of fiction, in which case the objects 
do not exist, and therefore cannot be verified. Remember this follows from 
what YOU said, I am not saying that nothing exists.

>By clicking "IS" you are clicking yourself into verificational
>activity.
>
>Circumstance and context play a vital part in any consideration of
>prepositional veracity.

Veracity? Does that mean "veracity" as used in a work of fiction? Remember 
this follows from what YOU said, I am not saying that nothing exists.

>Again you are right when you say that: "it is impossible to linguistically
>express actual existence" for the simple reason that "existence" doesn't
>exist  - only existents [entities] exist, and not the state of their
>existing.

No, that doesn't make sense either, because the phrase "existents exist" can 
also be found in a work of fiction, in which case they do not exist. So now 
"existents exist" can also mean "existents do not exist." Remember this 
follows from what YOU said, I am not saying that actual existence is 
impossible to linguistically express.

>The bottom line? In our ordinary lives we are forced to take most of the
>existential claims on face value and on the basis of trust tempered by
>experience. It depends on who you are dealing with as regards to whether 
>you
>accept or believe that something exists or exists in a certain way. Most
>sentences are asseverations so be careful.

No, according to what you said, ALL sentences can be found in a work of 
fiction, and therefore contain absolutely no expression of fictional 
existence over real existence (whatever that means). That is true of the 
words "verify," "truthful," "actual existence," etc.

Anthony Crifasi


_________________________________________________________________
STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*  
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail



     --- from list heidegger-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---