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Existence

Existence is the status of a physical pattern that persists under interaction and exerts counterfactual causal influence on other systems over time.

A system exists only insofar as it instantiates persistent distinctions that survive noise and participate in ongoing dynamics through constrained interaction. Momentary configurations or isolated patterns do not qualify, even if they are formally definable.

Existence is scale-relative and non-binary. Whether a pattern exists depends on the timescales, constraints, and couplings under which it continues to make a difference to other systems.

Through this role, existence:

• filters ontology to include only causally active, persistent structures,
• grounds entities in interaction rather than description,
• ties “being” directly to physical consequences.

Distillation

To exist is to continue making a difference.

Why it matters

• Distinction: Only persistent distinctions qualify as entities.
• Persistence: Existence depends on resistance to noise-driven decay.
• Time: Existence requires duration and recordable interaction.
• RDD coherence: Prevents treating fleeting fluctuations or abstractions as ontological commitments.

Links

Related atoms

{ .block-language-dataview}`

Used in molecules

Conflicts with

• Purely logical or observer-dependent notions of existence.
• Views that treat existence as instantaneous or static.
• Ontologies that admit entities without causal consequences.

Sources

• Source: Dennett, D. C. (1991). Real Patterns.

  • Key: @dennettRealPatterns1991
  • Use here: Frames existence as pattern persistence with explanatory and predictive power.

• Source: Ladyman, J., & Ross, D. (2009). Every Thing Must Go: Metaphysics Naturalized.

  • Key: @ladymanEveryThingMust2009
  • Use here: Grounds ontology in physics and structural realism rather than abstract being.

Re-contextualization Log

• 2025-12-29

  • context: Needed to exclude inert or purely formal patterns from ontology
  • effect: refined
  • note: Added counterfactual causal influence as a requirement; made existence explicitly scale-relative and interaction-dependent.

• 2025-12-26

  • context: Alignment with Persistent Distinction and Time atoms
  • effect: clarified
  • note: Replaced Boolean existence with a persistence-and-interaction criterion.